Post by chinmusic on Aug 1, 2024 14:26:23 GMT -8
The Dog days of summer are here. Our Season is in the books, the CWS is over, the Portal is closed, our boys of summer are scattered and busy improving their skills, the coaches are getting reacquainted with their families, and the draft and signings are complete. This is the period when my little pea brain indulges in fiction, fantasy and what if’s. . . . like how good was our pitching when compared to one of nation’s better staffs at Arkansas. The Beavers and Arkansas had near identical records in ’24, so away we go.
The Arkansas Razorbacks led the NCAA in pitching stats in three of the Team Pitching categories the NCAA records every season. The Razorbacks finished the ’24 season with a 44 -16 record (20 -10 in the SEC) which included an intensely watched 5-4 win over the Beavers in an early season matchup in Arlington. Arkansas saw a disappointing finish to their season losing their home Regional, with a pair of surprising losses to SE Missouri and Kansas State. Arkansas used 17 pitchers in 2024 including 6 starters that all logged over 40 innings pitched. Their ace, Hagen Smith was the fifth player selected in the recent MLB Draft and signed for $8 million with the Chicago White Sox.In any comparative analysis, strength of competition should be factored into the review. If you accept the assertion that the SEC from top to bottom was more competitive than the PAC-12 Conference was this year, that should be considered in any analysis. Arkansas played exactly half their schedule (30 games) against SEC teams this year. With a nearly identical 45-16 mark this season, how did the Beavers stack up comparatively to Arkansas’ acclaimed pitching staff in 2024 – Perhaps better than you might think! Take a look:
INNINGS PITCHED: Arkansas 523.2 and OSU 530.2. For the purpose of analysis I broke the data into 2 groups-Starters and Bullpen. Arkansas Starters worked 249.2 innings and the Bullpen threw more with 274 innings, OSU Starters pitched 276 innings with the Bullpen throwing 254.2 innings. On average, Arkansas went to their Bullpen earlier than OSU did.
ERA: Arkansas 3.87 (5th) and OSU with 4.07 (10th). Hawaii led with 3.78. Both UA and OSU were Top-10 in team ERA - a testimonial to talented staffs at both schools. Arkansas Starters posed a 3.64 ERA while the Bullpen posted a 4.07 ERA. OSU Starters posted a 4.21 ERA but their "Pen" was better at 3.02. Razorback ace, Hagen Smith recorded a glowing 2.04 ERA for the season.
WHIP: Arkansas 1.23 (1st) and OSU with 1.31 (14th). Arkansas Starters had a 1.19 WHIP while their Bullpen posted 1.26. OSU Starters had a 1.24 WHIP with the Bullpen checking in with a 1.39. These two important stats are relatively close with OSU allowing .20 or 1/5th more earned runs per game and .08 more walks and hits per inning or .72 per 9 innings. Both teams were Top-15 nationally in these stats.
HITS ALLOWED: Arkansas 415 and OSU 470 (no ranking).HITS/9: Arkansas 7.13 (1st) and OSU with 7.97 (12th)OSU allowed 55 more hits over 60 games or almost 1 per game . Arkansas allowed .84 fewer hits per 9 innings - not a big difference maker but never the less, some daylight. For the season, OSU gave up 10.8% more hits than the Hogs.
XBH ALLOWED: Arkansas 71-2-56 (129) and OSU 104-10-44 (158) OSU Gave up 33 more doubles and 8 more triples than Arkansas but the Razorbacks surrendered 12 more home runs than the Beavers. OSU allowed 29 more extra base hits than Arkansas. When considering Arkansas pitching was facing those super charged offenses of the SEC every series, this metric shows a real disparity. The Beavs gave up over 2.5 XBH per game – wrong pitch or wrong location?
RUNS ALLOWED: Arkansas 245/225 ER and OSU 287/240 ER.
RUNS / GAME: Arkansas 4.08 and OSU 4.71.The glaring difference here is the disparity of unearned runs. Arkansas had 20, OSU had 47. OSU allowed .63 more runs per/9 than Arkansas or a little more than one half run per game.
