Rockies pitchers are doing the little things needed to win ballgames

Pitching is both an imperfect art and science. Even the best pitchers of all time haven’t quite mastered the craft. All a pitcher can do is work with what they have. And they do just that—all the time.

MLB Pitchers of today spend countless hours gaining a feel for their pitches, working out the necessary muscles attributed to effective velocity, reviewing video of upcoming competitors, and much more we can’t even begin to imagine. They dedicate so much time to something they will likely never master, forgetting that their responsibilities encompass more than just pitching. Pitchers are ballplayers and need to allot some time to aspects of their game beyond the scope of the pitcher/batter interaction.

While watching the Rockies in 2017, it’s clear that some pitchers on the roster understand that their overall performance isn’t just a product of working through a game plan and executing. It’s about working on the little things that help a team win, regardless of position. These are their stories *cues Law & Order intro*:

Now batting, Kyle Freeland

In 2017, MLB pitchers have a wRC+ of -14. A position player with such a value (or lack thereof) wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near another Major League field. But that doesn’t justify the pitcher’s spot being an automatic out every time through the order.

The Rockies rank tenth in the NL with wRC+ of -27. At the bottom, we find the Atlanta Braves staff at -56. At this point in the season, such a difference is likely negligible. The Rockies would probably be hanging around the Braves in this category if it weren’t for Kyle Freeland on Sunday.

Freeland is currently sporting a wRC+ of 102. For pitchers with at least 10 PA’s, that ranks fifth. Through 18 plate appearances in Freeland’s young career, he has produced above the league average offensively. Sample size be damned, that’s impressive.

Is it sustainable? Well, since we really can’t trust the numbers all that much, video seems like the best option. As Jack Corrigan mentioned in the video above, this wasn’t even Freeland’s first extra-base hit of the day. So I went and decided to watch for similarities.

On his double, Freeland showed bunt but pulled back in time to rope a double to the opposite field. It’s awesome to see Freeland being able to spray the ball anywhere, and it even appears he produces enough bat speed to drive the ball.

But between Freeland’s two extra-base hits on Sunday, and all of his others thus far, there was one clear trend showing. Every solid hack Freeland made was on pitches in the zone. He’s just waiting for pitchers to accidentally leave one up there. Freeland has already figured out how to feast on mistakes of his MLB counterparts.

This is surprisingly one of the least exploited inefficiencies of the market today. NL teams are not making a point of acquiring pitchers who are at least competent with a bat in their hands. While sustaining Freeland’s current rate of offensive output is unlikely, it is officially comforting to know that the Rockies have nine hitters in a lineup every fifth day. Most other NL opponents are not afforded such a luxury.

Tyler Chatwood as Mike Leake Lite

Tyler Chatwood’s job does not end when he releases the ball. After all, Chatwood’s 2017 K/9 is 6.96. That’s usually considered pretty low, but that’s actually on pace for a career high.

A number of teams have adopted some variation of a ground-ball pitching philosophy. The Cubs, Pirates, Rangers, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Marlins, Twins, and Orioles all come to mind. Most of these teams have doubled-down on this strategy by placing greater emphasis on infield defense and have increased their propensity to shift these infielders in recent years.

Rockies pitchers are currently tied for fifth in the MLB with three defensive runs saved (DRS). But at this point in the season, most individual pitchers carry a DRS of 0. Team aggregates are essentially results of pitchers who represent the extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of defense.

For example, St. Louis Cardinals pitchers lead the MLB with a whopping ten DRS, largely due to the influence of Mike Leake. I’m still waiting for Leake to win a Gold Glove, as this is pretty standard for him. Dallas Keuchel, who leads all MLB pitchers with five DRS, makes up much of the calculation for Houston’s nine DRS. That’s second in the MLB to the Cards.

Likewise, Rockies pitchers would not have a positive DRS value if it weren’t for Tyler Chatwood, who joins Keuchel and Leake as one of the five MLB pitchers with at least 4 DRS. Take out Chatwood and Rusin, and Rockies pitchers are bottom five in the league with a DRS of -5.

Hopefully, the young ground ball specialists on staff in Freeland and Senzatela are watching closely, because their development in this aspect may be crucial to their future success.

Catchers Don’t Deserve All the Credit

RJ Anderson, previously of Baseball Prospectus (now CBS Sports), claimed that an ideal time from the stretch to the plate for an average MLB pitcher is 1.3 seconds. So when it became publicized that Noah Syndergaard struggles to control the running game,  Eno Sarris of Fangraphs took out his stopwatch to try and explain. Sure enough, Syndergaard was taking 1.6-1.7 seconds to the plate.

I decided to perform the same exercises for Rockies starting pitchers with runners on. I did not find a single laggard. Gray, Anderson, Chatwood, Senzatela, Freeland, Marquez, and Hoffman all seem to have this concept down to a tee. That is why Adam Ottavino is the only member of the staff with a negative rSB value.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bud Black decided to place a focus on this during Spring Training. But the more likely explanation is a byproduct of the simple, repeatable delivery each one of these pitchers has worked on for years. Not only are they tailor made for pitching at the highest level, but for overall performance at the highest level.

Whether or not this represents some form of organizational philosophy remains to be seen, but it’s a credit to this pitching staff for taking the time to fine-tune the less heralded parts of the game.

While it may not always be accounted for in player valuation or player evaluation, there is value in players doing the little things right, and working hard to ensure they continue to triumph over these finer details. It should not be overlooked, just as every single inch in a football game.

Hey, Al Pacino! What happens when you add up all those inches?

That’s right, you NSFW bastard! It has made the difference between winning and losing for the Rockies several times so far in 2017. What makes it even better is the confidence that this will only continue.