MLRanked - Every MLR Pitching Staff #24-21 (2018-19 Edition)
It's that time of the season again! With the All-Star game looming, we have plenty of games to judge each team's rotation and their viability for possible postseason pushes. I will publish a total of 5 articles over the next week counting down to the best pitching staff in the league, trying my best to provide objective and fair assessments of each team. If you disagree you can eat rocks.
Some of the stats of this article will be un-updated for Session 12, as it isn't officially complete. I would like to get ahead of a rather long list, so this is why I am starting now. I will be keeping an eye on the games currently going on to determine my decisions, but their stats won't be at the bottom and they shouldn't make too much of a difference in my opinions.
#24 - New York Mets
2017-18 Ranking: N/A
How the great have fallen. I am not talking about the Mets, of course. Former Pitcher of the Year Cal Tiberius Jr. has found himself clinging to the league by a thread, traded to the Mets after a shoddy stint in Cleveland. The passion for fake baseball seems to have faded, and it's a shame. The pitcher currently sports a 9.82 ERA in 7.1 inning, with a WHIP close to 3.
What pitchers do the Mets have in his stead? Only one. Angel Leon's pitcher's WAR currently sits in the negative, and though his ERA is average, his D/BF is rather poor. He's not suitable to carry the pitching weight of this franchise. The Mets are vocally in a rebuilding phase, and their staff is pretty emblematic of it. Due to sheer lack of depth and the horror story that lies within it, the New York Mets have this season's worst pitching staff.
Angel Leon / Cal Tiberius Jr.
Innings Pitched: 18.1 / 7.1
Earned Runs Allowed: 12 / 12
ERA: 3.93 / 9.82
WHIP: 1.64 / 2.86
Strikeouts: 19 / 7
D/BF: 238.38 / 210.42
pWAR: -0.313 / -0.036
#23 - Milwaukee Brewers
2017-18 Ranking: 18th
Gone are the scary days of searching for arms in the bargain bin for Milwaukee. Or are they? A season after their desperate acquisition of league pariah Sonny Streaker, they are reportedly having troubles retaining Logan Anderson, and could have mounting pitching troubles over the next few sessions. Anderson has been struggling with a 5.09 ERA, while Icna Comit's low D/BF and mediocre strikeout rate aren't enough to keep his 4.39 ERA over 0 in pWAR.
They have a big prospect in Teddy Blisblinne, however, who has shown signs of succeeding Dan Gerzone as Milwaukee's new big ace. He has a long way to go, however, and like Leon cannot carry this pitching staff himself.
Keep in mind Hans Ali has pitching experience, but because he is listed as a PH general manager, he will not be considered a part of the roster and factor into this ranking.
Icna Comit / Logan Anderson / Teddy Blisblinne
Innings Pitched: 13.2 / 15.1 / 21.1
Earned Runs Allowed: 10 / 13 / 11
ERA: 4.39 / 5.09 / 3.09
WHIP: 1.76 / 2.15 / 1.69
Strikeouts: 10 / 11 / 18
D/BF: 228.91 / 230.78 / 246.68
pWAR: -0.364 / 0.495 / 0.306
#22 - San Diego Padres
2017-18 Rankings: 17th
The Padres pitching staff hasn't gotten too much worse since this time last season. Sadly, the rest of the league got better.
Filet-Mignon Jackson has been an underrated arm in the rookie class, probably the best pitcher the Padres have had yet. He single-handedly sets them over the Brewers. Sylvester Cinnamon has declined, meanwhile, with a 5.33 ERA and a WHIP over 2. His 214.68 D/BF is also rather atrocious.
Richard Saks has had an unlucky season, a 5.10 ERA with positive pWAR, likely due to his high strikeout rate. Earned runs are earned runs, and he has 17 in 20 innings pitched. Overall, there's still something here, but with a league that's improved their pitching overall, it is not nearly enough.
Filet Mignon-Jackson / Richard Saks / Sylvester Cinnamon
Innings Pitched: 32.1 / 20.0 / 9.0
Earned Runs Allowed: 20 / 17 / 8
ERA: 3.71 / 5.10 / 5.33
WHIP: 1.24 / 1.55 / 2.00
Strikeouts: 17 / 26 / 4
D/BF: 267.57 / 238.10 / 214.68
pWAR: 0.584 / 0.289 / -0.308
#21 - Los Angeles Dodgers
2017-18 Rankings: 15th
Artie Ziff's strikeout rate has been one of the greater stories in a rather poor Dodgers season. He is the gem of a rotation that falls short without him, either due to poor performance or small sample size.
The former can be used to describe former GM Geno Scaramucci, and in some ways, Ronald Eagle Sr.
Scaramucci sports a 4.82 ERA with a rather low strikeout rating, 3.01 per 6. Eagle's is even worse at 2.81, albeit with a much lower sample size. Half of Scaramucci's 19 hits allowed have also been home runs, bloating his ERA beyond his rather serviceable 1.65 WHIP.
Lefty Louis is the team's fourth pitcher, but with 3.2 innings officially recorded, there isn't much to talk about. It's looking like a good start.
Artie Ziff / Geno Scaramucci / Lefty Louis / Ronald Eagle Sr.
Innings Pitched: 31.0 / 23.2 / 3.2 / 10.2
Earned Runs Allowed: 16 / 19 / 2 / 8
ERA: 3.10 / 4.82 / 3.27 / 4.50
WHIP: 1.06 / 1.65 / 0.82 / 1.69
Strikeouts: 53 / 12 / 3 / 5
D/BF: 253.25 / 237.70 / 290.69 / 219.04
pWAR: 0.595 / -0.336 / 0.002 / -0.007
