LaMarsh: What can current pitching trends tell us about this season?
From SABR member Alexis LaMarsh at Pinch Hero on April 26, 2018:
Anyone who watches baseball can tell you, in old-fashioned anecdote, that everyone’s striking out. Currently, teams are striking out in 23 percent of their plate appearances. In April of last year, that number was 21.7 percent. In April 2016, 21.3 percent. Slowly but surely, we’re reaching a game of the Three True Outcomes—or, more accurately, Two of the Three True Outcomes. Just not the two you’d think. And the approach from the mound might tell the story.
Quick disclaimer: For the sake of my own sanity, I’m not taking the deep dive into the “launch angle revolution” and its correlation to strikeouts here. Instead, I suggest reading up on the piece Eno Sarris just wrote for The Athletic (subscription required). It was helpful for me in writing this post, and it gives a bit of the hitting perspective that I won’t touch on here.
Back to the mound. Despite more strikeouts and fewer hits, walk rates are climbing too.
Read the full article here: https://pinchhero.com/2018/04/26/what-can-current-pitching-trends-tell-us-about-this-season/
Originally published: April 27, 2018. Last Updated: April 27, 2018.