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Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers GB% (2022 Fantasy Baseball)

Advanced Stats Leaderboard: Starting Pitchers GB% (2022 Fantasy Baseball)

The fantasy baseball ranking season is in full swing. For me, that typically starts with searching advanced stats leaderboards. Advanced statistics are often more predictive than traditional box score statistics. Thus, they’re an excellent jumping-off point. This series will dive into a variety of my favorite advanced metrics. However, I must caution that no statistic in isolation is the secret sauce for unearthing a hidden gem or burgeoning stud. Instead, they are a piece of the puzzle and best viewed through that lens, using other statistics in conjunction with them to formulate a well-rounded opinion of the fantasy value of players.

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Ground Ball Percentage

Ground ball percentage measures the rate of ground balls divided by all balls put in play. Unfortunately, FanGraphs doesn’t provide an average ground ball rate. Still, we can add context by scanning the leaderboard. For example, among 38 qualified starting pitchers in 2021, 56.6% was the highest mark, 33.2% was the lowest mark and 43.1% was the median rate.

Ground ball percentage is the first batted-ball stat I’m analyzing in the advanced stat leaderboard series. Unlike the plate discipline stats I’ve examined, ground ball rate doesn’t have a ton of standalone utility. So instead, I look at ground ball percentage in the context of a starting pitcher’s home ballpark factors. Expanding upon that idea, I’m wary of pitchers with low ground ball rates that play in homer-friendly ballparks, as they have an enhanced risk of serving up dingers. As a result, it’s a statistic I consider when ranking starting pitchers before the season.

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