The Braves did not appear to be missing out on any beats on Friday night, as they emerged from 2 consecutive off days (one set up, one due to rain) to deliver an exemplary beatdown on an elite-to-date Aaron Nola and the Phillies. Theyll attempt to keep it going in what seems like an appropriately-oddball match for whats been an unusual season to date.
In those four starts, Wheeler has actually struck out simply 12 batters, showing a strikeout rate thats been pretty much halved relative to his previous efficiency. Wheeler looks to have actually made it his individual mission to include more ball-in-play action into baseball: of all the pitchers to have actually tossed 20 or more innings, he has the lowest three-true-outcome percentage (i.e., percent of PAs that end in a homer, strikeout, or walk ) in baseball, at just 13 percent.
Lets begin with Robbie Erlin, whos gone from leaving from the Padres, to being waived by the Pirates, to providing up a grand slam on his first pitch as a Brave, to apparently a rotation component in Atlantas decimated rotation. Erlins first start, which came Sunday in Miami, was about as much as you might expect from the 29-year-old lefthander: 4 innings of one-hit, zero-walk, zero-run ball. It was likewise extremely strange for one particular reason: while Erlin hasnt been specifically a “groundball pitcher” in his profession, hes still gotten the ball to the infield at basically a league-average rate. Yet, in his four innings versus the Marlins, he got a grand total of absolutely no wormkillers, The least expensive launch angle against him on a ball in play that day was 14 degrees, and the average was 43.5 degrees. No starter so far this season has quit 8 or more balls in play in an outing with a higher typical launch angle, though Lance Lynn has come very close. That most likely wont take place once again, but it was appropriately odd for 2020.
Game Info.
Speaking of weird, lets go on to the genuine meat of this matchup in that regard: the Phillies big offseason acquisition, Zack Wheeler. Signed to five-year, $118 million deal in the offseson, Wheelers topline statistics through 4 starts look fine if not downright pleasing for his new companies: 62 ERA- (yay), 77 FIP- (yay), 99 xFIP- (maybe a small bit little frustrating, however in line with a 97 career mark and its just been 4 starts).
Anyhow, the Phillies probably cant grumble about this excessive, as theyve won 3 of Wheelers 4 starts. Stay tuned, and well discover together whether Erlin can keep up what he did versus the Marlins (both in regards to no grounders, and in regards to no runs), and whether Wheeler will keep up whatever ball-in-play magnetism hes shown up until now.
None of this is regular for Wheeler– that hasnt been who he is. Aside from a five-start stretch with 14 strikeouts in August-September 2019, hes just tallied 12 strikeouts or fewer in a four-start stretch twice, both coming all the way back in 2013. Even weirder is that his plate discipline statistics are generally the same in 2020. Relative to 2019, the only plate discipline metrics for Wheeler in 2020 that arent even within a percent of his prior mark are z-swing (up by almost three percent), o-contact (up by just over 3 percent), and total contact (up by around 2 percent). The zone rates and whiff rates are basically the very same. (Note that under various strike zone formulations, e.g., Statcasts versus the BIS one, this isnt always the case, but its still odd.).
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies tried to strengthen their relief corps yesterday, obtaining former Brave David Hale from the Yankees, in addition to Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from the Red Sox. Both Hale and Workman were really good last year (Workman was elite), while Hembree is more of a last-roster-spot person. Well see if it makes a difference for a relief corps thats been quite bad, but looks much worse due to luck and random variation.
7:10 pm EDT, August 22, 2020.
Truist Park (sigh), Atlanta, GA
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM, WNNX 100.5, Braves Radio Network.
XM Radio: XM 186 (Streaming 841).
Relative to 2019, the only plate discipline metrics for Wheeler in 2020 that arent even within a percent of his previous mark are z-swing (up by nearly three percent), o-contact (up by simply over 3 percent), and overall contact (up by around two percent). In every game featuring Zack Wheeler, I am obliged to mention that the Giants as soon as traded him for half a season of Carlos Beltran in a season in which they didnt even make the playoffs.
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Speaking of odd, lets go on to the real meat of this match in that regard: the Phillies huge offseason acquisition, Zack Wheeler. Signed to five-year, $118 million deal in the offseson, Wheelers topline stats through four starts look fine if not downright pleasing for his new employers: 62 ERA- (yay), 77 FIP- (yay), 99 xFIP- (perhaps a tiny bit little frustrating, however in line with a 97 profession mark and its only been 4 starts).
P.S. In every game featuring Zack Wheeler, I am bound to discuss that the Giants once traded him for half a season of Carlos Beltran in a season in which they didnt even make the playoffs. Lets all point and laugh at the Giants.
Wheeler looks to have actually made it his personal mission to include more ball-in-play action into baseball: of all the pitchers to have actually tossed 20 or more innings, he has the most affordable three-true-outcome percentage (i.e., percent of PAs that end in a homer, strikeout, or walk ) in baseball, at just 13 percent.
