June 7, 2017 Baseball Power Rankings

Courtesy of Corry Smith

Statistically Skewed Power Rankings

Hey guys, for this week’s power rankings, I tried to be all smart and mathy and I even made an excel spreadsheet! But I realize that’s not my thing. That’s Taylor’s thing. Probably Ty’s thing too. Probably everybody’s thing to some degree, but it is not my thing at all. I don’t do math or stats. And this super backfired on me because I got wrecked in my own rankings. And I realized pretty quickly that the way I was figuring things out was way skewed, but I still thought it’d be fun to see how this turns out. So, how I figured out rankings was I added up how everyone ranked in each category and added it up. So, if you had the most RBI’s, you’d get 1, and the least RBI’s would get 12. Or if you had the least losses, you got 1, or the most losses you get 12. This doesn’t work to show how good teams actually are for a lot of reasons. I realize that. My bad. Nevertheless, enjoy this week’s rankings.

#12 Bautized unto rePencetance – (Sean) (1-8)

179 points

Best ranking: Hits allowed as a pitcher

Worst ranking: Runs scored, total bases, innings pitched, strikeouts from a pitcher, holds

There’s not a lot to say. I don’t think Sean has checked his team very much, possibly ever. He plays someone on the DL almost every day, and continues to carry stellar players like Amir Garrett. Oh, you’ve never heard of the starting pitcher for the Reds who has a 7.17 ERA in 47 innings? That’s surprising. Sean’s batting isn’t bad. He has big names like Miguel Cabrera, Brian Dozier, Adrian Beltre, Anthony Rizzo, McCutchen, Matt Kemp, and Jose Bautista. But his pitching is terrible. The pitcher that has scored the most points for him is a reliever, who has outscored his next closest starter by 16 points. He did manage to get both Hunter Pence and Bautista, though, so his name makes sense again. So…that’s something. Prediction: maybe wins one more game. Misses the playoffs for sure.

#11 Billy Beane (Taylor) (3-6)

174 points

Best ranking: Strikeouts as a batter, hit batsmen by a pitcher

Worst ranking: Homeruns, saves

Taylor has also been pretty absent this season. Currently, he’s playing 4 guys on the DL, including 2 guys on the 60 day DL. He also has 2 saves on the year. 2!!! The next closest is Sean with 11. And Sam has 46! So Tay may want to consider upgrading his relievers, since two of them are owned by just 1% of people. He has some good pieces, like Chris Sale, and he has 6 batters who are averaging about 3 or more points a game, which is solid. But his bad guys are way bad. Like one of his relievers who has gotten him -56 total points. He’s 1-6 with 10.80 ERA! Rough. Prediction: no playoffs. Seattle’s making our boy weak!

#10 Shark areNado (Corry) (9-0)

161 points

Best ranking: Innings pitched, wins as a pitcher, losses as a pitcher

Worst ranking: Holds

Yeah. I’m upset about this. I’m 9-0, but I’m ranked 10^th!? Stupid math. I understand that my record is inflated and I’ve been lucky with the 2^nd least points scored against me. But I also have scored the second most points which is legit, and my pitchers have a combined 45-15 record. That’s stupid good. These rankings are dumb. Who wrote these anyway? Prediction: Playoffs.

#9 All Braun, No Brains (Creighton) (6-3)

156 points

Best ranking: Hit by a pitch as a batter

Worst ranking: Game winning RBI’s

Creighton’s team is a lot like Sean’s. It’s got a lot of star sluggers, but not a lot of big name pitchers. The lineup includes Buster Posey, Hanley Ramirez, Dee Gordon, Addison Russell, Charlie Blackmon, Jay Bruce, Aaron Judge, Ryan Braun, and Josh Donaldson. That’s a team of all-star names, and most of them are playing like it (exclude Russell). The difference from Sean’s team is that Creighton’s pitchers are pretty good. He has 6 starting pitchers averaging over 11 points a game, and a reliever who puts up enough points to be a starter. His players haven’t put up any crazy numbers, but they consistently put up average points which can be better than a lot of the other streaky teams in our league. Prediction: I think it’s going to be a fight for the final playoff spot between Creighton, Charlotte, and Sam. I could see him making it, but I predict he’s going to miss out by one or two games. 

T - #8 Clown Question Bro (Dustin) (5-4)

154 points

Best ranking: Stolen bases, earned runs by a pitcher, walks by a pitcher, holds

Worst ranking: Walks by a batter, strikeouts by a batter, wins as a pitcher

I remember seeing Dustin’s record a few weeks ago at 5-2 and being nervous. He’s always way good at basketball, and I worried he had made the jump to baseball. But I don’t think that’s the case. He’s scored the second least points, and his team has a lot of holes. Only 2 of his batters have averaged over 3 points a game, and only 2 of his pitchers have averaged over 10. A lot of his points in this ranking came from a lack of pitching. He’s pitched the second least number of innings, which is why he has the fewest walks by a pitcher and fewest earned runs. His stolen bases are legit though. He has 3 guys with over 10, and one who’s nearing 30. The next closest person in stolen bases is 17 away.  But besides that huge strength, I think his team is too weak. My prediction: he falls away down the stretch and misses the playoffs.