BB ISSUED: OSU 225 and Arkansas 227.BB/9: OSU 3.82 (36th) and Arkansas 3.90 (45th). Arizona led with 2.56. As evidenced by the NCAA ranking, neither team found the strike zone as often as they wanted. There could be several explanations for that but both teams were over one walk/9 higher than the NCAA leader, Arizona. Arkansas Starters allowed 119 BB and hit 30 batters. Their Bullpen issued 130 BB and also hit 30 batters. OSU Starters walked 94 and hit 36 batters while the Bullpen walked 131 and plunked 52 hitters. That is glaring, the OSU Bullpen obviously struggled with command.
HBP: Arkansas 60 and OSU 88.Holmes and Hunter accounted for 34 of OSU's hit batters. We pitch inside more than Arkansas, and, we had Bridger and they didn't.
K:BB RATIO: Arkansas 3.11:1 (5th) and OSU 2.48:1 (24th). Arizona led with 3.46:
K's: Arkansas 706 and OSU 557. K/9: Arkansas 12.1/9 (1st) and OSU 9.4/9 (51st). Of all the comparative stats, strikeouts appear to be the largest separation of the two teams. OSU punched out 149 batters less than Arkansas. The Beavers were ranked 51st nationally in K’s. The OSU staff was long on walks and HBP but short on “Whiff”. May Kmatz and Holmes had respectable K numbers but there was an abrupt drop-off after that. Arkansas Starters struck out 363 batters and their Bullpen added 343 more. OSU Starters fanned 289 batters with the Bullpen chipping in with 268. The Razorback Starters k'd 13.1/9 with their Bullpen adding 11.3/9. OSU Starters struck out 9.4 batters with the Bullpen contributing 9.5/9. Again, Hagen Smith skews this stat with his 17.25 k/9 metric.
OpBA: Arkansas .217 and OSU .235. Both teams posted good opposing batting average numbers. Holding the opposition to .240 or below is generally acceptable at the college level. Arkansas managed to hold the likes of Condon, Caliglianone, White, and Team Tennessee to a meager .217 was a real accomplishment.
SHUTOUTS: Arkansas 6 (T-5th) and OSU 6 (T-5th) Leader was Texas A&M with 12.
*Stats were compiled from the official NCAA team individual statistics for 2024 and the OSU and Arkansas baseball websites. NCAA rankings appear when available.
The Arkansas Razorbacks led the NCAA in pitching stats in three of the Team Pitching categories the NCAA records every season. The Razorbacks finished the ’24 season with a 44 -16 record (20 -10 in the SEC) which included an intensely watched 5-4 win over the Beavers in an early season matchup in Arlington. Arkansas saw a disappointing finish to their season losing their home Regional, with a pair of surprising losses to SE Missouri and Kansas State. Arkansas used 17 pitchers in 2024 including 6 starters that all logged over 40 innings pitched. Their ace, Hagen Smith was the fifth player selected in the recent MLB Draft and signed for $8 million with the Chicago White Sox.In any comparative analysis, strength of competition should be factored into the review. If you accept the assertion that the SEC from top to bottom was more competitive than the PAC-12 Conference was this year, that should be considered in any analysis. Arkansas played exactly half their schedule (30 games) against SEC teams this year. With a nearly identical 45-16 mark this season, how did the Beavers stack up comparatively to Arkansas’ acclaimed pitching staff in 2024 – Perhaps better than you might think! Take a look:
INNINGS PITCHED: Arkansas 523.2 and OSU 530.2. For the purpose of analysis I broke the data into 2 groups-Starters and Bullpen. Arkansas Starters worked 249.2 innings and the Bullpen threw more with 274 innings, OSU Starters pitched 276 innings with the Bullpen throwing 254.2 innings. On average, Arkansas went to their Bullpen earlier than OSU did.
ERA: Arkansas 3.87 (5th) and OSU with 4.07 (10th). Hawaii led with 3.78. Both UA and OSU were Top-10 in team ERA - a testimonial to talented staffs at both schools. Arkansas Starters posed a 3.64 ERA while the Bullpen posted a 4.07 ERA. OSU Starters posted a 4.21 ERA but their "Pen" was better at 3.02. Razorback ace, Hagen Smith recorded a glowing 2.04 ERA for the season.
