So, it is the middle of January and there simply isn’t another article I had in my mind to write for today. So I thought I would pose a few questions that came to mind after listening to the Redleg Nation podcast with Tucker Barnhart yesterday.
When you look at a hitter, be it through stats or scouting, what are the things that you look at the most? Why do you look at those things the most?
When you look at a pitcher, what do look at that you find the most important, stats or scouting? Why do you find those things to be the most important things?
I will share my thoughts on it all in the afternoon after you guys get a bunch of conversation going.
Update
Now that you guys have tossed around some of your ideas, I am here to give mine.
With hitters, from a scouting perspective, the most important thing I look at is bat speed. You simply can’t teach it, and it is something that will help someone’s average and power output. Pitch identification is probably next, but far less important because over time guys can figure that out (some can at least). From a stats perspective, I tend to look at strikeout-to-walk ratio most. While it isn’t sexy, it lets you know if the guy has a clue of what he is doing at the plate or not. Isolated power is probably next in line from a stats perspective. This will vary depending on the position the player plays, but guys who hit for power are usually more valuable than ones that don’t.
With pitchers, from a scouting perspective, I always start out with velocity. Again, like bat speed, it isn’t something you can teach (usually, though some guys can add velocity through improved mechanics). Generally it will give guys a little more margin for error the harder they throw. The next thing I look for is probably split between mechanics and a breaking ball. Mechanically, depending on their age, I am looking less for repeatability the younger the guy is (because he has time to improve upon his consistency) and most importantly, looking for the fluidity of how a guy throws. If the guy looks like an arm injury waiting to happen, then that is someone I am going to be placing an asterisk next to their name. With a pitchers breaking ball, I can’t quite explain it well for what I look for, but I know it when I see it. I also want to see them being able to throw it for called strikes, or at least swinging strikes within the strikezone at times. Statistically, I like to see strong strikeout to walk ratios (again…. funny, that is important for both sides) and in general, lots of strikeouts. When you can avoid the ball being put in play, it is a good thing since batters hit over .300 when the ball is put in play. You don’t have to miss a ton of bats to be successful, but for guys who don’t miss a lot of bats, they also need to keep from giving up walks so when they do allow more hits since they are having the ball put in play more, the walks aren’t as hurtful.