5 pitchers who can do well in Major League Baseball
Today’s major league pitchers barely know how to hit a l**k and leave the tough shots alone. However, there are always a select few in any era who can actually hit.
But how can a good pitcher with good hitting abilities defined? The basic idea states that a good pitcher is the one that has a mean batting average of 0.135 and on-base plus slugging (OPS) of 0.340. Although these statistics are terrible but they surely portray the fact that the consequences of selecting the players only based on their pitching and not batting are a disaster.
Micah Owings
Micah Owings by far the best pitcher in baseball at the moment. He has a record 184 at bats (AB) in major league baseball in which he made a batting average of 0.293and 0.861 on-base plus slugging. This means that he is slightly better than an average hitter. In fact, it shows the terrible mistake which the Arizona Diamondbacks made when drafting the Micah Owings. They developed him solely as a pitcher - the best optimization would have been if he would have been trained as a hitter as well.
Micah Owings, the 28-year-old, is not an outstanding pitcher either, as he hasn’t been able to develop himself as a better major league pitcher. He has a career record of 5.11 ERA which is not even satisfactory for being on the list of good pitchers. Most recently, he was demoted by the Reds to their AAA team of 25 players. Moreover, there is a warning signal hanging on his head with all the young pitchers in the selection process for the Reds.
According to experts, Micah Owings should pay attention to either improve as a pitcher or become a position player in the field for the AAA .There are always chances to become the next Brooks Kieschnick, who had a few solid seasons for the Brewers in 2003 and 2004. He played as a relief pitcher and regular pinch hitter as well.
Carlos Zambrano
The second on the list is Carlos Zambrano. He has come down as a pitcher this season but it’s hard to ignore him because he’s one of the few players who can swing the ash. He has a career record of 0.236 batting average and a 0.632 OPS.
It’s hard to fit him in one category - he is an all-or-nothing hitter. Zambrano is only 6 shots away from 209 strikeouts in altogether 585 at bats, but he holds an impressive 20 half ranks and 47 extra base hits. Moreover, he has scored 61 runs in his career which is certainly not bad for the middle in fielders who have been given 585 batting opportunities.
Dontrelle Willis
Third on the list is Dontrelle Willis because of the ability to hit. Despite the fact that he has pitched his way out of the majors, he still holds a career record of 0.232 at bats and a 0.634 OPS.
Dontrelle Willis has not got the strength like Carlos Zambrano to hit but he is ready to take a walk with 22 strike outs in only 358 at bats. Although the score is very impressive but Carlos Zambrano is ranked high on the list in regard with the increasing number of at bats.
Yovani Gallardo
This player from Brewers is another hitter with impressive stats for a pitcher. His record shows a 0.207 batting average which is similar to most of the pitchers but his 0.661 OPS is way too good for a pitcher. Moreover he has 8 HRs and eight doubles in 150 batting opportunities.
Yovani Gallardo has currently scored four HRs in this season in 43 at bats and he has plenty of opportunities coming up to prove himself as a good hitter.
Adam Wainwright
This cardinal is someone who knows how to help himself in times of jeopardy. He holds the record of 0.230 in batting average and has a strike rate of 0.608 OPS.
These were the names of pitchers who knew how to pitch as well. According to analysts, MLB should pay attention on drafting players on the basis of two characteristics.
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