There are articles on pitching grips, and then there’s Eno Sarris and his articles on pitching grips. Read up, if you wish, about the Mets’ pitching studs and their sliders. Sarris is the reason I got into pitching and grips for pitches in the first place, or writing about baseball for that matter. With that in mind, here is the Streaming Pitchers: 7/11/2015 report.
Mat Latos RHP MIA (vs. CIN)
If you look at his full season stats, you might wonder why the ERA for Mat Latos is so high. He’s struck guys out at a decent clip (8.00 K/9) and doesn’t walk too many (2.87 BB/9). What one might miss looking at those stats is that his percentage of runners left on base at the end of an inning (called LOB%) is at an incredibly low 63.2%, where the average for the season for all pitchers stands at 73.3%. He’s had more runners score than an average pitcher would, which has inflated his ERA total to what it is now. He injured his knee through the roughest of this stretch on May 21st, but came back June 13th. Since then, he’s had five starts with a 2-2 record and an ERA of 3.31. More importantly, he’s struck out 8.54 per nine innings since that time while walking just 2.20 per nine. His FIP and xFIP stand at 3.60 and 3.41 respectively, which show that the 3.31 ERA may not be as much of a mirage as you might think. He gets the Reds in his next start, and outside of Joey Votto and Todd Frazier, the team hits pretty poorly. Overall they hit at an 86 wRC+ on the road and a 97 wRC+ against righties. Latos will pitch well here, and if Latos can get a few runs of support from his offense, he might even be able to get the win.
Ryan Vogelsong RHP SFG (vs. PHI)
Righty Versus the Phillies Alert!!! Vogelsong hasn’t been the best pitcher all season, but since May 5th, he’s been pretty solid, with a 2.67 ERA and a 3.69 FIP. The FIP may not be the best, but he’s certainly usable in home starts against inferior opponents. And just in the nick of time, here come the Phillies. They sport an 83 wRC+ on the road and a 79 wRC+ against righties. Give Vogelsong a chance here and reap the rewards.
Good luck and happy streaming!
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