SPECULATOR: Change Score risers, 2022
May 18 2022
A core tenet of player evaluation here at BaseballHQ is to ignore the surface-level stats and focus on skills instead. But at this early stage of the season, how do we know which changes in SKILLS might be more likely to stick around all year, and which ones are just variance after a handful of starts?
Tracking pitch-level data (usage, velocity, whiff rates) with Statcast is increasingly becoming a go-to in our quest to jump on breakout seasons, as someone showing a change in skill AND a change in approach has a better chance to stick all season.
The approach worked wonders for us last season—picking up on early breakouts from Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Joe Musgrove, Freddy Peralta, and more—so this week, we'll revisit Change...
Almost!
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