We’re all here because we love baseball (on Razzball, not Earth; that’s a different “Why are we here?” discussion for another column/site). When did you know you loved it? Feel free to skip through if you just want the rankings.
For me, it was before I was a teenager. My grandfather played on a small-college national championship baseball team in the late-1940s, and he loved to play catch with me in their big side yard. After enough routine throwing and warming up, he’d challenge me by throwing me grounders and pop-ups where I’d have to really range to one side or the other, mostly diving, to make the play. When I’d successfully come up with the catch, he’d call me “Sweet Lou” after Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker, who then became my favorite athlete in any sport (and my avatar for this site). When my grandpa called me Sweet Lou, my chest would puff out a little bit and I’d feel just a little bit like I was something or somebody; more than just some little kid from a town of 1,000 people who was still a little afraid of getting hit by the kids who had already reached puberty and could throw much faster than I’d prefer.
It was enhanced by my father, who would coach my little league team and be my own personal Lance Parrish in the backyard. I couldn’t throw hard, and couldn’t throw any other pitches but a fastball. But that didn’t stop my dad from humoring me and catching pitch after pitch, even if he’d already had enough physicality from the day (he and my grandpa owned and ran a wood and aluminum boat dock manufacturing company). Every now and then, I’d try to really muscle up on one, it’d go wild, and he’d have to go chase it down; there were no good backstops in our yard. Every now and then, I’d try to throw a curveball or try to make the ball do something other than my typical “fastball” (which was less “fastball” and more “go slowly in a reasonably straight line”), it’d go wild, and he’d have to go chase it down again. I could tell he’d get frustrated at times, but he’d never make me feel bad. He’d coach our team, we’d lose plenty of games, sometimes I’d pitch well, sometimes I’d get shelled…but he never showed disappointment in how I played and never made me feel as if I wasn’t enough. I may know I stunk that night, but it was never because my dad made me feel that way. He’d encourage, and pump me up for next time.
It’s so difficult to, in the words of To Kill A Mockingbird lawyer Atticus Finch, get in somebody else’s skin and walk around in it. But it’s Father’s Day (I’m writing this article on Sunday night, after kid bedtime, for Monday morning submission) and I’m a dad now, so I have the benefit of finally understanding something my dad and grandpa understood long ago; I can finally walk around in their skin a little and see those times the way they saw those times. When I play catch with my youngest daughter, it doesn’t really matter what plays she makes; when I watch her softball games, it doesn’t really matter if she pipes a strike or pulls one through the SS/3B hole. She wants to do well, but she needs to know that I love and support her. I want her to do well, but I need to know that she knows how much I love her and how proud of her I am. I’m old now, and won’t ever play catch with my dad or grandpa again. Some day, she’ll face that same reality with me. But for now, I’m going to take advantage of every single opportunity to spend meaningful, impactful time with her. She doesn’t realize that it’s even more special to me than it is to her. When she wants to go practice pitching at 8:30 p.m. after a game, and it’s already been a long day, well…I’m not saying no.
I think that was a strike, but I can’t be sure; there’s something in my eyes.
Now, to the stuff you came here for–this week’s SP ranks.
Injury Notes
- I excluded Nathan Eovaldi (BOS) from the list, as he’s supposed to be out at least into July.
- I excluded Marcus Stroman (CHC) from the list, as he’s also out until early July.
- Walker Buehler (LAD) is out until September, so he’s off the list.
- Brandon Woodruff (MIL) is back on the list, as he made a rehab start this past weekend and struck out 7 of the 8 hitters he faced. It’s looking like one more rehab start and if there are no setbacks, he’ll rejoin the team. Freddy Peralta (MIL) is excluded; he’s throwing, but there’s no timetable for any sort of bullpens/rehab.
- Bailey Ober (MIN) is excluded (no info on rehab timeline).
- Tylor Megill (NYM) is excluded; he won’t throw for at least a month, and then there may be a considerable ramp-up period. Max Scherzer (NYM) is back on the list; he’s slated to throw a rehab start Tuesday, June 21, and may only take one more rehab start if there are no setbacks. Jacob deGrom (NYM) is excluded; he’s thrown multiple bullpen sessions but still a few weeks away from anything newsworthy.
