PlateIQ Stat of the Day: 5/14/18
Note: Unless otherwise noted, stats referenced in this article will always be from the 2017 and 2018 (to date) seasons. Rather than mention it every time I cite a stat, I’ll just use this by default and point it out if I refer to a different time period.
It’s been a little while since I wrote my last installment of “PlateIQ Stat of the Day”, but I’m back for a loaded Monday slate. Last time Sean Manaea faced the Boston Red Sox, he threw one of the most improbable no-hitters in recent memory. It wasn’t improbable due to Manaea himself, he’s a very talented pitcher, but it was so unlikely given the caliber of the Boston lineup. Getting through the likes of Mookie Betts, JD Martinez, Hanley Ramirez, and others four times unscathed is pretty impressive. So should we go back to the well with Manaea? Target some Boston bats? Let’s take a look at the PlateIQ Stat of the Day:
Sean Manaea Hard% – Soft% versus right-handed hitters is 25.8%. His Hard% – Soft% versus left-handed hitters is -4.4%.
So what does this mean? The stats mentioned are exactly what they sound like. You take the Hard% of Contact allowed and subtract the Soft% from it. So his percentage against left-handed hitters is negative, meaning he allows more soft contact than hard contact, an extremely impressive (and rare) feat. The numbers against right-handed hitters are a different story. His 38.7% Hard contact is very high and his 12.9% Soft contact is far too low. That means we can essentially eliminate any left-handed bats from the Red Sox tonight.
But what right-handed bats should we be targeting? I’m glad you asked. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez have absurd numbers against left-handed pitching. Mookie’s ISO is .291 and Martinez makes Betts look average with a .421 ISO of his own. If you change the numbers to just this season, Betts’ ISO changes to a “video-game on easy” kind of number (.553). Martinez hits the ball hard 55% of the time against lefties! While Betts doesn’t quite equal him on power, he sports a Tony Gwynn-like K% of 7.7% against Southpaws. Both of these two are expensive, but I recommend trying to find a way to fit them into your lineups this evening.
