A Simple Example Of Using the New Leaderboards

Picture credit score: © Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Photographs

We at Baseball Prospectus are excited to introduce our new Leaderboards and Participant Playing cards. I, as a baseball researcher, am additionally excited, as a result of the leaderboards give me a possibility to delve into searches I by no means had entry to earlier than.

I’m going to indicate you a easy instance. Juan Soto and Luis Arraez are two of essentially the most singular gamers within the recreation. They’re each Hispanic left-handed batters whose bat is their calling card. They each show regular platoon splits, although Arraez’s is bigger: .823 OPS in opposition to right-handed pitchers, .689 in opposition to lefties. For Soto, it’s .992 in opposition to righties, .861 in opposition to southpaws.

However there’s a giant distinction in what they’re identified for. Soto is alleged to have the sharpest batting eye within the majors. Arraez, who hardly strikes out, has supreme contact expertise. Final 12 months, amongst gamers with at the very least 350 batted balls, Soto’s common exit velocity of 94.2 mph trailed solely Aaron Choose and Shohei Ohtani. Arraez’s 86.3 mph ranked 117th out of 128. Soto walked extra usually than he struck out, 129-119. Arraez virtually made it there, however very in a different way: 24 walks, 29 strikeouts.

That received me considering: How do they do at their singular ability on a platoon foundation? We are able to lookup Soto’s chase fee (O-Swing%, the proportion of instances he swings at pitches outdoors the strike zone) and Arraez’ contact fee (Contact%, the proportion of instances he makes contact when he swings). Or we are able to take a look at their platoon splits, as I did above. However now we are able to do each.

Within the leaderboards, I clicked the bubble within the high row that claims Platoon. Within the second row, I moved the decrease slider on the PA bubble to 150. That offers me platoon splits for all batters with at the very least 150 PA on a aspect of the plate. Lastly, I clicked Plate Self-discipline to get their swing knowledge.

I downloaded the csv and sorted it.

Listed here are the 5 gamers with the bottom chase fee in opposition to RHP final 12 months:

That’s Soto and 4 guys who mixed to hit .197/.308/.312. Chase fee isn’t the whole lot.

And right here’s the 5 with the bottom chase fee in opposition to southpaws.

That’s a extra achieved quintet of hitters. However the identical man’s nonetheless on the high.

As for contact, listed below are the 5 hitters who swung and missed the least in opposition to right-handed pitching.

You simply can’t shake Anthony Rendon.

And listed below are the 5 who made essentially the most contact in opposition to lefties.

Arraez isn’t on the high, however he’s awfully shut.

However perhaps final 12 months’s outcomes are a fluke. Transfer the Season slider to 2022-2024 and we are able to get the three common DH seasons. Listed here are the highest ten seasons for hitters avoiding swinging at pitches thrown by right-handers outdoors the zone.

OK, not a fluke. Soto had the bottom chase fee within the majors yearly.

How about in opposition to same-handed pitchers?

First in 2022 and 2024, third in 2023. Undoubtedly not a fluke.

And Arraez? Listed here are the league leaders in touch fee for the previous three years in opposition to righties.

The Arraez and Kwan present. They’re standouts. However Arraez stands out extra.

In opposition to lefties, although, the record is totally different.

Just one look by Arraez? Did portsiders foil him in 2022 and 2023?

In a means, sure. I famous his platoon splits above. He’s significantly higher when he has the platoon benefit. In recognition of this, he received solely 138 plate appearances in opposition to left-handed pitchers in 2023 and 124 in 2022, lacking my 150 plate look cutoff. (Mike Shildt gave him 204 final season.)

So if I cut back the cutoff to 120 plate appearances within the PA slider the record modifications.

Arraez’ 2023 season, with an 87.4% contact fee, charges twenty eighth amongst 523 batters who confronted left-handed hitters at the very least 120 instances.

By combining splits, we are able to definitively say that Soto is the least chase-prone hitter in opposition to each lefties and righties. Arraez is supreme at contact whatever the handedness of the man on the mound. Their 2024 seasons weren’t one-offs.

Equally, the brand new leaderboards—and the same instruments on participant playing cards—can reply many questions that have been beforehand unanswerable. Which crew had the very best dwelling and street OPS in a month final 12 months? On the Hitting leaderboard, click on Group, Month, and House/Away and unclick Participant within the high row of bubbles, and click on OPS to kind, and also you’ll see the Twins had a .948 OPS at dwelling in June and the Mets’ was .894 on the street the identical month.

Which AAA pitcher had the very best groundball fee from August to the tip of final season (minimal 20 IP)? Modify the Date, Stage, and IP bubbles within the second row of the Pitching leaderboard and also you’ll see two-thirds of Scott Effross’ balls in play have been worm-killers.

You most likely know Chandler Simpson stole 104 bases final 12 months, essentially the most in organized ball in 2024, however are you aware who have been second and third? Choose All from the decrease Stage bubble on the Hitting tab. Since it is a counting stat, you’ll wish to change the decrease restrict on the PA slider to 1. Click on the SB column to get all gamers ranked. You’ll get Enrique Bradfield Jr. with 74 and Justin Dean with 68. And you may break it down much more: Click on the Stage and Group bubbles on the high and the highest 5 by degree are Simpson with 73 at AA Montgomery, De La Cruz with 67, Yhoswar Garcia with 65 at A Carolina, Caleb Ketchup with 62 at Excessive-A Tri-Cities, and Seth Stephenson with 60 at Excessive-A West Michigan. And you may customise splits on the participant playing cards that can assist you analysis gamers to choose up in your fantasy crew.

I might go on, however it’s best to check out these highly effective new instruments for your self. Have enjoyable. I actually will.