Light wind - 2059.4 - Pitch me this...

[forcarrying]

Despite being 14-11 the Brisas have struggled to pitch effectively so far this year. A mix of bad pitching, 100 walks and a sprinkle of bad luck has lead to what is ultimately a mediocre staff, let's check in and see what is going on with them.

Let's start at the front, the starter ERA is at 5.19. This is including the recent shutout by Millard MacIndeor (a article on that is on it's way). He's unsurprisingly been the best of the starters this year, posting a 3.057 ERA across 5 starts and 35.1 innings.

Despite the struggles of the other four, all have run into some bad luck that makes there bottom lines look worse. Kevin Davis has an ERA of 6.831. However, his HR/FB% is 24.14% (league average tends to be 10% ish) and his LOB% is 67.2% (league average tends to be around 72%), whilst both have skill involved, they are considered 'luck orientated stats' especially when Davis has a track record in these two areas. He is also a guy who pitched to a 4.20 ERA across 31 starts last year, and is expected to bounce back soon. If you don't believe the impact, look at the best pitcher in the GBC Owen Geddes and see how much his 58.52 LOB% and 33.33% HR/FB% have impacted his results thus far. It's safe to say his ERA won't stay there all year.

Outside of Davis, fifth starterAbdul-Muhaimin Saleem is having the worst luck of all 4 and has a 0.3286 BABIP and 51.28 LOB% that have led to the inflated 6.532 ERA. His FIP and xFIP sit at 4.503 and 4.905 respectively so still don't make for pretty reading, but better none the less.

Lastly Cody Glynn has a 61.64 LOB% and an ERA of 5.178 and Don Castor has a 16.13 HR/FB% with an ERA of 5.610. Again both underperforming, whilst also not getting the luck needed to bail them out. However, this rotation has not been good enough thus far, and even better luck would still be way off the best in the league. Especially when teams like Sao Paulo with their great starters have a 16 HR/FB% across their entire staff. It might be a hitter friendly park, but not that friendly.

The bullpen has been up and down as well with a 4.39 ERA, the stars thus far being Ramon Mendoza and Ferede Keohi both with ERAs under two. Mendoza is likely the next man up to have a go in this rotation, although six of the eight have the potential to also appear.

Interestingly league ERA is up the highest it has been since 2044, furthermore, the HR/FB% is up at 13%. It'll be interesting to see how the league develops its pitching over the next few months, but one things for sure - Buenos Aires have got to be at the forefront of this if they want to compete.