An excellent stat to examine when dealing with a sample of reduced size is Strikeout-to-walk Ratio (K/BB). It can indicate success simply, yet effectively. Strikeouts are the best outcome for a pitcher. Walks are the opposite. The K/BB ratio reveals who’s getting it done with effective pitching. The guy with the best strikeout stuff can walk some batters as long as they balance it out with Ks. Occasional control specialists can be on this leaderboard but need to keep walks to the bare minimum.
Below are the top 20 in K/BB along with the raw K/9 and BB/9 rates.
The rookie you needed to land was Sixto Sánchez . He’s been a revelation for Miami. High heat, nasty movement, and an advanced feel for it all results in his top 3 appearance here. There’s no reason not to expect that success to continue.
Taylor Rogers has perhaps been a bit unlucky. The command that turned him into such a good high leverage pitcher is still there. Comparing his 3.77 ERA to a 2.37 xFIP shows that luck is indeed at play.
Guessing at saves in certain bullpens can be an immense headache. Tampa Bay certainly falls under that category. When we’ve seen Nick Anderson he’s been his dominant self. It is encouraging that his one appearance since coming off of the IL was for a save.
Richard Rodríguez is a poor man’s Anderson. There are a few walks but the K-rate offsets them. He’s in the mix for saves in Pittsburgh. The save opps are sadly farther between for the Pirates bullpen.
Kenta Maeda made sure people wouldn’t overlook him going forward with a near no-hitter earlier this year. That performance will certainly buoy his stat line all season. The overall performance has been stellar. He does so many things you want your pitchers to do.
The premier control specialist, Kyle Hendricks , makes the bottom of our leaderboard. His ability to consistently give you six innings shouldn’t be underrated. The mishmash pitching usage of this season has precluded plenty of decent pitchers from earning a win. It may be a flawed category but most leagues use it.