MLB Daily Notes: Thursday, April 21
Should I just make these notes all about Shohei Ohtani? My man beat the Astros practically all by himself last night.
Here’s his screenshot from the SP Roundup file, which premium members here have daily access to:
A loony-tunes 47% CSW% overall and a 66% mark on the slider. Nobody even put the slider in play until the fifth inning, and nobody came close to hitting a ball hard off of him.
It was the second-best start of the year for a starting pitcher, based on the JA scoring s system.
1. Clayton Kershaw 4/13: 109.5 JA points
2. Shohei Ohtani 4/20: 100.0 JA points
3. Carlos Rodon 4/9: 94.0 JA points
4. Justin Verlander 4/16: 89.75 JA points
5. Jesus Luzardo 4/12: 86.5 JA points
And on top of that, he walked, singled, doubled, and drove in two runs at the dish. So special to watch.
Player Spotlight - Christian Walker
Going to throw these in every once in a while when I see something interesting in the numbers. Everything has been awful for the Diamondbacks early on this year, but they really busted out yesterday and Christian Walker was a big part of it.
For the year, his line is just .132/.267/.316, and he was awful last season. That is sure to have nobody caring about him.
BUT WAIT, he’s the #18 hitter on the JA ranks? What’s going on here!
What we see beneath the hood is a 17.2% barrel rate, a 20% K%, a 16% BB%, a 78% contact%, a low 31% GB%, and a 12.5% Swing Success Rate. That swing success rate is a measure of how often their swings result in optimal contact, and Walker leads the league in the metric right now.
He has hit nine balls that have qualified as barrels or “solid” - the next-best thing, and SEVEN of them have gone for outs
He’s been mashing the ball, walking a ton, and not striking out much. You should consider adding him if you’re in need of a first baseman.
CSW% Leaders - Yesterday
1. Shohei Ohtani (LAA): 24.7 SwStr%, 46.9 CSW%
2. Merrill Kelly (ARI): 13.8 SwStr%, 38.8 CSW%
3. Brandon Woodruff (MIL): 18.9 SwStr%, 36.8 CSW%
4. Chris Paddack (MIN): 14.1 SwStr%, 35.2 CSW%
5. Shane Bieber (CLE): 19.8 SwStr%, 34.9 CSW%
6. Carlos Rodon (SF): 20.0 SwStr%, 33.7 CSW%
7. Chris Bassitt (NYM): 15.5 SwStr%, 33.0 CSW%
8. Jimmy Lambert (CWS): 11.0 SwStr%, 32.9 CSW%
9. Nick Pivetta (BOS): 12.6 SwStr%, 32.6 CSW%
10. Mitch Keller (PIT): 14.7 SwStr%, 32.0 CSW%
Top Pitcher JA Scores - Yesterday
1. Shohei Ohtani - 6.0 IP - 100.0 JA Points
2. Carlos Rodon - 5.0 IP - 69.75 JA Points
3. Brandon Woodruff - 6.0 IP - 66.75 JA Points
4. Shane Bieber - 5.67 IP - 61.0 JA Points
5. Chris Paddack - 5.0 IP - 60.25 JA Points
6. Daulton Jefferies - 5.67 IP - 59.5 JA Points
7. Sandy Alcantara - 8.0 IP - 58.5 JA Points
8. Chris Bassitt - 5.67 IP - 58.25 JA Points
9. Mitch Keller - 5.33 IP - 58.25 JA Points
10. Zach Eflin - 5.67 IP - 50.5 JA Points
Sneaky good starts from our old friends Paddack & Keller. Worth keeping an eye on for sure.
