Caleb Smith, Miami Marlins
March/April Stats: 2-0 record with a 33.9% strikeout rate, 6.4% walk rate, 2.17 ERA, 2.99 SIERA, and 0.9 fWAR in 29 innings
Similar to Dozier and the Royals, Caleb Smith is a welcome sight for the Marlins, who enter May with the NL’s worst record (8-21).
The 27-year-old turned some heads last year, but his season was cut short after just 77.1 innings. He’s making up for lost time so far in 2019, as his 0.9 fWAR in 29 innings has almost eclipsed last year’s number (1.2). He’s amped up his strikeouts while continuing to minimize walks, which has put him on a list with a bunch of familiar names.
Top 10 SP in K-BB%
Blake Snell (31.7%)
Max Scherzer (30.8%)
James Paxton (29.1%)
Gerrit Cole (28.2%)
Carlos Carrasco (27.9%)
Caleb Smith (27.5%)
Matthew Boyd (25.2%)
Stephen Strasburg (25.2%)
David Price (24.8%)
Justin Verlander (24.3%)— Matthew Davis (@mattywood) April 30, 2019
Smith has also shifted his pitch mix. His fastball usage has decreased more than 10 percentage points compared to 2018, while his changeup usage has increased by nearly the same amount. Opposing hitters produced a .629 OPS and 82 wRC+ with a 14.0% strikeout rate against Smith’s changeup in ’18, but those numbers have changed to .402, 12, and 28.6%, respectively, through the past month.
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