- I’m including Zach Eflin (PHI) but he just got lit up Sunday, and was removed after a couple of innings with continued right knee soreness. The Phillies say that he was scheduled to only go three innings anyway, but the fact that they’re limiting him so much and then he was so ineffective he was pulled early isn’t a terrific sign for his health going forward, so take his numbers/ranking and feel free to move him downward if you’re even remotely risk-averse.
- Joe Musgrove (SDP) is on the COVID-19 IL but he pitched great the day before going on it; there’s no news that it’s anything other than precautionary or that it will only be missing one start.
- Jake Junis (SFG) is excluded as he’s out around four weeks due to a hamstring strain.
- Andrew Heaney (LAD) is excluded but returned to the Dodgers rotation on Sunday.
Player Notes
- I’ve got to address Sandy Alcantara’s (MIA) “low” ranking. How can I have a guy 26th when his ERA is 3rd in baseball, his WHIP is 16th, his xERA is 2.76, and his xwOBA is 9th? His last 62 IP have resulted in a meager 7 ER. TWENTY-SIXTH, HOOVE?!?! I hear you, I do. Here’s the why: his K%-BB% is only 15.7%, good for 55th overall. Even though he throws his fastball almost 98 mph on average, his K% isn’t super-high (23.4%), and his walk rate of 7.7% is definitely higher than you’d like from your ace. He’s also middle-third in both xFIP and SIERA. Alcantara has been great, but I used these metrics for a reason, and too many of them tell me that his outputs aren’t commensurate with his inputs.
- Keeping with the “Why is he so low?” idea, let’s look at Tony Gonsolin (LAD). He’s tops in MLB in ERA, WHIP, is 8-0, and is top-10 in both xERA and xwOBA. In my ranks, he’s *scrolling, scrolling, scrolling*…49th? Out of the six metrics I use for my inputs, his *highest* rank is in CSW%, and it’s only 33rd among the starters that qualify for my rankings. In the other five metrics I use, he’s average to below-average among his peers. It’s hard to quibble with the results, but it’s also hard for me to recommend him much higher than where he is going forward.
- Let’s switch up to some good news, shall we? Last week Jon Gray (TEX) checked in at 71st in my rankings, while this week sees him fly up to 37th. He’s had 13 innings since I pulled the stats for last week’s rankings, and in those 13 innings he’s given up 1 ER and struck out 16. That’ll do, donkey…that’ll do. And before you say “Hey, one of those starts was against the Tigers, that doesn’t count!” I won’t argue with you. But until Detroit is relegated, Premier League-style, I’m going to go ahead and use them even if those stats are more inflated than…well, maybe this isn’t the right time to be making inflation jokes.
- Another major riser is Taijuan Walker (NYM). Since pulling the stats for last week’s column, Walker has thrown 12.2 innings of 2-run ball, striking out 19 while walking two. Those are big-time increases, so are they sustainable? Walker’s last two starts were marked improvements in staying out of batter-advantage counts (2-0, 2-1, 3-0, 3-1) and in getting early outs on balls-in-play counts (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 1-1). The other inputs don’t show much actionable change, but if Walker can stay ahead and get early action, that may be a recipe for success for him.
This is a reminder that these rankings are me sticking to what my formula spits out using the input metrics that I discussed in last week’s column. There are certainly some guys I’d move around based on my personal preference, but what good is a formula if I’m just going to put my own personal biases into things anyway? I just want to give you what my formula spits out, and if you like Player X better than Player Y, then by all means move them–but at least then, it’s *your* bias making the adjustment for you, and not *mine* making the adjustment for you. We can all cherry-pick stats that support our own preferences for Player X over Player Y, or to knock Player X over Player Y. The only personal bias I want these rankings to have is the personal bias of what inputs I used. After that, the rankings are the rankings.
All data pulled at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, June 19 and did not include any starts that day.
