So, last time we built a batting order that was something to be reckoned with. If you haven’t read it and want to find out more about the team that was chosen, take a look! It was uploaded on January 4th. However, hitting is only half the game. You need guys on the mound to take the ball, throw strikes, and get guys out.
Some teams in Major League baseball have done a fantastic job of developing great pitchers, both starters, and relievers, quickly. This does two things: it allows younger guys to reach the major leagues quickly and gives major league teams great arms that don’t cost very much. The Mets are a great example of young talent being cheap that has allowed them to sign free agents to larger contracts. To put it mildly, I took full advantage of this when developing a wallet friendly pitching staff. As with before, an algorithm was created to generate a pitcher ranking. All stats were collected from 2013 – 2016, and the player salaries were taken from 2016.
Gerrit Cole is one of baseball’s best cheap pitchers.
A few different things were done when evaluating the pitchers than with the batters. First, more categories were used when evaluating pitchers. Categories that had a heavy influence: GamesPitched and Innings Pitched. This accomplished two things: by putting more emphasis on these two categories, it put more weight on Starters for the length of an overall season. Using just one or the other heavily would have shifted the scores to favor the relievers or the starters. While in the Postseason, it’s become very clear that relievers take on an entirely different role than they have in the regular season, starters in the regular season reign supreme. Guys who can go for 200+ innings out of the 1,458 minimum innings a major league team plays in a year are hard to come by. Second, more categories were installed to purposely lower the score of a pitcher. Writing the algorithm a certain way may have allowed one shot and done relievers, or a starter who may have good innings pitched, but has a high ERA to move too high up on the list.Hurting guys for WHIP, BB/9, and HR/9 brought a few guys down.
The pitching staff, after studying the results from the algorithm and looking at the salaries of each pitcher, shaped up quite nicely.
The total sum of the pitching staff’s salaries $46 M. This brings the grand total of the team $130 M, meeting our initial criteria of using a major league average salary.
CoreyKluber is the ace of the staff. His record of 56-36 with 877 SO in 820 IP over the last 4 years. In addition, his 2016 postseason showed that he can handle high-pressure games and be exactly what you want from an ace. Gerrit Cole follows up Kluber. Even through a few injury ridden seasons, Cole has managed to pitch 579 innings over 4 years. In addition to that, he has 538 SO, giving this rotation a 1 – 2 punch to be envied.
It’s the 3-4-5 starters that really give the rotation meat. Chris Archer has struggled with giving up the long ball, as well as limiting the BB. He has the highest BB/9 and ERA of the rotation. However, he also has the second highest K/9 behind Kluber, and with a contract of $2.9 M and a below average ERA. This makes him a great fit for the 3rd rotation spot. Quintana takes the 4th spot. He’s been one of the most underrated pitchers in MLB for the past couple of years; an argument could be made to make him the 3rd starter. He has the second lowest BB/9 in the rotation, behind Kluber, and continues to pitch deep into games. If he didn’t pitch for the White Sox, he might have been contending for Cy Young awards based on his record. Julio Teheran rounds out the rotation at 5. With the highest HR/9, he’s a little shaky sometimes. However, a solidERA regardless, lower BABIP, and cool $3.5 M, he’s still a great choice at 5.
Since the Kansas City Royals rolled out Herrara, Holland, and Davis for back to back playoffs, everyone has tried to develop their version of a shutdown bullpen. Trades, signings, and development are becoming key to creating the monster that wins you those important 7-8-9th innings.
Miller showed why he was so highly touted by the league, and what made him so valuable in the 2016 postseason. A left-handed pitcher that can come in, shut down an offense, get both lefties and righties out, and repeat the process for multiple innings, over multiple days, showed why when it came down to it, he had to be in the pen.
Adam Warren started out last year being a swingman for the Cubs. He provided an arm that could pitch multiple days in a row, as well as perform adequately in a spot start. This versatility can be difficult to find, and with a low salary, it made the choice pretty easy. AlexWood also was chosen because of his similar path through the league. Having been both a starter and reliever for his career in the MLB, he provides a left-handed swing man in the pen.
Jake McGee has established himself as solid reliever over the last few years and provides solid middle relief.Will Smith falls into the same boat and actually provides an opposite lefty split, in which righties actually fared worse than did lefties against him.Sean Doolittle rounds out the middle relief/set up men section of the bullpen.
Kenley Jansen was the chosen as the closer. With a cutter reminiscent of Mariano Rivera’s, and the build to support a lengthy career, it was easy to choose Jansen. Additionally, his stats over the last few years have been nothing short of dominant. The second highestK/9 on the staff, lowest BB/9, and more games pitched than even Miller, Jansen was a clear choice to put at back end of the bullpen. Chapman would have also been a solid choice at the back end; however, he costs more money and would have put the team over the budget. Jansen fit the bill and was the correct price.
So, the final roster, with a salary clocking in at $131 M, is as follows:
C – Buster Posey ($19.9 M)
1B – Anthony Rizzo ($6 M)
2B – Jose Altuve ($3.1 M)
3B – Nolan Arenado ($5 M)
SS – Alcides Escobar ($2.6 M)
LF – Starling Marte ($5.2 M)
CF – Andrew McCutchen ($8.6 M)
RF – Jose Bautista ($13 M)
Bench
– Kris Bryant (3B, LF) ($0.625 M)
– Matt Carpenter (3B, 2B, 1B) ($8.7M)
– Mookie Betts (RF) ($0.566 M)
– Lorenzo Cain (CF, RF) ($8.7 M)
– Jean Segura (SS,2B) ($2.6 M)
SP – Corey Kluber ($4.7 M)
SP – Gerrit Cole ($0.5 M)
SP – Chris Archer ($ 2.9 M)
SP – Jose Quintana ($5.4 M)
SP – Julio Teheran ($3.5 M)
RP – Andrew Miller ($9 M)
RP – Adam Warren ($1.7 M)
RP – Jake McGee ($4.8 M)
RP – Will Smith ($1.5 M)
RP – Alex Wood ($0.5 M)
RP – Sean Doolittle ($1.6 M)
RP – Kenley Janssen ($10.5 M)
