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FanGraphs | Tony Wolfe: Not too long ago, Chris Archer was one of the best pitchers in baseball by FIP, and now his FIP sits at a lovely 6.15. He’s had a lot of issues in the past, but they’ve only picked up with the Pirates; now, his sinker has become untenable, and he will need to make a chance to rebound.
Baseball Prospectus | Rob Arthur ($): The thought is that with strikeouts increasing, then hitters must be chasing and swinging at pitches they shouldn’t, right? Actually, no, it’s because pitchers are really, really good. In fact, hitters are getting even more disciplined, as they are swinging even more at pitches with a called strike probability above 90%. This proves that it’s pitchers’ stuff, and not approach, that is leading to a surge in Ks.
The Athletic | Eno Sarris ($): One of the reasons Cody Bellinger has been so successful this year is by standing right on top of the plate in the batter’s box. He’s good on pitches inside, so that opened up hot spots for him all over the plate now, activating something that was always there, but slightly off when he had to reach over more.