Rank | Pitcher | Team | Hval (HooveVal) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Corbin Burnes | MIL | 1.00 |
2 | Spencer Strider | ATL | 1.17 |
3 | Gerrit Cole | NYY | 1.33 |
4 | Shane McClanahan | TBR | 1.50 |
5 | Kevin Gausman | TOR | 1.67 |
6 | Zack Wheeler | PHI | 2.00 |
7 | Max Scherzer | NYM | 2.00 |
8 | Jeffrey Springs | TBR | 2.00 |
9 | Alex Cobb | SFG | 2.17 |
10 | Dylan Cease | CHW | 2.17 |
11 | Carlos Rodon | SFG | 2.17 |
12 | Aaron Nola | PHI | 2.33 |
13 | Shohei Ohtani | LAA | 2.50 |
14 | Pablo Lopez | MIA | 2.50 |
15 | Brandon Woodruff | MIL | 2.50 |
16 | Luis Severino | NYY | 2.50 |
17 | Aaron Ashby | MIL | 2.67 |
18 | Joe Musgrove | SDP | 2.67 |
19 | Kyle Wright | ATL | 3.00 |
20 | Tarik Skubal | DET | 3.17 |
21 | Max Fried | ATL | 3.17 |
22 | Tyler Anderson | LAD | 3.33 |
23 | Jordan Montgomery | NYY | 3.50 |
24 | Nestor Cortes | NYY | 3.50 |
25 | Shane Bieber | CLE | 3.67 |
26 | Sandy Alcantara | MIA | 3.67 |
27 | Carlos Carrasco | NYM | 3.67 |
28 | Frankie Montas | OAK | 3.67 |
29 | Logan Webb | SFG | 3.83 |
30 | Lucas Giolito | CHW | 4.00 |
31 | Alex Wood | SFG | 4.00 |
32 | Sean Manaea | SDP | 4.00 |
33 | Garrett Whitlock | BOS | 4.17 |
34 | Alek Manoah | TOR | 4.17 |
35 | Justin Verlander | HOU | 4.17 |
36 | Chris Bassitt | NYM | 4.33 |
37 | Jon Gray | TEX | 4.33 |
38 | Ross Stripling | TOR | 4.33 |
39 | Brady Singer | KCR | 4.50 |
40 | Tyler Mahle | CIN | 4.67 |
41 | Hunter Greene | CIN | 4.67 |
42 | Julio Urias | LAD | 4.83 |
43 | Luis Garcia | HOU | 4.83 |
44 | Robbie Ray | SEA | 4.83 |
45 | Jameson Taillon | NYY | 4.83 |
46 | George Kirby | SEA | 4.83 |
47 | Yu Darvish | SDP | 5.00 |
48 | Corey Kluber | TBR | 5.00 |
49 | Tony Gonsolin | LAD | 5.00 |
50 | Dane Dunning | TEX | 5.17 |
51 | Cristian Javier | HOU | 5.17 |
52 | Nick Martinez | SDP | 5.33 |
53 | Eric Lauer | MIL | 5.50 |
54 | Kyle Gibson | PHI | 5.67 |
55 | Patrick Sandoval | LAA | 5.83 |
56 | Logan Gilbert | SEA | 5.83 |
57 | Luis Castillo | CIN | 6.00 |
58 | Dylan Bundy | MIN | 6.00 |
59 | MacKenzie Gore | SDP | 6.00 |
60 | Martin Perez | TEX | 6.00 |
61 | Zac Gallen | ARI | 6.00 |
62 | Miles Mikolas | STL | 6.17 |
63 | Nick Pivetta | BOS | 6.17 |
64 | Zach Eflin | PHI | 6.17 |
65 | Framber Valdez | HOU | 6.17 |
66 | Charlie Morton | ATL | 6.33 |
67 | Jose Quintana | PIT | 6.33 |
68 | Joe Ryan | MIN | 6.50 |
69 | Taijuan Walker | NYM | 6.67 |
70 | Drew Rasmussen | TBR | 6.67 |
71 | Daniel Lynch | KCR | 6.83 |
72 | Paul Blackburn | OAK | 7.00 |
73 | JT Brubaker | PIT | 7.00 |
74 | Noah Syndergaard | LAA | 7.00 |
75 | Jose Berrios | TOR | 7.00 |
76 | Josiah Gray | WSN | 7.17 |
77 | Zach Davies | ARI | 7.17 |
78 | Keegan Thompson | CHC | 7.17 |
79 | Triston McKenzie | CLE | 7.17 |
80 | Michael Kopech | CHW | 7.33 |
81 | Jordan Lyles | BAL | 7.33 |
82 | Rich Hill | BOS | 7.50 |
83 | Jose Urquidy | HOU | 7.50 |
84 | Elieser Hernandez | MIA | 7.67 |
85 | Bruce Zimmermann | BAL | 7.67 |
86 | Tyler Wells | BAL | 7.67 |
87 | Adam Wainwright | STL | 7.83 |
88 | Kyle Bradish | BAL | 7.83 |
89 | Johnny Cueto | CHW | 7.83 |
90 | Alex Faedo | DET | 8.00 |
91 | Merrill Kelly | ARI | 8.00 |
92 | German Marquez | COL | 8.00 |
93 | Cole Irvin | OAK | 8.00 |
94 | Yusei Kikuchi | TOR | 8.17 |
95 | Michael Lorenzen | LAA | 8.17 |
96 | Kyle Hendricks | CHC | 8.33 |
97 | Reid Detmers | LAA | 8.33 |
98 | Zach Thompson | PIT | 8.50 |
99 | Justin Steele | CHC | 8.50 |
100 | Austin Gomber | COL | 8.50 |
Good afternoon Hoove, Just wanted to thank you for all you do. We appreciate the way you filled in and time and work you put into this. I enjoy EWB but I just as much enjoy your articles it’s always good to get two different outlooks. Also appreciate you giving us what the formula spits out so we can make our own biased decisions. Everything is much appreciated.