WHIP: Arkansas 1.23 (1st) and OSU with 1.31 (14th). Arkansas Starters had a 1.19 WHIP while their Bullpen posted 1.26. OSU Starters had a 1.24 WHIP with the Bullpen checking in with a 1.39. These two important stats are relatively close with OSU allowing .20 or 1/5th more earned runs per game and .08 more walks and hits per inning or .72 per 9 innings. Both teams were Top-15 nationally in these stats.
HITS ALLOWED: Arkansas 415 and OSU 470 (no ranking).HITS/9: Arkansas 7.13 (1st) and OSU with 7.97 (12th)OSU allowed 55 more hits over 60 games or almost 1 per game . Arkansas allowed .84 fewer hits per 9 innings - not a big difference maker but never the less, some daylight. For the season, OSU gave up 10.8% more hits than the Hogs.
XBH ALLOWED: Arkansas 71-2-56 (129) and OSU 104-10-44 (158) OSU Gave up 33 more doubles and 8 more triples than Arkansas but the Razorbacks surrendered 12 more home runs than the Beavers. OSU allowed 29 more extra base hits than Arkansas. When considering Arkansas pitching was facing those super charged offenses of the SEC every series, this metric shows a real disparity. The Beavs gave up over 2.5 XBH per game – wrong pitch or wrong location?
RUNS ALLOWED: Arkansas 245/225 ER and OSU 287/240 ER.
RUNS / GAME: Arkansas 4.08 and OSU 4.71.The glaring difference here is the disparity of unearned runs. Arkansas had 20, OSU had 47. OSU allowed .63 more runs per/9 than Arkansas or a little more than one half run per game.
BB ISSUED: OSU 225 and Arkansas 227.BB/9: OSU 3.82 (36th) and Arkansas 3.90 (45th). Arizona led with 2.56. As evidenced by the NCAA ranking, neither team found the strike zone as often as they wanted. There could be several explanations for that but both teams were over one walk/9 higher than the NCAA leader, Arizona. Arkansas Starters allowed 119 BB and hit 30 batters. Their Bullpen issued 130 BB and also hit 30 batters. OSU Starters walked 94 and hit 36 batters while the Bullpen walked 131 and plunked 52 hitters. That is glaring, the OSU Bullpen obviously struggled with command.
HBP: Arkansas 60 and OSU 88.Holmes and Hunter accounted for 34 of OSU's hit batters. We pitch inside more than Arkansas, and, we had Bridger and they didn't.
K:BB RATIO: Arkansas 3.11:1 (5th) and OSU 2.48:1 (24th). Arizona led with 3.46:
K's: Arkansas 706 and OSU 557. K/9: Arkansas 12.1/9 (1st) and OSU 9.4/9 (51st). Of all the comparative stats, strikeouts appear to be the largest separation of the two teams. OSU punched out 149 batters less than Arkansas. The Beavers were ranked 51st nationally in K’s. The OSU staff was long on walks and HBP but short on “Whiff”. May Kmatz and Holmes had respectable K numbers but there was an abrupt drop-off after that. Arkansas Starters struck out 363 batters and their Bullpen added 343 more. OSU Starters fanned 289 batters with the Bullpen chipping in with 268. The Razorback Starters k'd 13.1/9 with their Bullpen adding 11.3/9. OSU Starters struck out 9.4 batters with the Bullpen contributing 9.5/9. Again, Hagen Smith skews this stat with his 17.25 k/9 metric.
OpBA: Arkansas .217 and OSU .235. Both teams posted good opposing batting average numbers. Holding the opposition to .240 or below is generally acceptable at the college level. Arkansas managed to hold the likes of Condon, Caliglianone, White, and Team Tennessee to a meager .217 was a real accomplishment.
SHUTOUTS: Arkansas 6 (T-5th) and OSU 6 (T-5th) Leader was Texas A&M with 12.
*Stats were compiled from the official NCAA team individual statistics for 2024 and the OSU and Arkansas baseball websites. NCAA rankings appear when available.
