A Vasquez Masterpiece

[lordtoffee]

It's fair to say that the defending Landis champions have had a year that has been a struggle, but they were able to have a moment to savor recently. The game between the Outlaws and Crawdads on July 27 might have gotten lost in the shuffle of games, but by the end of the game a lot of the BBA fanbase was watching, as history was made. Ruben Vasquez, the 22 year phenom ace of the San Antonio Outlaws pitched a perfect game, and it was very impressive. In light of Vasquez's day where he reached perfection, let's take a look at his performance and see what was the most interesting things to come out.

The most interesting thing to me is that the Crawdads have been one team in the Johnson where you wouldn't expect to be on the wrong side of history this year. The Crawdad offense is ranked in the top 5 in the Johnson in both OBP and runs scored. While it is true that the Crawdads won't slug you into submission, they do get plenty of runners on, and do drive in a high percentage of those runners in. For Vasquez to achieve this, he showed remarkable control, with a strike percentage near 70. Sadly, the game log doesn't allow me to take a look at a percentage of pitches used, but he was able to generate some foul balls when he was in deep counts, and that was able to have him battle back in at bats when the Crawdads were a bit patient. Although the game log also doesn't allow me to run through each at bat and see where the charts would be. (And Markus, that would be some things to include in OOTP 22 or 23, as it would be realistic in real life, and most teams chart pitches at all levels of the game.)

This game shows that Vasquez can pitch a perfect game when required. Although he is only 22, he was a former top prospect and was the best starter last year in the Landis playoffs for San Antonio. What is even more amazing is that he was a 4th rounder in his draft year. What Vasquez teaches us is that a good draft is made in 3rd through 8th rounds, where there is a lot of value that can be found if you are careful. Congrats to the Outlaws for throwing a perfecto, and may they continue to improve.

[usnspecialist]

i never realized vazquez was that much of a bumper, holy hell.

[Lane]

I'm not sure what we can learn from a guy with 5/5/4 pot on draft day, with unremarkable intangibles and who had recently lumped from 5/5/5.

A great story to be sure, I just am not sure what the takeaway is regarding the draft.

[usnspecialist]

I'm not sure what we can learn from a guy with 5/5/4 pot on draft day, with unremarkable intangibles and who had recently lumped from 5/5/5.

A great story to be sure, I just am not sure what the takeaway is regarding the draft.

worth noting those were relative ratings, but your overall point is valid.