The Numbers Behind America’s Pastime // USC MS Business Analytics // USC Baseball Team Data Analyst // Former @FirebirdsCCBL Analytics (not affiliated w CCBL)
Los Angeles, CA
Joined July 2022
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Ryan Bourassa of @FirebirdsCCBL has one of the nastiest pitches on the Cape
His splitter boasts some absurd numbers:
- .091 BAA, 50% whiff rate
- 800 avg RPM, minimum 640
- 3rd lowest spin score of any pitch in the league (high velo, low spin)
@ryan_bourassa10
@GoJacksBaseball
Best summer ever! Go Birds baby!!
Opening Day for @OfficialCCBL is one of the best days of the year. Know the @FirebirdsCCBL new broadcast team of @DylanPescatore1, @IanNicholasTV & @sidelinesammy will carry on an amazing Firebirds’ broadcast tradition 🤝
Enjoy this time! It’s a summer you’ll never forget.
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Rikuu is different
RIKUU! Clutch 2-out, 2-run single to give the Ducks the lead in the fifth. #GoDucks
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Great camera work on the Bader steal @AppleTV No idea what happened
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Replace the analytics graphics with the name of the pitcher and batter @AppleTV
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This Apple TV MLB broadcast is awful. They should at least get a statistician running the mediocre on-screen analytics graphic.
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Matt Shaw balled out this summer. He has exceptional plate coverage and can barrel pitches all over the zone.
Check out his avg exit velos by zone:
Red = 80th percentile or better
Yellow = Above average
Blue = Below average
@BourneBraves @TerpsBaseball
Cape League Awards Predictions
League MVP: Matt Shaw @BourneBraves
Outstanding Pro Prospect: Mitch Jebb @harborhawks
Outstanding Pitcher: Bryce Warrecker @FirebirdsCCBL Outstanding Rel. Pitcher: Ty Cummings @BourneBraves
Manager of the Year: Scott Pickler @YD_RedSox
GM of the Year: Bruce Murphy @CotuitKettleers
Outstanding New England Player: Evan Sleight @BourneBraves
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Before Reggie Crawford went 1st round to the @SFGiants, he dominated as a 2-way player in the Cape. Here's a report from his first outing last summer. His fastball was on (94-99 MPH, >2500 RPM) as he struck out two, allowing no base runners.
@reggiec21 @UConnBSB @BourneBraves
Isaac Humphrey is one of the CCBL’s steadiest and most underrated players. He's on a 29-game on-base streak (longest of the summer) and is an anchor in RF. His exit velos aren't eye-popping, but he finds ways to get on with consistency.
@iHumphrey6 @LouisvilleBSB @FirebirdsCCBL
Expected batting average (xBA) is a metric that measures the likelihood that a batted ball will become a hit. Using a regression model, I calculated xBA for players in the Cape. Here are the top 15 hitters ranked by xBA:
Kurtis Byrne (Undrafted) ranks first in the league in xBA (.264/.330/.451, 3 HR, 8 2B). He's showcased his ability to hit with power to the pull side & opposite field all summer.
@KurtisByrne @TCU_Baseball @WhitecapsCCBL
If you want to see the highest exit velos from the summer, you may as well just watch a Kevin Sim or Hogan Windish highlight tape. Those two account for 5 out of the top 6 hardest hit balls.
Here are the top 10:
Sim (Eligible 2023) @KEVINSIM02 @USDbaseball @FirebirdsCCBL
Windish (7th round, @Mariners) @WindishHogan @UNCGBaseball @WarehamGatemen
Here are the Cape's best groundball pitchers (at least 9 IP). The GB rate for a typical GB pitcher is 50-55%, with extreme groundball pitchers exceeding 55%.
The league BA on groundballs is .234, so a BAA lower than that means the pitcher excels at inducing weak grounders.
1. @rnch31 @GoCamelsBSB @WhitecapsCCBL (17th round, @BlueJays)
2. Tulloch @ASU_Baseball @BourneBraves (17th round, @CleGuardians)
3. @coop2thehoop25 @BYUBaseball @FirebirdsCCBL (16th round, @Royals)
4. @Nick_Regzz27 @CanesBaseball @ChathamAnglers (UDFA, @Royals)
Drew Metzdorf of the @FirebirdsCCBL has burst onto the scene since being called up. In his first three games, he's gone:
1-4 (go ahead double, 2 RBI)
3-4 (1 RBI)
3-5 (2 RBI)
That's good for the most hits in the league during that stretch @BeaconsBaseball
Metzdorf was draft eligible but didn't go this year. He should get heavy Cape Player of the Week consideration this week.
@OfficialCCBL
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Chris Brito of @BourneBraves has been tearing the cover off the baseball this summer. Check him out hitting the furthest home run of the summer at Brewster (455 ft).
Brito ranks 5th in exit velo, 1st in doubles, and was selected as a CCBL all-star.
@ChrisBrito9 @RutgersBaseball
TJ Brock was a big reason why the @CotuitKettleers dominated the first half of the summer.
He mowed down hitters with a high 80s gyro slider (1.23/-1.54 induced vert/horz break) that tops the league in whiff rate at 78%.
@tjbrock3 @OhioStateBASE
Brock was selected by the @BlueJays in the 6th round last week, excited to see what he does at the next level.
Isaiah Coupet (@OhioStateBASE '23 eligible) of the @CotuitKettleers has a rare 3,000 RPM curve, but what's even more impressive about it is its velo. Coupet's curveball leads the league in Spin Score, which is a metric used to eliminate the impact that velo has on spin rate.
In honor of today's Cape League All-Star Game, let's take a look at some players who easily could have been selected to the team but weren't:
Owen Diodati (@WarehamGatemen @OregonBaseball)
- Arrived at the Cape in early July, since then is first in wRC+ and has a .510 OBP in 51 PA
@owendiodati