Now that we know which pitchers were the best at staying in the strike zone and limiting walks, we can look at more stats.
FIP (Fielding Indepent Pitching)
- Jacob deGrom 2.62 FIP (1326.0 IP)
- Clayton Kershaw 2.76 FIP (2577.0 IP)
- Pedro Martinez 2.91 FIP (2720.0 IP)
- Chris Sale 2.92 FIP (1582.2 IP)
- Stephen Strasburg 3.02 FIP (1470.0 IP)
- Max Scherzer 3.09 FIP (2663.0 IP)
- Corey Kluber 3.10 FIP (1577.1 IP)
FIP is similar to ERA, but it focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over — strikeouts, unintentional walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs. The stat measures a pitcher’s effectiveness in an accurate way
WHIP (Walks plus Hits plus Innings Pitched)
- T1. Jacob deGrom 1.00 WHIP (1326.0 IP)
- T1. Clayton Kershaw 1.00 WHIP (2577.0 IP)
- 2. Chris Sale 1.04 WHIP (1582.2 IP)
- 3. Pedro Martinez 1.05 WHIP (2720.0 IP)
- 4. Max Scherzer 1.07 WHIP
- T5. Stephen Strasburg 1.10 WHIP (1470.0 IP)
- T5. Gerrit Cole 1.10 WHIP (1650.1 IP)
WHIP is a very important stat when comparing pitchers because it shows how good a pitcher is at getting outs while not allowing walks or hits of any kind.
One last stat to go over.
K-BB%. How often does the pitcher get a strikeout opposed to a walk?
- Chris Sale – 25.2% (1582.2 IP)
- Jacob deGrom – 25.0% (1326.0 IP)
- Max Scherzer – 23.1% (2663.0 IP)
- Gerrit Cole – 22.7% (1650.1 IP)
- Stephen Strasburg – 22.3% (1470.0 IP)
- Yu Darvish – 21.4% (1488.0 IP)
- Pedro Martinez – 21.2% (2720.0 IP)
Using these six stats, you could accurately pick some of the best starting pitchers out. Obviously, it won’t be perfect but let’s continue.
Jacob deGrom appeared in five of these leaderboards along with Chris Sale and Max Scherzer.
Stephen Strasburg appeared in four, along with Pedro Martinez.
Clayton Kershaw appeared in three, along with Gerrit Cole.
Greg Maddux appeared in two, along with Yu Darvish.
These pitchers remain in the discussion. Let’s compare them.