Stuff

The Blue Jays “Stuff” Report – Volume 3

The Blue Jays Stuff Report will be appearing in this space every two weeks. The metric was created by Dr. Mike Sonne, who has a PhD in biomechanics from McMaster University. For his work on pitcher fatigue, injury, and other baseball related research, please visit his website over at www.mikesonne.ca.

Every two weeks, we take an exciting journey into discovering who has the best stuff on the Toronto Blue Jays. You can see the last two updates below, but it’s time for Stuff Report #3. Join me, won’t you?

Stuff Report Volume 1

Stuff Report Volume 2

Blue Jays Starters

Starters Table v3

Jays Starters - V 3

Everything seems relatively stable for the Jays starters. While the numbers appear to be trending downward for most of them, the results have remained consistent – and consistently awesome. Aaron Sanchez remains the only Jays starter with “elite” stuff, though Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ and Marcus Stroman remain elite with their results. In a long season, there will obviously be bumps in the road (Like this past weekend in Texas, and Stroman’s outing against San Francisco), but the recent spike in K’s for Stroman shows the ability for these pitchers to adapt to their competition. Stuff is a metric that can quantify some of a pitcher’s ability, though many other things go into developing an elite MLB pitcher. This week, Kyle Matte wrote about spin rates and fastball quantification – which is one of the most interesting pieces I have read in ages. Small changes in vertical and horizontal movement can generate just as much weak contact as over-powering stuff. The Jays staff is attacking the world in a lot of different ways, and it’s exciting to watch.

Blue Jays Relievers

Relievers Table v3 Jays Relief - V 3

The Jays relievers are still struggling on the mound, but there are signs of life. Drew Storen has disappeared, but Gavin Floyd has become what Storen was supposed to be. Rule 5 pick Joe Biagini continues to have elite stuff, and Roberto Osuna remains one of the best in the MLB.

However, one concerning trend emerged recently when looking at the Stuff Metric. The statistic was originally designed as a method for quantifying demands on the arm during pitching, and as a possible tool to identify injury trends. Brett Cecil has never had overpowering Stuff, but this season he has remained around league average. During the past two weeks, Cecil’s stuff plummeted – dropping from near 0.4, to – 0.65. This was a sign of a change in Cecil’s break distance, velocity, and change of speeds. It didn’t look good, and then Cecil hit the disabled list with an arm injury. Hopefully Brett is able to successfully recover from the triceps injury, regain his strength, and enjoy the company of his new family member. We will have to keep an eye out for similar drops from other pitchers.

For more information on the “Stuff Metric”, visit www.mikesonne.ca.

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