David Price, Boston Red Sox
Career Strikeout Rate: 23.7%
2018 Strikeout Rate: 24.5%
2019 Strikeout Rate (so far): 31.9%
Not much has gone right for the defending World Champs this season — especially if we’re talking about the starting rotation. As a group, starters are just 3-12 with a 5.98 ERA (third-worst in baseball), 1.52 WHIP (fourth-worst), 22.7% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate.
The one who hasn’t been a complete bust is left-hander David Price. Through 24 innings (four starts), he leads the rotation with a 3.75 ERA and 0.7 fWAR. Since posting a 24.0% strikeout rate and 7.6% walk rate in his first year with the Sox, those numbers have gotten better each year.
Price is allowing hard contact at a 40.7% rate, though, which would easily be a career-worst mark if that pace is sustained. This can partially be attributed to a drop in cutter usage — he threw that offering at a career-high 28.1% clip last year, but that number is currently at 13.6%. Most of the change has gone to his fastball (46.8% in ’18, 54.6% in ’19, which includes his sinker).
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