Here’s some common sense for you with regards to pitchers that I’ve come up with. It only makes sense that pitchers could be rated and judged by more than just their DNA makeup alone. Here’s the four factors I take into consideration when deciding which pitchers I like from this point on:
1. Ball Park Conditions: As with hitters, stadium conditions play into the success of a pitcher in either league. I’d take a pitcher in Petco Park (San Diego) over a pitcher in Coors Field (Colorado) any day, granted they had similar skill sets. Stadiums with bigger dimensions or thicker “sea” air (Such as in San Diego, Seattle) can equate to big success for a star pitcher or moderate success for an average pitcher.
2. Team Defense: A team with a solid defense can make or break a pitcher. While ERA is only calculated based on EARNED runs, giving up a bunch of hits or having a ton of errors behind a pitcher can wear him down throughout the game and season.
3. Rate of groundballs: A pitchers ability to induce groundballs is crucial to his success. Think about it like this: How many groundballs have you see go over the fence? Groundballs also lead to more double plays when the pitcher has a man on base. A ground ball can get the pitcher out of a dangerous inning.
4. Walks: I’m a big fan of Cliff Lee. Why? Because he HATES walking people. Issuing a walk does one thing: Puts a man on without the chance of getting him out at the plate. It’s like letting the hitter hit 1.000 against you for that at bat. The problem with pitchers who hate to walk batters is that they tend to leave the ball over the plate, which leads to four base walks (homeruns, duh.) A pitcher needs to know when it’s ok to walk a batter, not that it’s ok to walk every other guy.
These are the basic rules I use when determining how to draft a pitcher, or who to pick up for a quick spot start.
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