Angels-Relevant Left-Handed Starting Pitching Data

[Richard]

Someone pass this along to Rams2LA so he can include this in his daily written letter to Arte.

[Stradling]

My son, the freshman, needs to read 200 pages a week for English class, I had him read the op, he's good for the week now.

[ukyah]

Robert, I passed this along to Jerry Dipoto. I'm sure he'll dig the research you did. I added that you were a rocket scientist in real life too. lol

 

 

Robert - I passed it onto Santiago (at Chuck's suggestion).  He favored it!  (Twitter talk).

 

Nice job!

 

 

that's what's up. 

 

dude provides some solid info on a forum, and it gets directly delivered to the gm and the pitcher himself. that's what keeps me coming back.

[ettin]

My son, the freshman, needs to read 200 pages a week for English class, I had him read the op, he's good for the week now.

 

Glad I could help Strad.... BTW did you enjoy the pretty pictures?

[Stradling]

Ettin, I will read this on my computer. It's difficult to read on my phone. I love all the stuff you put up here. I learn a ton, I was just giving you a hard time.

[ettin]

Ettin, I will read this on my computer. It's difficult to read on my phone. I love all the stuff you put up here. I learn a ton, I was just giving you a hard time.

 

LOL, I was just joking with you Stradling, thus the smiley face with the tongue sticking out.

[Stradling]

Sorry ettin, being a grown up male means I don't speak emoticon. Haha

[ettin]

So a thought occurred to me that perhaps PITCH f/x is confusing Santiago's slider and curveball so I pulled up the heat maps at FanGraphs:

 

 

Here is the slider:

 

There does appear to be a small difference so I don't think there was any confusion for PITCH f/x. Also it looks like against LHH's, Santiago makes a conscious effort to add a touch more of horizontal plane break and against RHH's he tries to get a touch more vertical plane break in both the curve and slider.

[eligrba]

WOW,

 

Robert, thanks for the analysis.  That was well done.

 

I only hope that the Angel braintrust do their research as well as you did with this one before making trades.

[maximus p]

If this (great) information has to be sent to the FO from an Angel's blog, it makes me wonder why the hell doesn't DiPoto have this information already.  Or maybe he does.  I would expect that in 2013 all FO's would have this on every pitcher in their organization as well as those they are considering trading for.  If not, the OP should send in a resume' ASAP

[Chuck]

If this (great) information has to be sent to the FO from an Angel's blog, it makes me wonder why the hell doesn't DiPoto have this information already.  Or maybe he does.  I would expect that in 2013 all FO's would have this on every pitcher in their organization as well as those they are considering trading for.  If not, the OP should send in a resume' ASAP

 

I'm sure Dipoto has all of this data and more. I sent it to Dipoto more so to compliment the writer, and so he can appreciate the statistical analysis that us fans understand and incorporate into our evaluation of players.

[ettin]

WOW,

 

Robert, thanks for the analysis.  That was well done.

 

I only hope that the Angel braintrust do their research as well as you did with this one before making trades.

 

Thanks Eligrba, I appreciate the compliment!

 

If this (great) information has to be sent to the FO from an Angel's blog, it makes me wonder why the hell doesn't DiPoto have this information already.  Or maybe he does.  I would expect that in 2013 all FO's would have this on every pitcher in their organization as well as those they are considering trading for.  If not, the OP should send in a resume' ASAP

 

As I mentioned in the article I only researched this subject because I wanted to understand why from a sabermetric viewpoint Dipoto and staff made this decision to acquire Santiago and I certainly think his pitch movement was one important factor. The fact that Hector is a lefty and seems to suppress opponent's batting average well are other pluses in his favor. The more I look at this the more pleased I am by the trade. Santiago still has a lot of work to do but the raw talent and pitch quality is there, it is just a matter of incrementally improving his game over time and teasing out that ability.

 

I actually think there are some front offices that still don't actively embrace and use analytic systems, data mining and other scientific-based tools to identify player value. Teams like the Phillies and Mariners would be two that don't seem to use sabermetrics as well as teams like the Rays and Cardinals do for instance.

 

Thanks for the kind words as well maximus, I appreciate it!

Edited December 14, 2013 by ettin

[GregAlso]

Great stuff ettin!! I really enjoyed this piece. There is so much good data out there that just needs competent mining. You brought out some very pertinent info from raw data. Thanks.

[ettin]

Great stuff ettin!! I really enjoyed this piece. There is so much good data out there that just needs competent mining. You brought out some very pertinent info from raw data. Thanks.

 

Thanks Greg!

[Scott34]

Alright, Robert! You made it on MLBTR!

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Price, Davidson, Angels

By Zach Links [December 21 at 2:07pm CST]

On this date in 2009, the Yankees were assessed with a luxury tax of $25.69MM for its spending.  The World Series champion club was the only team to be penalized this year for crossing the salary threshold, as it was in all seven years since the tax was initiated by the collective bargaining agreement in 2002.  Now in 2013, there are multiple clubs paying the luxury tax, headlined by the Dodgers, and the Yankees are working to stay beneath the $189MM threshold.  More from around baseball..

• Rays Colored Glasses wonders if a David Price-Mariners deal could involve a third team.
• Grab Some Bench says the Matt Davidson deal clarifies some roles and muddles others.
• Angels Win breaks down the Halos' lefties.

• You Gotta Like These Kids has some pros and cons on the Mike Morse deal.
• Blue Jays Plus is feeling hopeful.
• Outside Pitch Sports Network spoke with Negro League Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick.
• If I Were A GM caught up with Patrick Schuster.
• i70 Baseball says Jhonny Peralta will be under pressure in St. Louis.
• Konsume weighs in on three big moves by KC.
• Inside The Zona asks if Kevin Towers is going for broke.
• Replacement Level Red Sox goes to bat for Curt Schilling.

[Ordos]

Validation?

[ettin]

Validation?

 

I don't know about that but it is pretty darn cool!

[Chuck]

Article and writer validation!

[rick99gtp]

I stopped reading when I saw the right-handed pitcher image.

 

I'm kidding, of course.  Amazing information you have given us!  These are the kind of posts I love to read...on the toilet!  Can't wait.  Now, gimme some food so I can get to reading.

[Chuck]

I stopped reading when I saw the right-handed pitcher image.

 

I'm kidding, of course.  Amazing information you have given us!  These are the kind of posts I love to read...on the toilet!  Can't wait.  Now, gimme some food so I can get to reading.

 

Editor FAIL (that's on me). Fixed! :-)

[rick99gtp]

Editor FAIL (that's on me). Fixed! :-)

 

It wasn't that important.  haha

[Chuck]

It wasn't that important.  haha

Oh but it is to me!

[Angel Oracle]

Santiago was a swing and miss pitcher in 2013 (nearly 1 K per inning).

What's not to like about that?