2016 MLB Draft Guide: Swinging Strike Ratios

I often talk about, like all the time, strikeout and walk rates. You don’t often hear me talk about swinging strike rates. It’s not that I don’t think the measure has value, it is clearly a tool that we should be using when trying to assess performance. That being the case I thought, as the astute analyst that I am, it would probably be wise to give you all a crash course on what it means, what you need to know and what matters when it comes to swinging strike rates.

WHAT IS SWINGING STRIKE RATIO?

Simply, it’s the rate of swinging strikes per pitch.

Swinging strikes / total pitches

WHAT IS THE LEAGUE AVERAGE?

The league average is usually in the 9-10 percent range.

Batters (2015): 48 men were under 7.0 percent, 74 men were over 10.0 percent
Batters (2013-15): 56 men were under 7.0 percent, 81 men were over 10.0 percent

Pitchers (2015): 62 men were under 9.0 percent, 47 men were over 10.0 percent.
Pitchers (2013-15): 64 men were under 9.0 percent, 42 men were over 10.0 percent

* There will be leaderboards below filled with delaminating numbers for plate appearances and innings pitched that further expand on the above numbers by giving overall context.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

As a batter putting the ball in play isn’t everything, but it’s huge. You can’t move a runner along if you don’t put the ball in play (don’t throw passed balls at me). You can’t drive runners in if you don’t put the ball in play. You can’t force a defense into making an error if you aren’t making them field it. Understanding the strike zone and making contact, those are keys to an understanding of what one is trying to do on offense.

For pitchers, the opposite is true. You don’t want your fielders making mistakes. You don’t want the vagaries of batted balls getting in your way. You want to put batters away on your own by missing bats.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?

Swinging strike rates matter for batters, but they are slightly more important to know for pitchers. A simple example. A batter can hit 30 homers and bat .240, we’ll take that in fantasy. However, if a pitcher gives up 30 homers and has a 4.80 ERA no one is happy. Moreover, a pitcher’s dominance, and ability to induce swing and misses, speaks to the overall effectiveness of the pitcher’s stuff. Guys that miss bats can dominate. Those that don’t are dependent on a myriad of factors to have success.
 

THE 2015 LEADERS

PITCHERS (minimum 100 innings pitched)

* 141 pitchers qualified

The Best

The Worst

Pitchers (2015): 62 men were under 9.0 percent, 47 men were over 10.0 percent.

BATTERS (minimum 400 plate appearances)
* 211 batters qualified

The Best

The Worst

Batters (2015): 48 men were under 7.0 percent, 74 men were over 10.0 percent
 

THE 2013-15 LEADERS
 

PITCHERS (minimum 300 innings pitched)

* 132 pitchers qualified

The Best

The Worst

Pitchers (2013-15): 64 men were under 9.0 percent, 42 men were over 10.0 percent

BATTERS (minimum 1,000 plate appearances)

* 233 batters qualified

The Best

The Worst

Batters (2013-15): 56 men were under 7.0 percent, 81 men were over 10.0 percent