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Astros Analysis: Examining the unluckiest hitter by xwOBA

One of the key metrics from Statcast that I find particularly interesting is expected weighted on-base average, otherwise known as xwOBA. Per the definition provided by MLB.com, xwOBA is calculated by using launch angles and exit velocity. Essentially, the metric attempts to measure a hitter’s quality of contact.

Craig Edwards of FanGraphs and Jonathan Judge of Baseball Prospectus within the last six months have released helpful studies on the matter, exclusively in how xBA and xwOBA apply to pitchers in Judge’s own analysis. As noted by Edwards, there is still a learning curve on how to properly utilize the stat.