Monday, August 4, 2014

Game Scores: Presenting a plethora of pitching duels

Bill James devised a metric called the "Game Score" which measures a pitchers value per start. It's a way to see just how dominant they were in an individual start. I've decided to use each of the starters average game score to find the best pitching matchup on the schedule tonight. (Note: WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement and is calculated by Lewie Pollis's formula)

Most Highly Rated Game 
Mystic at Plymouth | 6:30 p.m.
Schooner's Michael Concato (57, 1.61 ERA, 1.7 WAR) vs. Pilgrim's Thomas Jankins (70, 0.41 ERA, 3.3 WAR)

Jankins has been undoubtedly one of the best pitchers in the league- he enters with a NECBL-leading 0.41 ERA. Concato, on the other hand, doesn't qualify for the ERA title but has an impressive 1.61 ERA over 39 innings. Both are aces and have yet to meet, but Concato outdueled Pilgrims star Nicholas Berger while Jankins was impressive at the All-Star game as the South starter. Mystic and Plymouth have strong offenses, but it could be come down to a lone run or two as this duo should lock in a battle.

Runner Up
Ocean State at Newport | 6:35 p.m.
Wave's Mitchell Jordan (55, 2.20 ERA, 1.1 WAR) vs. Gull's John Kilichowski (68, 0.61 ERA, 1.8 WAR)

Kilichowski came late after pitching in the College World Series for the D-I Vanderbilt Commodores. He's been untouchable through 26 2/3 innings and is averaging almost 12 strikeouts per nine innings. He's made just four starts but already has the second highest single game score (82) with 12 strikeouts over seven shutout innings. Jordan had a 14-inning scoreless streak at one point with his best game being five shutout innings with six strikeouts.

One Brief Note
The best individual game score out of any of these pitchers was an 85 by Concato against last place New Bedford. The Dartmouth right-hander hurled eight shutout innings and struck out nine while allowing just three hits and not issuing a walk.

The Rest
Vermont's Ryan Davis (53, 2.68 ERA, 1.0 WAR) vs. Laconia's Jack English (60, 1.52 ERA, 1.9 WAR)
Keene's Matt Blandino (51, 3.99 ERA, 0.2 WAR) vs. Sanford's Nick Poore (64, 1.80 ERA, 1.0 WAR)

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