T - #8 Pitches Be Crazy (Charlotte) (5-4)

154 points

Best ranking: Innings pitched (3rd)

Worst ranking: Blown saves, hit by pitch as a batter

Charlotte’s team is very middle of the pack. Her best stat is only 3^rd best! Everything else is 4^th or lower. Her batters aren’t doing great, only 3 are over 3 points a game, but she has some good starting pitching with 5 pitchers averaging over 10. She also has a couple of big players who I think could get hot and carry her far Trumbo, Lindor, Cruz, Gardner, and Davis. Any of those guys could get hot and go crazy with homers giving her team a big boost to push her out of the middle. Prediction: a few batters get hot with hr’s and push her past Sam and Creighton and she makes the playoffs.

T - #6 Michigan Cougars (Sam) (4-5)

151 points

Best ranking: Game winning RBI’s, strikeouts by a pitcher, saves

Worst ranking: Stolen bases, earned runs, walks from a pitcher, hit batsmen as a pitcher

Sam commits to the pitcher hard. He has the past few year. Pros? It gives him a ton of saves and a ton of strikeouts. Con? He walks a bunch, gives up runs, and hits batters. That’s just based on the numbers of having that many pitchers go all the time. He also commits hard to the reliever and closer, again having more saves than anyone. Of his 22 total players, 6 are relievers. When you only have 8 pitching spots at a time, 6 relievers is a lot. But it gives him the potential to have pitching points every single day. His lineup is average, his starting pitching is fine, but Sam’s chances are all going to come down to his relievers performing. Prediction: Again, I think it’ll be close between him, Charlotte, and Creighton, but I predict he gets one too many losses and misses the playoffs.

 T - #6 The Bay of Puigs Invasion (Alec) (2-7)

151 points

Best ranking: Holds (2^nd), blown saves (2^nd),

Worst ranking: RBI’s

This is also one of the more skewed results. He should not be anywhere near this high. I don’t think he’s checked at all because he’s had a starting pitcher on his bench for the past month. He also has 7 guys on the DL. Even if you have a good team, that’s going to be hard to come back from. But when you have a below average team, and you get that many injures? Well, you get a 2-7 record. He doesn’t check his team, he doesn’t check facebook, and I don’t think he’ll ever see these rankings. So I’m done. Prediction: misses playoffs. I think the Rockwood pride will come down to Maraika. Sean and Alec aren’t making it.

#4 Schwarber? I hardly know her (Danee) (2-7)

143 points

Best ranking: Hit batsmen by a pitcher

Worst ranking: Hits allowed by a pitcher, losses by a pitcher

Though #4 may be a bit high, Danee’s 2-7 record is deceiving. She’s had the most points scored against her, which is just bad luck for the newest member of the Crapstone league. She’s already managed to do the most important thing, which is just play a team consistently. And because of that, she’s been able to have some surprise wins, like taking down Dustin last week. Again, following her bad luck, she has had several pitchers who have not panned out as they had been expected to. She had 5 pitchers expected to average 10+ points a game before the season started. Only one of them has done that, but he’s been slumping hard, averaging negative points over the past 15 days. Prediction: it’s too later for her to make the playoffs, but I think she could be a spoiler to a lot of team’s playoff hopes and could win on any given week.

#3 Good Better Betts (Tyler) (6-3)

122 points

Best ranking: Walks by a batter

Worst ranking: Blown saves (7^th), losses by a pitcher (7^th), stolen bases (7^th)

I know what you’re thinking: this is way too generous of a ranking. I’m sorry. Like I said, my rankings are skewed. But let me just say that I hate that Tyler’s team doesn’t suck at anything. The worst ranking he has is 7^th! That’s very middle of the pack and pretty good, and that’s his absolute worst stat ranking. He’s also not the top in very much. He’s just a well-rounded, above average team. There are really no weak spots. And he still has a top 10 pitcher on the DL, and a top 20 pitcher on DL. Without injuries, he’s the team to beat. When I see his team, one team comes to mind. The New York Yankees. Tyler consistently makes the playoffs, and always seems to know how to make a solid roster all the way through. Well done Tyler. Wear your pinstripes with pride. Prediction: Makes the playoffs

#2 Maraika Rockwood (5-4)

117 points

Best ranking: Runs, HR, total bases, RBI’s

Worst ranking: Blown saves (2^nd)

Maraika’s team can mash. Basically every stat with hitting, she tops in. But she isn’t even in the top 5 for striking out, which you’d expect from having so many power hitters. And what makes this worse is I don’t think she checks very much. She has a guy on the 60 day DL on her roster, yet she still is so good! Of her 22 players, 18 have been all-stars. 18!! Her record is deceiving for how good her team can do. If she invests a bit more, I’d start getting nervous. Prediction: makes the playoffs

#1 Wok it Out (Dane) (6-3)

116 points

Best ranking: HR (2^nd), total bases (2^nd), RBI’s (2^nd), stolen bases (2^nd), strikeouts by a pitcher (2^nd), saves (2^nd)

Worst ranking: Strikeouts by a batter (2^nd), walks by a pitcher (2^nd)

It’s crazy to me that the #1 spot wasn’t the best at any category. But he is at the top of a lot of categories, making for a more well-rounded game. This has allowed Dane to put up consistently high numbers – more than anybody else! And he’s also not the worst at any one category, which is also impressive. He has 6 starting pitchers averaging over 10 a game, and 7 batters who are averaging over 3 a game. Though my rankings were pretty terrible, I at least got this one right. Prediction: playoff bound for sure.