With that said who do you like more between springs and strider?
And would you package springs/strider (the one I didn’t pick) and Carrasco for severino? Or should I aim higher? I’m looking to do a 2 for 1 so I can make an add
Thank you for your time
Hi Hoove,
thanks for all your help and Patience!
i have Toronto’s Ross Stripling. His next two starts are both at home against Boston and TB. what are your thoughts?
thanks!
martin
Hi Hoove,
thanks for taking so much time to help us fantasy “geeks”!
1. i was going to starting TB Springs at home against Pitt. Do you agree?
2. Springs’ next start is on the road at Toronto. i was going to sit him. Thoughts?
3. i was also going to start Boston Nick Pivetta on the road against Cleveland. Do you agree?
4. Pivetta next start after Cleveland is also on the road at Toronto. i was leaning to sitting him. what are your thoughts? Am i being too conservative?
thanks!
martin
I’m right with you, Martin—sit Springs and Pivetta against TOR.
In fact, I wouldn’t even argue if you sat Pivetta against CLE, but that’s not one I’d quibble with you on either way. Cleveland’s got a sneaky decent offense even outside of Jo-Ram.
thanks!!!!
Hi Hoove,
of course, i started Blackburn and Clevinger and sat Gray. Oh Well, that’s baseball.
Is it time to waive one of them? what are your ideas as to when to start them?
when Kris Bryant is off the IL, i have to cut one player. would you cut one of them or Christopher Morel of the Cubs?
Thanks for an amazing column!
martin
I think Blackburn was pitching a bit over his head; he can be useful in Oakland in the right matchup, but I may not be terribly interested in him otherwise. Clev has history of being good to very good, but he’s also coming off of injury and we can’t really be sure what his “new normal” is. I may rather drop one of them than Morel when Bryant comes back.
Thanks again, Martin.
Thank you Hoove.
really appreciate the help!
PS Do you think that that Blackburn or Clevinger have any trade potential? Can you think of any pitcher who i should look to get (Appreciate the broadness of the question)
i took your advice and picked up Ross Stripling. when would you use him. His next start is at home against Boston. i was going to sit him. Do you agree?
i very much enjoy all our conversations!
martin
I’m not sure how much you could get 1-for-1 for Blackburn or Clev. If you threw in a hitter you weren’t playing or were hoping to get rid of, maybe we could look at a possible target.
Strip has been great. Hitters love Toronto and Boston hits, but it’s hard to sit Strip right now. I wouldn’t argue with you either way on what you do. If you’re protecting your ratio standings placement, use caution; if not, ride him while he’s hot.
thanks!!!
Love the write up Hoove. Have do decide on a pitcher for Wednesday that’s left in our league DFS. Montgomery, Gray scares me going up against Wheeler, Skubal or McKenzie. Always enjoy your feedback and articles are so helpful.
I’d lean Monty or McKenzie; I love Skubal but a lefty in Fenway makes me nervous, and I’m with you on Gray vs Wheeler and the Phils offense right now.
And I’d lean Monty over McKenzie.
Thanks for reading and the question, Tim—good luck!
So when did this become Facebook with home videos?
I’m sorry this article wasn’t what you were looking for, Harley. EWB will be back next week, and he’s terrific at this.
Hi Hoove,
sorry for the lateness of the hour.
1. I was leaning to starting the Dodgers Tyler Anderson at Cincinnati? do you agree?
2. i was unsure whether to start Texas’ Jon Gray at home against Zack Wheeler of the Phillies. What would you do?
