Sports Info Solutions
Category: Baseball
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Stat of the Week: Evaluating the Phillies’ infield shifts
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By ANDREW KYNE Jake Arrieta’s recent comments called attention to the Philadelphia Phillies’ infield shifts. The veteran right-hander complained that his team is “the worst in the league with shifts,” and by our Shift Runs Saved metric at Sports Info Solutions, he is indeed correct. The Phillies rank last in Major League Baseball in Shift…
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Matthew Boyd turns back the clock
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BY COREY FISHMAN In 2015, Matthew Boyd was acquired by the Detroit Tigers in a trade that ultimately sent David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays. That same season Boyd won the MiLB.com Fans’ Choice Award for best starting pitcher in the minor leagues and he was also selected to be a Double-A All Star…
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Why does Brett Gardner lead outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved?
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By MARK SIMON Age is no hindrance to 34-year-old New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner. He currently leads all outfielders with 14 Defensive Runs Saved this season, if you combine his work in center field and left field. This is nothing new for Gardner, who saved 20 runs defensively in 2017, his third season with…
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Stat of the Week: Who’s moving up and down the Starting Pitcher rankings?
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By Mark Simon From May 2013 through the end of the 2016 season, Clayton Kershaw almost always reigned supreme in The Bill James World’s Best Starting Pitcher Rankings, a measure based on the Game Score metric and a pitcher’s sustained excellence over a lengthy body of work. But Kershaw’s recent injury history has caused him…
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Bryce Harper’s batting average vexed by infield shifts.
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BY MARK SIMON Bryce Harper is having a very Bryce Harper-like season in a couple of regards. He has an NL-leading 18 home runs and 47 walks, to go with 40 RBI. So why is he hitting only .232? Some of that has to do with his performance against defensive shifts. Harper is seeing more…
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2018 MLB mock draft
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From SPORTS INFO SOLUTIONS VIDEO SCOUTS Last week, Sports Info Solutions’ video scouts conducted a mock MLB Draft. Our video scouts regularly watch college baseball, so for each collegiate player, we offered a detailed assessment of his skills, with help from Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, Fangraphs and other resources. 1. Detroit Tigers: Casey Mize, RHP,…
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Jeremy Hellickson’s start keyed by curveball
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BY SPENCER HARRISON Before Jeremy Hellickson made his 2010 debut with the Tampa Bay Rays, he was considered one of MLB’s most promising pitching prospects. Through his first two full seasons he looked every bit the part, stringing together consecutive seasons of 2.95 ERA and 3.10 ERA pitching in 2011 and 2012, albeit with some…
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Kole Calhoun can’t beat the shift, but his glove is doing many good things
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BY LINDSAY ZECK Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun has had one of the most unusual seasons of any player in 2018. His offensive performance has been well below his usual standards, but his defense is keeping him afloat. The hitting Of all the qualified batters in the game, Calhoun ranks last in batting average (.151)…
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A closer look at the Mets catching situation
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BY SEAN ZERILLO In 16 games with the New York Mets since being traded for Matt Harvey, Devin Mesoraco has provided a big power boost for his new club – hitting five homers with a .913 OPS over 50 at bats. He has channeled his 2014 All-Star form when he hit 25 doubles and 25…
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Which infielders are best at making the toss-up plays?
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BY HARRIS YUDIN Since the start of the 2017 season, 325 infielders have been the primary fielder on a ball in play with a Sports Info Solutions Defensive Difficulty rating of 3 (1-5 scale). In this piece, we will identify the best and worst at each infield position at converting such plays. A play with…