As we head down the pipe to Pitchers and Catchers, Spring Training, Spring Training Games and the 2015 season, computers are rolling out 2015 projections on how every player will perform. Before getting a 2015 preview, at 213 Miles From Shea we wanted to see how the computers handled 2014.
The bullpen was a bit of mystery heading into 2014 with a lot of pitchers switching roles and new ones stepping up. At the start of the season it looked like Vic Black would be a critical piece, did the computers agree?
2014 Projections:
ESPN: 70 G, 66.0 IP, 32 BB, 68 K, 3.55 ERA, 1.36 WHIP
Steamer: 45 G, 45.0 IP, 3.50 ERA
Oliver: 50 G, 58.0 IP, 3.91 ERA
PECOTA: 54 G, 57.7 IP, 26 BB, 66 K, 3.31 ERA, 1.23 WHIP
Average: 54.75 G, 56.7 IP, 29 BB, 67 K, 3.44 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
2014 Actual:
41 G, 34.2 IP, 19 BB, 32 K, 2.60 ERA, 1.30 WHIP
Well it looks like the computers expected him to be used a lot more than he actual was. He was used in abou14 less games and 24 less innings, which is like a 40% drop. His walks then by comparison are up and his strikeouts are down. His WHIP though was exact and his ERA was amazing compared to his projected. This year, at least as of January 2nd when this article was written, there are less veterans in camp blocking Vic Black, but he won’t be seen as a setup man like he was at the start of the 2014 season, so I’m curious to see how the computers handle him.
