Chicago White Sox Pitcher James Shields Putting Up Deceptive Numbers in 2017
By Tim Boyle
Chicago White Sox pitcher James Shields has some deceptive statistics this season. On the surface, his 1.62 ERA in three starts looks terrific. The 1.14 WHIP isn’t half-bad either.
Beyond these basic numbers is a more glaring problem. Chicago White Sox right-hander James Shields looks on the verge of imploding. After losing 19 games last year and delivering a 5.85 ERA, it’s hard to trust anything he does. This is especially true when some of his other statistics are quite frightening.
As a member of the rebuilding White Sox, it’s fair to think his win/loss record will be below .500. After all, Chicago is not destined to win very many games. This still doesn’t mean Shields is going to get blown out regularly. Plenty of starters have had very good seasons with Cy Young worthy numbers in other areas aside from wins. Two years ago, Shelby Miller had a 3.02 ERA and lost a league-leading 17 games. Shields has the potential to do something similar with the White Sox in 2017.
In order to do this, Shields does have to start pitching a lot better. He is flirting with danger already and has yet to successfully escape April with the solid ERA in tact.
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Through his first 16.2 innings, Shields is walking batters at a stunning rate of 5.4 per nine innings. Paired with the 1.6 home runs per nine he has allowed, it looks like a dangerous recipe is cooking.
It’s the latter number that should concern everyone the most. Shields is coming off two straight seasons as the league leader in home runs allowed. Last season he surrendered an amazing 40 bombs. One year earlier, it was 33 as a member of the San Diego Padres. He’s already well on his way to giving up just as many this year as his home run rate is higher than it was in 2015.
Shields has survived his first three starts by pitching well with runners on base. The only three runs he has allowed were solo home runs which also account for one-third of the hits against him. Walks have been the bigger problem, as he has issued more free passes than hits.
Maybe the most frustrating part of Shields’ game this year is how much he has lost his ability to go deep into games. More walks means reaching his pitch limit a lot sooner. Once a great innings-eater, Shields has only once made it through the sixth inning in three chances.
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In some ways, Shields has been the pitcher’s version of Adam Dunn. He is giving up home runs, walking batters, and actually striking guys out at a fairly consistent rate. It has worked so far for him, but cannot last for a full season. Eventually, pitching like this will catch up to Shields and he will see his ERA balloon out of control.