:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69552279/1326939323.0.jpg)
Ross Stripling’s first half divides neatly into two parts, the first six crappy starts and the next eight (well, seven starts, one ‘bulk man’ role) excellent starts.
After six starts, Ross had a 7.20 ERA, with an 0-3 record. Batters hit .330/.373/.615 against him with 7 home runs in 25 innings. He did have 29 strikeouts, so he was missing some bats, but not enough of them.
He made some adjustments. As he said, when you have a 7.20 ERA, you can’t be too proud to make changes.
It is pretty amazing. On May 13th Ross went 3.2 innings allowing 6 earned. In his next start, he went 7 innings, 0 runs, and 2 hits.
From then on, he’s had a 2.35 ERA, 3-1, with batters hitting .177/.244/.311. In 46 innings, he struck out 44. It is hard to believe a couple of minor changes could make such a difference.
In total, he has a 3-4 record, a 4.06 ERA. Baseball-Reference has him at a 1.3 WAR, FanGraphs 0.5. His FiP is 4.46, which likely explains the difference in WAR values.
If he can keep pitching as he has since May 24th, I’m going to have to stop thinking of him as the fifth starter.
Poll
For the first half, I’d give Ross Stripling an
This poll is closed
-
4%
A
(23 votes) -
23%
B+
(115 votes) -
39%
B
(194 votes) -
18%
B-
(92 votes) -
6%
C+
(34 votes) -
2%
C
(12 votes) -
1%
C-
(9 votes) -
0%
D+
(1 vote) -
0%
D
(2 votes) -
0%
D-
(2 votes) -
0%
F
(3 votes)