A Sabermetric View of the 2024 Prospect League
By: Jantzen Terrell
Introduction
When a season ends it can be bittersweet. As such, we like to remember the season and reminisce on all that has happened. A normal person might think of some big play that occurred on the field. However, if you are reading this, you are not looking for that. Instead, you are looking at it from the number’s perspective. Who hit the most homeruns? Who was the most impactful player? These are questions you might be asking yourself. Well, with this article I do hope that your craving for how the 2024 Prospect League went is satisfied through a good amount of sabermetrics.
Side not to all readers, if you are new to baseball stats allow me to explain the definition of sabermetrics. Sabermetric, first coined in 1980 by Bill James, is the application of statistical analysis to baseball records, especially in order to evaluate and compare the performance of individual players.
Purpose Of This Research
The purpose of this article is simple: provide a view of the 2024 Prospect League through a sabermetric lens. We are not simply looking at a player’s hits, runs, and walks. Rather, we are looking at more advanced metrics such as, but not limited to, Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), Adjusted Batting Wins, and Runs Created.
The goal of this research is to allow a person to see the 2024 Prospect League as if they were looking at Baseball Reference or FanGraphs: a simple and advance stat window.
Files
Hitting Stats – This file contains all individual hitting stats for every player in the Prospect League
Pitching Stats – This file contains all individual pitching stats for every player in the Prospect League
Guts! – This file contains not only a breakdown of team stats, but some important constants required for calculating some other stats
Index
Hitting Stats
Adjusted Batting Wins: is a metric that quantifies how many wins a player contributes to his team above what would be expected from an average player at his position, after adjusting for various factors like ballpark effects and league context. It is a derivative of linear weights statistics and is used to compare players across different eras and parks more fairly. Invented by Pete Palmer and first introduced in the book ‘The Hidden Game of Baseball’ in 1984.
G = Games
PA = Plate Appearances
PA/G = Plate Appearances Per Game
At-Bat: when a batter reaches base via a fielder’s choice, hit or an error (not including catcher’s interference) or when a batter is put out on a non-sacrifice.
R = Runs
H = Hits
1B = Singles
2B = Doubles
3B = Triples
HR = Home Runs
RBI = Runs Batted In
TB = Total Bases: a statistic that measures the number of bases a player has gained through hits. It reflects the overall power and effectiveness of a player’s hitting by accounting for the type of hit (single, double, triple, or home run).
SB = Stolen Bases
CS = Caught Stealing
HBP = Hit By Pitch
GIDP = Grounded Into Double Play
SF = Sacrifice Fly
SH = Sacrifice Hit
GO = Ground Out
FO = Fly Out
BB = Walk
SO = Strikeout
BB% = Walk Percentage: a statistic that measures the percentage of a batter’s plate appearances that result in a walk.
SO% = Strikeout Percentage: a statistic that measures the frequency with which a batter strikes out relative to their total plate appearances.
GO/FO = Ground Out to Fly Out Ratio
GO% = Ground Out Percentage
FO% = Fly Out Percentage
BA = Batting Average: the average performance of a batter, expressed as a ratio of a batter’s base hits per official times at bat.
OBP = On-Base Percentage: a baseball statistic that measures how frequently a batter reaches base per plate appearance.
SLG = Slugging Percentage: a statistic in baseball that measures a player’s batting productivity by calculating the total number of bases a player earns per at-bat. It differs from batting average in that it accounts for the power of a hitter by weighting extra-base hits (doubles, triples, home runs) more heavily.
OPS = On-Base Plus Slugging: a statistic that combines a player’s ability to get on base with their ability to hit for power.
CT% = Contact Percentage: Measure’s a batter’s ability to make contact with the ball and hit it into the field of play
BABIP = Batting Average on Balls in Play: a baseball statistic that measures a player’s batting average exclusively on balls that are hit into the field of play, excluding home runs.
RC = Runs Created: a baseball statistic, developed by Bill James, to estimate the number of runs a player contributes to their team, based on their offensive performance.
RCPG = Runs Created Per Game
ISO = Isolated Power: a statistic that measures a player’s raw power by calculating the number of extra bases a player earns per at-bat. It is specifically designed to highlight a player’s ability to hit for extra bases (doubles, triples, and home runs) independent of their batting average.
wOBA = Weighted On-Base Percentage: an advanced baseball statistic that measures a player’s overall offensive contributions, assigning different weights to different types of offensive events (like singles, doubles, walks, etc.) based on their actual run values.
wRAA = Weighted Runs Above Average: measures how many runs a player contributes above or below an average player, weighted by the relative value of each type of on-base event.
Adjusted wRAA
Total Average: aims to measure how well a player gains bases compared to how often they use up outs, encompassing all aspects of offensive performance, including hits, walks, extra-base hits, and stolen bases, while penalizing for outs made and caught stealing. It was introduced in the 1970s by Thomas Boswell, a sportswriter who sought to create a metric that captures a player’s overall effectiveness at generating offense.
Secondary Average: a baseball statistic that provides insight into a player’s contributions beyond what traditional batting averages show. It focuses on a player’s power, plate discipline, and speed, emphasizing elements of offensive performance not captured by batting average alone.
Pitching Stats
Adjusted Pitching Runs: a metric used in baseball analytics to evaluate a pitcher’s contribution to his team’s wins, adjusted for various factors such as league average performance, park effects, and the quality of the defense behind him.
W = Wins
L = Losses
ERA = Earn Run Average: the number of earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings
G = Games
GS = Games Started
IP = Innings Pitched
H = Hits
R = Runs
ER = Earned Runs
HR = Home Runs
BB = Walks
SO = Strikeouts
HBP = Hit By Pitch
WP = Wild Pitch
BK = Baulk
FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching: isolates the pitcher’s performance from the defense, focusing only on strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches, and home runs allowed.
WHIP = Walks and Hits Per Inning Pitched: statistic that shows how well a pitcher has kept runners off the basepaths.
H9 = Hits Per Inning
HR9 = Home Runs Per Inning
BB9 = Walks Per Inning
SO9 = Strikeouts Per Inning
SO/W = Strikeout to Walk Ratio
HR% = Home Run Ratio
BB% = Walk Ratio
SO% = Strikeout Ratio
H% = Hit Ratio
HBP% = Hit By Pitch Ratio
oBA = Opponent’s Batting Average
oOBP = Opponent’s On-Base Percentage
LOB% = Percentage of Batter’s Left on Base
DICE = Defense-Independent Component ERA: statistic that estimates a pitcher’s ERA (earned run average) without considering the pitcher’s defense. An earlier version of FIP
Guts!
R-G = Road Games
H-G = Home Games
X-W/L = Expected Win/Loss Percentage
H-W = Home Wins
H-L = Home Losses
H/W% = Home Winning Percentage
A-W = Road Wins
A-L = Road Losses
R/W% = Road Winning Percentage
RS = Runs Scored
RSPG = Runs Scored Per Game
RS-A = Runs Scored on the Road
RS-A/PG = Runs Scored on the Road Per Game
RS-H = Runs Scored at Home
RS-H/PG = Runs Scored at Home Per Game
RA = Runs Allowed
RAPG = Runs Allowed Per Game
RA-A = Runs Allowed on the Road
RA-A/PG = Runs Allowed on the Road Per Game
RA-H = Runs Allowed at Home
RA-H/PG = Runs Allowed at Home Per Game
BPF = Ballpark Factor