One of the great things about baseball is the use of numbers to define everything within the game. One of the worst things about the game is the use of numbers to define everything about baseball. Sometimes as writers, we tend to get caught up in the stats. I know I can focus on ERA, WHIP, K/9, BB%, FIP, BABIP, LOB%, xFIP, and WAR. That’s a lot to consider just to evaluate one player when all you really need to evaluate a pitcher are two things: movement and location.
When it comes to minor-league talent, I think there’s getting to be an over-evaluation of statistics for players that are developing.