The obvious: The trio of incoming Toronto Blue Jays starters will have to deal with American League DH’s.
How big of an impact will this have? While there have been some historical study’s regarding league switches–Hardball Times 2008–these tend to vary season to season, and suffer from samples issues, etc. And reading about a 3% drop in GB/FB ratio just isn’t as fun as checking out the ridiculous splits.
Format for this post:
- Splits, beginning with vs positional pitcher, then vs non-pitchers; followed by comments
- Percentage of fastballs (or in Dickey’s case, his knuckler) vs pitchers and non-pitchers, followed by comments.
Mark Buehrle
Buehrle | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BAbip |
vs. Pitcher | 61 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 0.06 | 0.078 | 0.06 | 0.138 | 0.088 |
vs. Non-P | 767 | 713 | 194 | 26 | 39 | 109 | 0.272 | 0.311 | 0.439 | 0.75 | 0.287 |
Took care of business; issued only one walk; BABIP non-existent, showcasing weak contact.
Buehrle | FB+Cutter | Total | Percentage |
NP | 1368 | 2878 | 0.47533009 |
Pitcher | 117 | 183 | 0.639344262 |
Large up-tick as expected; lower ‘stress’ with FB/CU; finished PA in 3 pitches vs 3.75 to non-pitchers.
R.A Dickey
Dickey | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BAbip |
vs. Pitcher | 64 | 56 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 0.196 | 0.207 | 0.25 | 0.457 | 0.25 |
vs. Non-P | 863 | 792 | 181 | 23 | 53 | 214 | 0.229 | 0.283 | 0.37 | 0.653 | 0.282 |
Higher than expected BABIP of .250; 1 HR allowed was an 0-2, 380 foot shot to Adam Wainwright; great SO/BB ratio
Dickey | Knuckle | Total | Percentage |
NP | 2772 | 3156 | 0.878326996 |
Pitcher | 130 | 203 | 0.640394089 |
Large up-tick in fastballs to opposing pitchers; pitchers hit .273 on Dickey FB, only .178 on knuckleball
Josh Johnson
Johnson | PA | AB | H | HR | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | BAbip |
vs. Pitcher | 62 | 55 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 0.073 | 0.103 | 0.109 | 0.213 | 0.108 |
vs. Non-P | 736 | 658 | 176 | 14 | 63 | 146 | 0.267 | 0.332 | 0.384 | 0.716 | 0.321 |
Great SO/BB ratio; went to 3 ball count only 6 times in 62 PA; 35 balls put in play, 24 on the ground
Johnson | FB | Total | Percentage |
NP | 1578 | 2929 | 0.538750427 |
Pitcher | 140 | 215 | 0.651162791 |
Average FB velocity exactly the same to both NP & Pitchers at 92.7 MPH; 1st pitch FB percentage was over 85%
Conclusion
Nothing out of the ordinary; all three pitchers benefited in 2012 from NL rules. Having to face AL DH’s should make life more difficult, however with the nature of the DH position switching from a full-time hitter to more of a rotational/day-off type position, the impact should be less than years past.
Sources: Baseball-Refernence, ESPN Stats & Media, Image via Google Images
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