Pitcher JA Scores - Season
1. Nestor Cortes (NYY) - 2.0 GS - 68.04 JA Points
2. Shohei Ohtani (LAA) - 3.0 GS - 63.31 JA Points
3. Carlos Rodon (SF) - 3.0 GS - 60.66 JA Points
4. Clayton Kershaw (LAD) - 2.0 GS - 59.79 JA Points
5. Shane McClanahan (TB) - 3.0 GS - 57.44 JA Points
6. Kyle Wright (ATL) - 2.0 GS - 55.8 JA Points
7. Kevin Gausman (TOR) - 2.0 GS - 54.96 JA Points
8. Dylan Cease (CWS) - 2.0 GS - 54.14 JA Points
9. Andrew Heaney (LAD) - 2.0 GS - 53.83 JA Points
10. Josh Fleming (TB) - 1.0 GS - 49.0 JA Points
Velo Changes - Yesterday
Logan Gilbert's KC velo (15 pitches) UP 4.8mph to 79.9
Logan Gilbert's SL velo (19 pitches) UP 2.9mph to 86.5
Mitch Keller's SL velo (13 pitches) UP 2.5mph to 88.7
Mitch Keller's FF velo (51 pitches) UP 2.5mph to 96.5
Brandon Woodruff's SL velo (10 pitches) UP 2.2mph to 88.8
Shohei Ohtani's SL velo (35 pitches) UP 2.0mph to 84.5
Dane Dunning's CH velo (24 pitches) DOWN -2.0mph to 82.5
Drew Rasmussen's SL velo (20 pitches) DOWN -2.0mph to 84.3
Chris Paddack's CU velo (18 pitches) DOWN -2.0mph to 76.5
Daulton Jefferies's FC velo (29 pitches) DOWN -2.1mph to 88.5
Erick Fedde's SI velo (24 pitches) DOWN -2.1mph to 91.7
Erick Fedde's CU velo (27 pitches) DOWN -2.3mph to 77.4
Shane Bieber's FF velo (31 pitches) DOWN -2.4mph to 90.2
Cristian Javier's SL velo (21 pitches) DOWN -2.7mph to 78.2
Pitch Mix Changes - Yesterday
Carlos Rodon's FF usage (81.1%) up 14.8 points
Chris Bassitt's SL usage (26.8%) up 16.4 points
Chris Paddack's CU usage (25.4%) up 12.9 points
Corbin Martin's CU usage (24.1%) up 10.6 points
Cristian Javier's SL usage (38.2%) up 10.7 points
Dane Dunning's CH usage (30.4%) up 16.4 points
Daulton Jefferies's FC usage (34.9%) up 20.3 points
Drew Rasmussen's FC usage (34.2%) up 31.3 points
Jimmy Lambert's SL usage (32.9%) up 13.2 points
Jose Berrios's FF usage (40.6%) up 13.6 points
Marcus Stroman's FS usage (27.3%) up 11.0 points
Marcus Stroman's FF usage (14.8%) up 11.6 points
Mitch Keller's FF usage (68.0%) up 11.8 points
Sandy Alcantara's FF usage (37.8%) up 15.3 points
Shane Bieber's SL usage (41.9%) up 15.6 points
Shohei Ohtani's SL usage (43.2%) up 18.0 points
Tony Gonsolin's SL usage (41.0%) up 14.8 points
Triston McKenzie's FF usage (77.5%) up 14.8 points
Zach Eflin's CU usage (25.6%) up 14.5 points
CSW% Leaders - Last 3 Weeks
Shohei Ohtani - 59 TBF, 39.8% CSW%
