Below is a table for the VAA's for the four most common pitches thrown last year. I also forgot to explain what xwOBACON is in my previous post, here is a good explanation of both xwOBA and xwOBACON. For average numbers on xwOBACON for each pitch type, Fangraphs has it all.
A couple of quick takeaways: The closer the fastball VAA's are to zero (up in the zone), the better the xwOBACON (the -1 to -2 range was likely an outlier with only 36 pitches in that category). This is nothing too surprising, as elevated fastballs are typically meant to get a swing and miss and fastballs in the mid-to-lower part of the zone are put in play more, increasing xwOBACON. For curveballs, strive to be an outlier, meaning be above or below average in terms of movement and VAA. The slider is a little tricky. It's easy to say "be an outlier" here too, but there's so many different types of sliders and it's possible for them to get labeled as cutters or curveballs. The changeup is best in the -8 to -11 category, which is in line with the idea that we do not want to throw a changeup up in the zone.
The next table is for the second wave of pitches thrown last season. Not to sound like a broken record, but aim to stay away from average.
Both tables should get more interesting once I can figure out the whiff rates for each increment. I will get around to comparing VAA's between pitchers with similar movement profiles, as well.
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