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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Baseball's Biggest Defensive Improvers
Much has been made about Mike Trout’s improved defense this year. After costing the Angels six runs in center field last season, he’s already saved them seven runs in 2018. That 13-run turnaround is tied for the fourth-largest improvement among players who played at least 500 innings at the same position in both seasons. It’s not [...]
Evaluating the Phillies' Infield Shifts
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 Runs Saved, costing [...]
Who are the movers and shakers among starting pitchers this season?
By Mark SimonFrom 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 to drop [...]
Who was May's best defensive player?
When the Brewers signed center fielder Lorenzo Cain to a five-year, $80 million contract in January, they were hoping they’d get the best version of him. That would be the one who saved an average of 18.5 runs defensively from 2013 to 2016 and had more Range and Positioning Runs Saved than any center fielder [...]
Who is benefiting from pulling fly balls more often?
BY MARK SIMONWe’re in the midst of a fly ball revolution, with more major league hitters taking the approach that it’s best to swing for the fences than play small ball. The past success of players like Daniel Murphy in changing their swing and approach has begotten many followers. One way to look at these changes [...]
Is Robinson Cano Already a Hall of Famer?
The Mariners were dealt two tough blows in a row with Robinson Cano's broken hand and 80 game suspension for masking performance-enhancing drugs. This will break an impressive streak of eleven straight seasons with at least 150 games played for Cano, and the interruption brings with it the opportunity to talk about his career and how his Hall [...]
Hardest Hitting Minor Leaguers According to Synthetic Statcast
Statcast is a really exciting product to have at our fingertips when analyzing players. It has given the public a whole new vocabulary with which we can talk about baseball. How many times did you hear the terms “spin rate,” “exit velocity,” or “launch angle” before a couple years ago? Now these terms are everywhere. The trouble with Statcast is that analysis [...]
Who was April's top defender?
By MARK SIMONOakland Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman is the Sports Info Solutions Defensive Player of the Month for March and April. The selection was made based on voting by a panel comprised of members of SIS' Research & Development department and Operations staff, as well as longtime baseball writer Jayson Stark. We'll be picking a player each month for the [...]
Top 5 QB Prospects: Performance by Throw Location
Here at Sports Info Solutions, we track the direction and throw depth of every throw made at the FBS level, as well whether the ball was catchable or not. A huge conversation this draft season has been about the top five quarterback prospects and how well their true accuracy was represented by their Completion [...]
Pass-Catching Versatility of NFL Draft RB Prospects
As the NFL draft approaches, the versatility of how a running back can be used in the passing game is as relevant as ever. The NFL continues to evolve into more of a passing league, and the pass-catching and route-running abilities of running backs have never been more valuable. This past season featured an explosion [...]