Shane McClanahan - 59 TBF, 39.1% CSW%
Carlos Rodon - 65 TBF, 36.5% CSW%
Joe Musgrove - 69 TBF, 36.2% CSW%
Corbin Burnes - 71 TBF, 34.8% CSW%
Merrill Kelly - 63 TBF, 33.8% CSW%
Max Scherzer - 69 TBF, 32.4% CSW%
Chris Bassitt - 70 TBF, 32.3% CSW%
Josiah Gray - 58 TBF, 32.1% CSW%
Kyle Hendricks - 65 TBF, 31.9% CSW%
K% Leaders - Last 3 Weeks
Carlos Rodon - 65 TBF, 44.6% K%
Shohei Ohtani - 59 TBF, 44.1% K%
Shane McClanahan - 59 TBF, 40.7% K%
Max Scherzer - 69 TBF, 33.3% K%
Corbin Burnes - 71 TBF, 31.0% K%
Josiah Gray - 58 TBF, 31.0% K%
Joe Musgrove - 69 TBF, 30.4% K%
Nathan Eovaldi - 65 TBF, 29.2% K%
Chris Bassitt - 70 TBF, 28.6% K%
Merrill Kelly - 63 TBF, 28.6% K%
K-BB% Leaders - Last 3 Weeks
Shohei Ohtani - 59 TBF, 37.3% K-BB%
Carlos Rodon - 65 TBF, 35.4% K-BB%
Shane McClanahan - 59 TBF, 32.2% K-BB%
Joe Musgrove - 69 TBF, 29.0% K-BB%
Corbin Burnes - 71 TBF, 25.4% K-BB%
Nathan Eovaldi - 65 TBF, 24.6% K-BB%
Shane Bieber - 58 TBF, 24.1% K-BB%
Max Scherzer - 69 TBF, 23.2% K-BB%
Chris Bassitt - 70 TBF, 22.9% K-BB%
Max Fried - 71 TBF, 22.5% K-BB%
GB% Leaders - Last 3 Weeks
Framber Valdez - 62 TBF, 71.8% GB%
Aaron Nola - 62 TBF, 64.1% GB%
Shane McClanahan - 59 TBF, 62.1% GB%
Logan Webb - 71 TBF, 60.7% GB%
Mitch Keller - 61 TBF, 56.1% GB%
Luis Severino - 56 TBF, 54.1% GB%
German Marquez - 75 TBF, 52.5% GB%
Merrill Kelly - 63 TBF, 52.5% GB%
Tylor Megill - 63 TBF, 52.2% GB%
Kyle Freeland - 68 TBF, 52.0% GB%
Magic Formula Qualifiers - Pitchers - Last 3 Weeks
Alex Cobb - 40 TBF, 35.0 K%, 5.0 BB%, 70.8% GB%
Andrew Heaney - 40 TBF, 40.0 K%, 7.5 BB%, 50.0% GB%
Chris Bassitt - 70 TBF, 28.6 K%, 5.7 BB%, 46.7% GB%
Clay Holmes - 28 TBF, 28.6 K%, 7.1 BB%, 83.3% GB%
Jhoan Duran - 26 TBF, 42.3 K%, 7.7 BB%, 53.8% GB%
Josh Fleming - 45 TBF, 28.9 K%, 4.4 BB%, 66.7% GB%
Keegan Thompson - 34 TBF, 29.4 K%, 5.9 BB%, 61.9% GB%
Kyle Gibson - 69 TBF, 27.5 K%, 7.2 BB%, 51.1% GB%
Kyle Wright - 42 TBF, 35.7 K%, 2.4 BB%, 45.8% GB%
Merrill Kelly - 63 TBF, 28.6 K%, 7.9 BB%, 52.5% GB%
Phillips Valdez - 25 TBF, 36.0 K%, 4.0 BB%, 53.8% GB%
Victor Arano - 25 TBF, 48.0 K%, 0.0 BB%, 61.5% GB%
Multiple Barrels - Yesterday
Daulton Varsho (ARI) 5 PA, 16 Swings, 2 Barrels, 1 HR
Josh Naylor (CLE) 4 PA, 8 Swings, 2 Barrels, 0 HR
Varsho has turned it on lately with a 27% barrel rate and three dingers over his last 26 PA, although the strikeouts have been a problem at 30%.
