This is your Cardinals Stats, News, Rumors, and Commentary Roundup for the Morning of July 13, 2021.
A Look at Cardinals Pitchers’ Contact Metrics
Alex Reyes
Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Alex Reyes is 87.1 and the average launch angle is 14.7 degrees. Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 40% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 11% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 30.0% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 16.7% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 4.4% of the time.
Giovanny Gallegos
Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Giovanny Gallegos is 87.9 and the average launch angle is 19.6 degrees. Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 46% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 11% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 33.3% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 16.7% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 11.8% of the time.
Jack Flaherty
Hitters hit 26% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Jack Flaherty is 90.2 and the average launch angle is 15.0 degrees. Hitters hit 26% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 38% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 5% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 32.1% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 15.4% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 8.6% of the time.
Kwang-hyun Kim
Hitters hit 20% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Kwang-hyun Kim is 87.5 and the average launch angle is 9.2 degrees. Hitters hit 20% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 33% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 15% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 29.5% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 20.5% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 5.9% of the time.
John Gant
Hitters hit 27% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off John Gant is 90.5 and the average launch angle is 10.4 degrees. Hitters hit 27% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 28% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 8% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 28.6% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 15.0% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 5.6% of the time.
Adam Wainwright
Hitters hit 26% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Adam Wainwright is 88.7 and the average launch angle is 8.8 degrees. Hitters hit 26% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 28% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 7% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 29.6% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 14.3% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 6.6% of the time.
Andrew Miller
Hitters hit 19% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Andrew Miller is 85.0 and the average launch angle is 10.5 degrees. Hitters hit 19% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 37% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 4% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 34.4% of their contacted balls in play. His high soft hit ball rate (29.5%) this season is a very good sign as he is not attracting strong contact and that means OUTS. How does this translate to hitters and get the ball on the sweet spot of the bat? He yields a barrel rate of 6.6%.
Genesis Cabrera
Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Genesis Cabrera is 90.0 and the average launch angle is 14.8 degrees. Hitters hit 18% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 42% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 12% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 33.6% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 15.0% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 6.5% of the time.
Jake Woodford
Hitters hit 23% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Jake Woodford is 88.3 and the average launch angle is 11.1 degrees. Hitters hit 23% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 32% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 8% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 30.7% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 20.0% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 6.7% of the time.
Seth Elledge
Hitters hit 24% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Seth Elledge is 89.9 and the average launch angle is 13.1 degrees. Hitters hit 24% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 39% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 8% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 30.3% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 18.2% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 9.1% of the time.
Ryan Helsley
Hitters hit 24% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Ryan Helsley is 91.5 and the average launch angle is 11.1 degrees. Hitters hit 24% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 31% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 16% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 30.1% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 19.4% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 8.7% of the time.
Johan Oviedo
Hitters hit 22% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Johan Oviedo is 87.9 and the average launch angle is 8.8 degrees. Hitters hit 22% of their contacted balls in play as ground balls. Hitters hit 32% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 6% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 32.9% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 14.7% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 8.2% of the time.
Jordan Hicks
Hitters hit 12% of their contacted balls in play as line drives. The average exit velocity on all hits off Jordan Hicks is 80.8 and the average launch angle is -4.2 degrees. Sporting an extremely high ground ball rate (71%) this season requires him to have a competent infield defense to get outs. Hitters hit 17% of their contacted balls in play as fly balls and 0% of balls in play are infield fly balls. Hitters hit the ball hard on 20.8% of their contacted balls in play. Balls put in play by hitters were considered soft contact made 20.8% of the time. Hitters are making the swings that hit the sweet spot of the bat 0.0% of the time.
Now onto the News, Rumors, and Commentary…
“As day three of the MLB draft dawns, there will actually be a little real excitement to be had early on, before the draft settles into its final, monotonous form, that of disembodied voices over a conference call announcing, “Redraft, number 550826, such and such player from such and such school,” with the name and often even the school being utterly anonymous to 99% of us, even those who really care about the draft. The Cards too two very exciting players with their first two picks, and one more real shot at upside in the seventh round with a high school pitcher who has a chance to be really good, and there is really no more room in the budget to take any shots, even with the $125K buffer and complete lack of risk the eleventh round and beyond offer. That being said, there are some extremely intriguing players still on the board, should some enterprising team have the budget space to take a run at them. Two of my favourite pitchers in the entire draft are still, in fact, available; Chase Burns, the big high school right-hander from Tennessee with the elite fastball and plus, but still unsettled, curveball, and Gage Jump, the undersized lefty with the elite measurables, are both still on the board.”
“He’s got great stuff, and he’s really competitive.” Round 5, 151st overall: Gordon Graceffo, RHP, Villanova Notable skill: Graceffo was emerging as the Wildcats’ ace before the 2020 season was shut down, but he continued that momentum into 2021. Round 7, 211th overall: Alec Willis, RHP, Regis Jesuit HS Notable skill: Willis is one of those Colorado arms that intrigued a Major League club enough to take them in the Draft out of high school. • 2021 Draft Central Round 3, 90th overall: Austin Love, RHP, North Carolina Fun fact: Love recorded 129 strikeouts in his 2021 season. Austin Love put us on his back and allowed our bullpen to take a bit of a breather, because they had not been able to do so, and I think if you look at his body of work, he has been the overall best pitcher in our league.” Round 4, 120th overall: Zane Mills, RHP, Washington State Notable skill: Mills has the frame and peripherals to be a starter in the pros, but scouts have noted that his pitch mix as it’s currently constructed might look more like that of a ground ball-heavy reliever.”
Above is the summary of: Power-hitters Baez, Holgate taken on Day 2… tap or click to check out the full article.
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