3. I was leaning to starting Miami’s Pablo Lopez at home against Colorado. Do you agree?
4. just to confirm i should take Ross Stripley over Merrill Kelly if he is still available. am i correct?
thanks for all your help!!
martin
I like Strip over Merrill, and I’d start almost anybody that gets to face the Rockies playijg away from Coors, especially a dude like PabLo. Full speed ahead there.
I lean starting Tyler Anderson vs Cincy, even in Great American Launching Pad, but if you’re protecting ratios, I have no problem sitting that one out. Gray is a tough one; he’s an arrow-up guy but Philly is playing/hitting so well and it’ll be tough to grab a W vs Wheeler. I may lean sit there if there are innings limits to your league.
thanks much for these fantastic responses!
Thoughts on Alex Cobb? What are you seeing in the underlying numbers to warrant a #9 ranking on your list?
Cobb’s xFIP, SIERA and CSW% are elite; all top-10% among starters that met my innings qualification. His K-BB% was top-20%, and the same with his O-Swing%; his stuff has been so good he’s getting a lot of swings at pitches batters can’t do much with. He may not have the wins or volume numbers other starters have, which may suppress his popularity, but the provided metrics say he’s pitched like one of the best SPs so far—he just hasn’t gotten the tangible results he deserves so far.
Thanks for reading and reaching out, James!
Hi Hoove,
Thanks again for your father’s day message! it meant a lot.
As you know, Aaron Ashby is on IL. it seems like i should move on. Do you agree?
Several pitchers are available. i been spoiled by your advice on picking up Mikolas and Pivetta. i realize that i can’t always be lucky. The following pitchers are available Ross Stripling, Merrill Kelly, Graham Ashcroft or Rich Hill. The other option is to wait for a better option. also, please let me how your would use the pitcher selected.
thanks so much for all your hard work!
martin
Why do you have to move on from Ashby–no IL spots? If you *have* to drop him, I like Strip/Kelly/Ash/Hill in that order. But I’d want to understand why you *have* to move on from Ashby first. Thanks Martin!
Hi Hoove,
thanks for stopping me with your great question.
i have one IL spot and Kris Bryant is occupying that slot. Hopefully he is off in a few days.
i thought that Ashby would be out for significant time. Now, i am not so sure and he may be out one or two weeks. What have you read about Ashby’s condition? I can certainly wait for a few weeks if you think that he is worth keeping. what would you recommend?
thanks for your advice! i both appreciate and enjoy your feedback!
martin
If Bryant is coming off in a couple of days I may try to eat that roster spot until I could move Ashby to IL. I wouldn’t want to trade Ashby for any of your other options short-term, as the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that MRI results showed no damage, just genera inflammation.
thanks so much!!!
Hi Hoove,
I like your idea what of keep Aaron ashby. Great input.
i did have one other variation. is Strip or Kelly worth getting and maybe worth one of my utility players like Siantiago Espinal or Brendan Rodgers be used?
thanks again for all your input!!!
martin
I could see you dropping espinal for one of them. I’m not sure your roster composition, but when I play, I like to basically have one backup for every position, and then nothing but pitchers (making multi-position guys valuable to me). I’d rather have a ton of SPs that I can decide what matchups to play than a bunch of hitters sitting on my bench.
i love that philosophy! thanks for sharing it. i am doing that except for catcher where i have Will Smith as my only catcher. i tried picking up a second catcher. it didn’t work, because by the time i found out that Smith wasn’t playing, it was too late to use the second catcher since his game had already started. The well laid plans of
mice and men.
when Bryant comes back, then i could drop Espinal and put Ashby in the IL slot.
i f you think Strip or Kelly are worth it, i could drop Espinal now, and play with one position player for one position till Bryant comes back. Thoughts?
as Always, i very much appreciate all your kindness and help!!
martin
I could drop Espinal and play with one bench player until Bryant comes back, for one of those guys.
Hi Hoove,
Good morning.
Would you target any of the following SPs to trade for:
Carrasco, Taijuan Walker and Morton?
I’m guessing they are rank from expenssive to least in the order I named them.
Morton would be the cheapest? Is it worthy it?
If i’m offering next year picks, what would be an appropiate value?
it is a 3 keeper league, so none will be keepers.