Top Hitter JA Scores - Yesterday
1. Daulton Varsho - 5.0 PA - 39.75 JA Points
2. Freddie Freeman - 4.0 PA - 37.25 JA Points
3. Abraham Toro - 4.0 PA - 33.5 JA Points
4. Nick Castellanos - 5.0 PA - 32.25 JA Points
5. Jurickson Profar - 4.0 PA - 32.0 JA Points
6. Josh Naylor - 4.0 PA - 26.25 JA Points
7. Dom Nunez - 3.0 PA - 25.75 JA Points
8. Jose Ramirez - 4.0 PA - 25.25 JA Points
9. Andrew Vaughn - 3.0 PA - 24.75 JA Points
10. Johan Camargo - 5.0 PA - 24.25 JA Points
Hitter JA Scores - Season
1. Jose Ramirez (CLE) - 48.0 PA - 129.58 JA Points
2. Nolan Arenado (STL) - 43.0 PA - 91.63 JA Points
3. Seiya Suzuki (CHC) - 44.0 PA - 90.91 JA Points
4. Matt Olson (ATL) - 62.0 PA - 83.87 JA Points
5. Steven Kwan (CLE) - 42.0 PA - 81.9 JA Points
6. Alex Verdugo (BOS) - 45.0 PA - 80.22 JA Points
7. Wander Franco (TB) - 53.0 PA - 77.92 JA Points
8. Juan Soto (WSH) - 62.0 PA - 76.94 JA Points
9. Jurickson Profar (SD) - 49.0 PA - 76.53 JA Points
10. Anthony Rizzo (NYY) - 50.0 PA - 60.2 JA Points
Hardest Hit Balls - Yesterday
Marcell Ozuna (ATL) - 113.9mph - double
C.J. Cron (COL) - 112.4mph - double
Freddie Freeman (LAD) - 112.3mph - home_run
Christian Walker (ARI) - 111.9mph - field_out
Jose Ramirez (CLE) - 111.6mph - home_run
Christian Bethancourt (OAK) - 111.4mph - single
Jean Segura (PHI) - 111.0mph - field_out
Franmil Reyes (CLE) - 110.7mph - single
Brad Miller (TEX) - 110.7mph - field_out
Kyle Schwarber (PHI) - 110.3mph - home_run
Last 3 Weeks - Brl% Leaders
Seiya Suzuki - 44 PA, 21 BIP, 6 Brls, 28.6 Brl%
Giancarlo Stanton - 49 PA, 30 BIP, 8 Brls, 26.7 Brl%
Salvador Perez - 40 PA, 29 BIP, 7 Brls, 24.1 Brl%
Aaron Judge - 50 PA, 30 BIP, 7 Brls, 23.3 Brl%
Eugenio Suarez - 45 PA, 26 BIP, 6 Brls, 23.1 Brl%
Jose Abreu - 41 PA, 26 BIP, 6 Brls, 23.1 Brl%
Patrick Wisdom - 40 PA, 22 BIP, 5 Brls, 22.7 Brl%
Joey Gallo - 39 PA, 18 BIP, 4 Brls, 22.2 Brl%
Jo Adell - 44 PA, 23 BIP, 5 Brls, 21.7 Brl%
Pavin Smith - 39 PA, 24 BIP, 5 Brls, 20.8 Brl%
Last 3 Weeks - Contact% Leaders
Steven Kwan - 42 PA, 63 Swings, 93.7 Cont%
Jose Ramirez - 48 PA, 86 Swings, 90.7 Cont%
Alejandro Kirk - 39 PA, 55 Swings, 89.1 Cont%
Amed Rosario - 47 PA, 80 Swings, 88.8 Cont%
Yandy Diaz - 43 PA, 70 Swings, 88.6 Cont%
Myles Straw - 53 PA, 75 Swings, 88.0 Cont%
Jeff McNeil - 47 PA, 89 Swings, 87.6 Cont%
Nick Madrigal - 41 PA, 63 Swings, 87.3 Cont%
Austin Meadows - 39 PA, 53 Swings, 86.8 Cont%
Ke'Bryan Hayes - 45 PA, 81 Swings, 86.4 Cont%
Magic Formula Qualifiers - Hitters - Last 3 Weeks
Anthony Rizzo - 50 PA, 14.0 K%, 18.8 Brl%
Brandon Crawford - 43 PA, 18.6 K%, 15.2 Brl%
Christian Walker - 45 PA, 20.0 K%, 17.2 Brl%
Jose Ramirez - 48 PA, 4.2 K%, 17.1 Brl%
Luis Robert - 41 PA, 12.2 K%, 14.3 Brl%
Marcell Ozuna - 58 PA, 13.8 K%, 16.7 Brl%
Mike Yastrzemski - 40 PA, 17.5 K%, 14.3 Brl%
Nick Castellanos - 55 PA, 20.0 K%, 15.8 Brl%
Nolan Arenado - 43 PA, 16.3 K%, 16.1 Brl%
Rowdy Tellez - 40 PA, 17.5 K%, 16.7 Brl%
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