How One Club Uses Analytics For Player Development

Plus No. 1 spots up for grabs Plus No. 1 spots up for grabs. [View this email in your browser]( No. 1 Spots Up For Grabs There's been, not unreasonably, plenty of focus over the past few days on the potential for the Dodgers to freefall their way into losing their No. 1 spot in the National League. And there's been just as much focus on how Cleveland has rocketed to the No.1 spot in the American League. But there hasn't been quite as much focus on the fact that Cleveland's ascension has been made possible in part by the slide of a team whose hold on No. 1 once looked almost as certain as that of the Dodgers: the Astros, who have gone from a .674 first-half record to a .481 second-half one. All of the usual caveats are in effect here—their first-half pace wasn't really sustainable and deviation from that doesn't necessarily reflect a dramatic difference in the team's big picture, and their long-term odds of winning it all haven't changed significantly. (The [FanGraphs projections]( currently have them with a 20.5 percent chance of winning the World Series, compared to 18.8 percent right after the All-Star Break and 16.4 percent a month ago.) But those caveats, while meaningful, certainly don't negate their second-half performance slide altogether. Part of that has been the slow-down of an offense that was the best in baseball over the first half of the season, with a 128 wRC+ and ISO of .211. Since, that's slipped to figures of 109 and .180, respectively. Meanwhile, pitching that was solid but not quite stellar in the first half—fifth among teams by WAR, with a 3.93 ERA and 3.76 FIP—has struggled more with injury in the second half and slipped as a result, ranking 16th in WAR with a 4.89 ERA and 4.36 FIP. The acquisition of[Justin Verlander]( will help that, of course—particularly since [he's gotten his groove back]( as Jeff Sullivan wrote last week—and the return of a healthy [Carlos Correa]( does the same for the offense. Recent performance (they've won six of their last 10) is enough to make this look like a mere blip rather than the start of a downfall. Which is enough to make it seem a nice study in contrasts with the current plight of their NL West counterparts. [FanGraphs produces over 400 articles each month, in addition to our ever-growing database of stats and graphs. Support our efforts today!]( Today on FanGraphs: Writer-In-Residence Michael Hattery On [How One Club Uses Analytics In Player Development]( In his second piece as this month's FanGraphs' resident, Mike Hattery takes on Cleveland's use of analytics throughout the organization's player development systems. Catch his first piece, on protecting players against big data, [here](. [Subscribe to our Podcasts!]( Catch up on past newsletters or pass along to a friend [here](. Data Visualization of the Day: [The Dodgers Look Beyond Terrible Right Now]( Last week, Dave Cameron wrote that the Dodgers [looked terrible](. Now? Beyond terrible. He breaks down their atrocious last few weeks today. Excerpt: ["So The Indians Might Have The Best Pitching Staff Ever"]( by Jeff Sullivan "The Indians aren’t unbeatable. The chances are still that they won’t win it all. Upon eventual reflection, the team shouldn’t be judged only by how it performed when it didn’t lose a game. One should attempt to consider the whole of the picture. Let’s do that right now. Let’s talk about the Indians’ pitching." [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2017 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](