Thanks,
Chris
I think Morton is a HUGE buy right now, and he may be cheapest of those guys. Morton just had a banger last weekend, and I think the arrows for him are pointing up. I just acquired him in my dynasty for peanuts after an owner got sick of the rough ones. Walker also is trending in the right direction. Carrasco always gives me the heebie-jeebies but that’s my personal bias with him; I always feel like I’m waiting for the injury to strike. But he’s clearly a good SP when healthy. I like all of them, but may go Morton/Walker/Cookie if I were ranking them by who I personally want.
Great write up here, Hoove. Loved the top & have good memories with pops the same as you do. Lots of whiffle ball games and catch in the backyard with the two little MarmoJuniors the last few years made that video pretty relatable too. Looked like a strike to me.
Really liked the ranks too. Strider that high is a nice surprise & McClanahan is one bright spot I’ve had in my drafts this year (we won’t talk about the Giolito/Clevinger/Stroman/Strasburg in Razzslam – ha!)
I’m eating the Gio poop sandwich in my dynasty league, so I’m right there with you. Enjoy the games with the MarmoJrs!
Don’t have memories of my dad playing catch with me, but loved the intro write-up. Appreciate the work you put into the rankings.
appreciate you reaching out and reading, Slim!
How comfortable are you starting two start Roansy v ChC @ TB over Kirby @ Oak, Urias @Atl, Wright v SF and Gore v Phil?
I think I like Roansy 2-start over all of those, particularly over Wright vs SFG and Gore vs PHI. Urias is hitting his stride, but it’s ATL. Kirby @ OAK i like really well, but probably not more than both of Roansy’s.
Thanks for reading and reaching out, Chucky!
I appreciate the rankings, commentary, and young pitcher carving up that strike zone!
Thanks for reading and reaching out, PDX!
Hi Hoove,
Thanks for all your help in picking my staff that includes Mikolas, Pivetta, Spring, Gray, Anderson, ashby and Javier. Well done.
1. Would you start the Brewers ashby at home against the Cards Jack Flaherty ?
2. On Wednesday, would you start the Texas Jeffrey Spring at home against the Phillies Wheeler? i was leaning yes. Thoughts?
3. Would you start the Padres Mike Clevinger at home against the Diamondbacks?
4. The intriguing question would you start Oakland’s Paul Blackburn at home against Cinn’s George kirby?
Thanks for all your hard work and details in your response.
martin
Hey Martin,
I’d start Clev and Blackburn. Ashby/Springs….all my numbers say full speed ahead but man, the Phils are mashing right now, and the Cards are 6th in baseball in OPS vs LHPs. If you’re looking to err on the side of caution, you could sit Springs and Ashby, but I’m kind of a “always play my best pitchers (outside of coors)” guy as well. I suppose without knowing your standings in the ratios and if you’re better served being risk-averse and protecting, or if you’re in a good spot and you should let your good guys shove, it’s harder to recommend them. But I’m certainly not *against* it.
Appreciate you reading and asking, Martin!
thanks for all your efforts and help!!
Ashby on DL today.
Also Kirby on Seatle.
Nooooooooooooo
Just saw the Ashby news. Didn’t find Kirby. Dang! Thanks for sharing, Norman.
Oh I see, you were correcting Martin’s team placement; I thought you meant he was on the IL too. *phew*
i just saw that Aaron Ashby is IL inflammation. ouch!!!
Hey Hoove,
Got a trade offer to send Mcneil for either Gallen or Lynn. I know Gallen is higher here at the moment but which one of those guys would you want? Thanks for your help.
I like the offer you’ve received for either of them. I think I’d prefer Lynn here but I’d sure feel better about it after a successful second start for Lynn coming up.
Thanks Hoove
Appreciate you reading and reaching out!
I skipped this after “Sandy at 26”
Hi Hoove,
Thanks for sharing your touching story. i can remember playing catch with my father! i very much appreciate you reminding me of those precious moments.
i
Just gonna sit here and cry for a while (about the video not the rankings)
The rankings can likely stir up some negative emotions as well
Spencer Strider is the #2 ranked pitcher??
Yes; that’s what my rankings spit out. In my article I said I didn’t want my personal biases to change what my formula gave; I said there were guys I may move around (see: Sandy Alcantara) but if I’m just being really subjective, then what’s the purpose of a formula? I wanted you guys to see what my formula spit out given my inputs, and then if anybody used bias in the rankings it would be *your* personal bias, not mine. I just wanted you to see the rankings based on the six inputs (my personal most important metrics) I used.
I also linked to last week’s column for explanation of my process and rationale.