Ubaldo's Future
The biggest issue for the Rockies young pitchers this year has been the problem of throwing strikes. One of the stats that tracks this is K/BB which represents strikeouts versus walks. For instance if a pitcher throws 100 K’s against 50 walks they would be at a 2.0 K/BB. Johan Santana is one of the elite at this ratio, his K/BB this year is 4.0, so he strikes out four times as many batters as he walks.
Can you guess which of these stat lines belongs to a Rockies pitcher?
K/BB_____ERA______W-L
1.68……….4.02……….9-10
1.76……….3.42……….12-13
1.50……….4.50……….10-13
Actually none of them do, they belong to Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson after each respective pitcher's third season in the Bigs. Here is a breakdown comparison with Ubaldo Jiminez’s stats alongside:
Player _______K/BB_____ERA______W-L_______IP_____ER
Koufax…..…….1.68……….4.02……….9-10.……..203.5……….91
Ryan……….….1.76……….3.42……….12-13…….226.1……….86
Johnson………1.50……….4.50……….10-13...….186.2……….93
Ubaldo…….…..1.60……….4.63……….5-7……….130.1……….67
My dad is a big Sandy Koufax fan and I was working on a birthday present for him when I realized that Koufax and Uball’s stats were nearly identical at this stage of their career. So I looked up some other hard throwers as comparison. This table shows that Uball’s walks to K’s were nearly identical to Koufax’s, and even better than the Big Unit’s numbers during the same point of the players development. I think it shows that Uball’s struggles are typical for a pitcher of his genetic makeup and given time he will probably develop into an amazing pitcher.
An interesting thing to watch is Uball’s progression as he is nearing his 25th start. These other pitchers have shown some amazing development right around the 30-45 start range. With most of them showing a significant drop in ERA around that time. Randy Johnson threw his first complete game no hitter during start number 44. However most of these pitchers did not develop a lower walk to K ratio until start 75. Unit’s did not significantly decrease until start 130.
For a glimpse into the crystal ball let’s look at where the other three pitchers finished their careers. Or in Randy’s case through 2007. Uball showed the ability to bounce back in his last game after giving up three runs in one inning, and relied on his curveball to induce groundballs, as well as establishing another out pitch. I look forward to watching him this season and hopefully he continues to progress towards these numbers:
Player _______K/BB_____ERA______W-L
Koufax……….2.93……….2.76……….165-87
Ryan………….2.04……….3.19……….324-292
Johnson………3.24……….3.22……….284-150
Eat. Drink. Be Merry. But the above FanPost does not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or views of Purple Row's staff.
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Comments
Interesting
Good stat work there Charlie. Let’s hope he continues to develop his control, particularly with some traffic…
by Rox R Champs on May 13, 2008 1:15 PM MDT 0 recs
Trade you?
Eric Byrnes for U-Ball?
Max Scherzer is all out of bubblegum.
by DbacksSkins on May 14, 2008 1:49 PM MDT 0 recs
Probably not
We don’t like to boo our own players…
by Rox R Champs on
May 14, 2008 2:07 PM MDT
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We'd consider
Scherzer for U-Ball
Every day is a Holliday!
by free7694 on
May 14, 2008 2:19 PM MDT
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We wouldn't.
Then again, his agent IS Scott Boras….
Max Scherzer is all out of bubblegum.
by DbacksSkins on
May 14, 2008 3:17 PM MDT
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um...
never mind then
WHAT THE (expletive deleted) IS GOING ON WITH THIS TEAM? YOU ARE THE NATIONAL (expletive deleted) LEAGUE (expletive deleted) CHAMPIONS, START PLAYING LIKE IT!!! WE NOW ARE IN LAST PLACE WITH THE WORST (expletive deleted) RECORD IN THE LEAGUE! THAT IS UNAC-(expletive deleted)-CEPTABLE!! YOU GUYS HAD BETTER SIT DOWN AND TAKE A LONG LOOK AT YOUSELVES AND FIGURE OUT WHAT THE (expletive deleted) IS GOING ON BECAUSE THIS TEAM IS TO (expletive deleted) GOOD TO BE PLAYING THIS (expletive deleted)! NOW, I’LL BE IN MY OFFICE IF ANYBODY FIGURES ANYTHING OUT. (SLAMS OFFICE DOOR) courtesy of free7694
by Redhawk on
May 14, 2008 4:49 PM MDT
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Tell you what.
Right before he’s due to hit free agency, we’ll give him to you at the trade deadline at a discount. Just 3 or 4 A+ pitching and hitting prospects. Sound good?
Max Scherzer is all out of bubblegum.
by DbacksSkins on
May 14, 2008 5:06 PM MDT
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Yeah right..
That would be like trading Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi.
There's only one Rocktober!!
by Charlie77 on
May 14, 2008 5:06 PM MDT
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