Morning Mound Visit: sabermetrics news - 4/18/19

FanGraphs | Jay Jaffe: Especially this early in the season, there are some extreme numbers to look at. There’s the bad overall in Chris Davis and his -5 wRC+, Jay Bruce’s ridiculous .088 BABIP, Brandon Drury’s 0 RBI on 20 men on base, or the great in Cody Bellinger’s .925 slugging percentage.

Baseball Prospectus | Matthew Trueblood ($): The Orioles may be on the downswing, but Trey Mancini is having a renaissance. With new mechanics that have given him more patience with his explosive leg kick and raw power, a higher launch angle could afford him the power he needs to be a star.

The Ringer | Ben Lindbergh: You may have noticed from watching games, but baseball is getting more and more extreme these days. Strikeouts continue to rise, and as pitchers like Patrick Corbin gain success through sliders and curves they utilize fewer and fewer fastballs, leading to more pitchers per at bat and more walks, strikeouts, and hit batters. Hitters are also hitting home runs at a prolific rate, and it looks like it will shatter 2017’s record easily.