Who's the Best?

Full disclosure: Mark asked me to write earlier this year, but the strike, errr… lockout came and I might have used it as an excuse to not get going with it. That and I find it very comfortable to read Mark’s take in the morning and use my time writing as a warm-up to get my brain going in the morning. I don’t put much thought into my posts. My fingers just start moving and there I go.

I’m very comfortable contributing in that manner. It’s out of my comfort zone to pick a subject, write it out, format it, add some graphics and links and quotes, and all the good stuff that Mark and OldBear do to put a product on the site for everyone to consume.

I said something to Mark the other day about making sacrifices for other people, so I’m gonna back up what I said and take a little pressure off Mark driving the offense, like Mookie, out of the leadoff spot. I probably won’t be a Trea or a Freddie, but hopefully, I’ll put up at least Belli numbers on this site and occasionally hit one out or at least sacrifice one home. I doubt I’ll K as much. So here goes.

Intro

I make the most out of my time talking people off the ledge or adding insight on why some stats are “unreliable” as I like to put it. A stat is unreliable because it can’t do what it’s supposed to do and that is to tell you if a player is any good. Talking people off the ledge is a specialty of mine because I don’t think everyone puts a lot of time to look around the league to compare our players against their peers. It’s also unfathomable to think you can build a team with all-stars at every position or a team that doesn’t get injured. I like to think outside the box by testing to see if a narrative is merit-based. In general, I question everything I read and if I think something doesn’t look right, I research to see if what I’m seeing is true and to what degree. After all, like building an all-star lineup, having every position in a particular publication to be true, without bias or influence is a lot to ask of any human.

Is Tony Gonsolin the Best Pitcher in Baseball?

Tony G, or “The Cat Man” is one of my favorite players on a team full of favorite players. He meets a lot of checkboxes for me. Yes, he’s from California, but unfortunately, he’s from Northern California. He’s from Vacaville which is one of my Wife’s old stomping grounds as she spent her formidable High School years in Napa, just 26 miles from Vacaville. He played college ball at St. Mary’s which is my niece’s alma mater. Another checkbox, I suppose. I have an affinity for players that went to schools that friends or family went to.

I followed him pretty closely through his fairly quick rise through the minors (less than 3 years) and rumors of a 98 mph fastball (another checkbox) got me really excited. He had great K rates, just about 11 per 9 checking yet another box. In that 2019 season, a little shy of his third year in the minors he was really good, with a sub 3.00 ERA. I’m not sure if I ever saw that 98 MPH heater, but I fell in love with the splitter!

So, here we are today and he’s got a perfect winning percentage and a league-leading ERA and WHIP and very stingy league-leading hits per 9 at just 4.8! Those are very lofty results after just about halfway through the season. He’s just one of 3 qualified pitchers to have a sub-2.00 ERA so far this season. But, out of those three, he also has the least amount of innings pitched and strikeouts.

Justin Verlander’s ERA is just above the 2.0 mark and almost half a run more than Tony’s but has thrown just over 16 more innings in the same number of games. His strikeout numbers have taken a bit of a hit with just an 8.3 K rate per nine. He’s still averaging 94.9 MPH on the 4 seam which is actually a tick or so up from his last Cy Young season when it was 94.6. Most likely the K rate has something to do with the diminished spin rate, or maybe he’s just deciding to get quicker outs with fewer pitches. Time will tell.

The Marlin’s Sandy Alcantara is a current member of the sub 2.00 club and has pitched a whopping 115 innings across 16 starts. He also has 2 complete game shutouts to his credit. He’s doing it much like Verlander and Gonsolin with just 7.6 K’s per nine. He’s getting a ton of weak contact mostly on his two fastballs, a 4-seamer that averages 97.7 MPH that he couples with a 2-seamer at 97.5. Most of his K’s come with a change and slider and he throws all of his pitches pretty evenly.

While 3 out of the top 4 ERA leaders are getting it done with less than 9 K’s per nine. The 4th, Shane McClanahan of the Rays, is doing it with 12.2 K’s per nine! He’s leading MLB in K’s and WHIP and has a ridiculous 7.82 SO/W ratio. He’s second in MLB in ERA, sitting at 1.74.

The Verdict

We touched on many different stats here. WHIP, ERA, K’s, etc. You can’t just pick one and say he’s the best, at least I can’t. That’s not what I do. I have a good idea of which pitcher is the most dominant of the three. That’s Shane McClanahan. He just gets so many K’s on his fastball, curveball, and changeup and he walks practically no one. But, is he the best pitcher? To me, wins mean a lot. After all, if your team wins the games that you start, you’re getting the job done. Tony and Verlander are tied for the league lead with 10 a piece. One more than Shane and two more than Sandy. But, no one rests their bullpen like Sandy Alcantara who averages 7.19 innings per start vs. 5.41 innings for Tony. Resting your pen makes the whole team better so I hold this in high regard.

For me, Justin Verlander is the best pitcher in baseball. He’s got a little higher ERA, but is getting the job done with 10 wins. He’s also got the pedigree and he throws a full inning more per game than Tony. His K rate is a little better and…

Just kidding. Our own Tony G is the best pitcher in baseball right now. The only knock on Tony is that he has a manager with an itchy trigger finger. As long as that splitty is working, it’s the best pitch out of all the guys on that I’ve compared. He leads all of baseball in ERA, WHIP, and hits per 9 which means you just can’t do anything against this guy. His 10-0 record is perfection. This can all change through the course of the season, but no one wants to face Tony G right now.

Cheers! I hope it was everything you imagined it would be.

Future Dodgers Down on the Farm by MT

• Las Vegas Beat OKC 12-4
  • Zach McKinstry was 2-3
  • Mike Busch was 2-4 with his 21st HR and 2 RBI
  • Hunter Feduccia was also 2-4
  • Garrett Cleavinger pitched a perfect 9th inning, striking out the side.
• NW Arkansas Beat Tulsa 7-6 i 10 innings
  • Andy Pages was 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI
  • Leonal Valera was 2-4 (.323 BA)
  • Clayton Beeter went 2.1 Innings: 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – His first 2 innings were clean, and then he ran into problems in the 3rd. I think he belongs in the bullpen along with Landon KNack who has the same issues. Both guys could be awesome relievers.
• Lansing Beat Great Lakes 7-4
  • Eddys Leonard was 2-4 with 2 RBI, including his 8th HR
  • SS Alex De Jesus was1-3 with 2 BB and 2 RBI I (.301, ,886)
• Inland Empire Beat Rancho Cucamonga 4-3
  • Jake Vogel has his BA up to .22 as he went 2-4
  • Damon Keith was 1-3 as he begs for a promotion. (.303, .954)