Here's a brief summary of FIP- scores:
70 = Excellent
80 = Great
90 = Above Average
100 = Average
115 = Poor
125 = Awful
1 – Ken Arroyo (75 FIP-, 192.1 IP, 186 K, 42 BB, 15 HR); Charlie Morton, Atlanta (75 FIP-, 185.2 IP, 216 K, 58 BB, 16 HR). Two ace pitchers on playoff teams, though Morton was 37 in 2021. I suspect Arroyo won't be pitching at this level when he is the same age, but who knows? Arroyo is currently seventh in Nebraska balloting. Both pitchers had very similar postseason stats, though neither of their seasons ended as they would have preferred.
2 – Harold Newbold (81 FIP-, 147.2 IP, 137 K, 47 BB, 7 HR); Frankie Montas, Oakland (81 FIP-, 187 IP, 207 K, 57 BB, 20 HR). Montas finished 6th in AL Cy Young voting. Newbold, who began the year injured, got a hearty 'attaboy', but not a sniff of any accolades of any kind. It's hard to stand out in the Frick. Home run rate indicates that either scouts don't have a bead on Newbold's Movement, or he's in for some regression next season.
3 – Carlton Day (88 FIP-, 194.2 IP, 144 K, 32 BB, 19 HR); Joe Musgrove, San Diego (88 FIP-, 181.1 IP, 203 K, 54 BB, 22 HR). Left-hander Day is currently second in Gillstrom balloting and appears poised for great things, according to scouts. Two months ago he couldn't buy beer, so there's a lot of future ahead of him, potentially. His start in Game 3 (8 IP, 0 ER) was masterful. Musgrove has likely already had his peak season.
4 – Greg Jackson (95 FIP-, 186.2 IP, 131 K, 43 BB, 18 HR); Eric Lauer, Milwaukee (95 FIP-, 118.2 IP, 117 K, 41 BB, 16 HR). The other lefty in the rotation, Jackson has long kind of been the forgotten man on the Stars pitching staff. He's 25 and his '49 wasn't quite as good as the previous season, so we'll see where he goes from here. I guess Lauer's shoulder is feeling better.
5 – Jacob Smiley (96 FIP-, 114.1 IP, 88 K, 42 BB, 9 HR); Cal Quantrill, Cleveland (96 FIP-, 149.2 IP, 121 K, 47 BB, 16 HR). Smiley moved between the bullpen and the rotation due to inconsistent performance. He's been on the fringe pretty much his whole career. This was his first full season in the bigs without a minor league demotion (exhausting option years will do that). Quantrill was also a back of the rotation pitcher, but one with higher upside.
6 – Michael Dixon (97 FIP-, 136.2 IP, 154 K, 58 BB, 16 HR); José Urquidy, Houston (107 IP, 90 K, 19 BB, 17 HR). While Urquidy missed starts this past season due to injury, Dixon missed starts because of some shaky performances. His numbers are burnished by his time in the bullpen. He was so effective as a reliever that you don't question whether he will stick with the team, just what role he will have.