CC Sabathia's elite ability to avoid hard contact

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY SportsCC Sabathia hasn't had the smoothest of seasons, but he's found success. The key to productivity, in spite of a lack of overpowering stuff, may come from an elite ability to induce soft contact.

Jered Weaver has a misspelled first name, an 83 mph fastball, and a 5.47 ERA. Among qualified pitchers, he ranks last in DRA and FIP-, and according to Baseball Prospectus, has been worth -5.2 WARP. Unsurprisingly, this is earning the soft-tossing righty plenty of ridicule. Weaver is very likely the worst pitcher in baseball, and you can tell when he takes the mound every fifth day.

Although most of baseball is busy poking fun at Weaver's lifeless repertoire, he deserves…