Bryan Woo is because of begin this night in opposition to the Athletics in Seattle. I anticipate he’ll go six innings. Why? As a result of he’s gone at the very least six innings in all 24 of his begins this season. Woo’s streak, as you’ve most likely guessed, is the longest in baseball by a long way. Solely two different lively pitchers — Cristopher Sánchez and Spencer Schwellenbach — have gone six or extra of their 10 most up-to-date begins. (Schwellenbach will maintain that streak going by the top of the 12 months, having fractured his elbow in June.)
The truth that Woo has accomplished six innings each time he’s taken the mound this 12 months is self-evident proof that he’s been constant. However on the identical time, this yearlong run of metronomity has not been interrupted by bursts of transcendence. He’s solely recorded one out within the eighth inning all season. He hasn’t posted back-to-back scoreless begins since June of final 12 months, and he’s nonetheless in search of the primary double-digit strikeout recreation of his total main league profession.
On April 12, Woo allowed one run throughout seven innings in a 9-2 win over the Rangers, decreasing his ERA to 2.84. Ever since then, his ERA has all the time been inside half a run in both route of three.00. It hasn’t been greater than 1 / 4 of a run from 3.00 because the second week of June. The person is a machine.
The opposite day, Meg got here to me asking if I’d meant to explain Logan Webb as certainly one of “probably the most pitchers within the NL.” Clearly not; I’d meant to describe him as “most constant” and didn’t cease to drop within the adjective. However that acquired me enthusiastic about who the “most pitcher” in baseball is, and it could be Woo.
Woo throws 5 pitches, and in contrast to another guys with deep repertoires, he throws all of them to hitters on either side of the plate at the very least semi-regularly. (He may not get a right-on-right changeup into each begin, nevertheless it’s not extraordinary.)
He’s acquired the very best command of any certified starter, in keeping with PitchingBot (Webb is definitely shut behind), and he works within the zone (58.1% of the time, in keeping with Statcast) greater than any certified starter besides Jake Irvin. And a variety of these strikes are in the midst of the plate; Woo has thrown 31.0% of his pitches in Statcast’s coronary heart zone, which ranks sixteenth out of 161 gamers with 1,000 or extra whole pitches this season.
He’s not distinctive there, on the mixture. He’s about common at producing swings and misses and suppressing wOBA on contact revamped the center of the plate. (In truth, in that latter class he’s third amongst starters whose final names begin with “Woo,” after Brandon Woodruff and Simeon Woods Richardson.)
However the number of stuff Woo throws has, considerably paradoxically, turned his fastball into top-of-the-line within the league. There’s nothing exceptional about its velocity or motion, however opponents are hitting .147 with a 29.5% whiff charge in opposition to his four-seamer, and by way of mixture run worth, it’s been top-of-the-line pitches in all of baseball.
Woo doesn’t have electrical breaking stuff or outlier fastball velocity, however he doesn’t stroll anyone and makes hitters beat him. Which occurs. Woo has allowed 10 batted balls with an exit velo of 110 mph or larger this 12 months, which is likely one of the 20 highest totals within the majors. He has additionally allowed 22 dwelling runs, which ties him for 14th within the league.
However 18 of these dwelling runs had been solo pictures. That’s as a result of Woo has thrown 67.8% of his pitches this 12 months with the bases empty. That’s the eighth-highest proportion out of 161 starters who’ve thrown 1,000 or extra pitches this 12 months.
He’s additionally been higher — lots higher — on these uncommon events when he has males on base or in scoring place. Woo has a .202 opponent wOBA with runners in scoring place, which is the sixth-best mark out of that group of starters, and 72 factors higher than his wOBA with the bases empty. In the event you maintain the bases clear and bear down when somebody does get on, a house run goes from a disaster to an annoyance, and it’s simpler to go deep in video games.
It additionally helps to be environment friendly. Final 12 months, Woo led the league (amongst pitchers with 100 or extra innings) in each total strike proportion and first-pitch strike proportion. He was the one starter within the majors to throw greater than 70% of his pitches for strikes (together with referred to as and swinging).
He’s really taken his foot off the fuel just a little by way of pounding the zone this 12 months.
Bryan Woo, on the Assault
| Yr | GS | IP | Pitches/GS | Pitches/IP | Pitches/BF | IP/GS | Strike% | F-Strike% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 22 | 121 1/3 | 78.0 | 14.2 | 3.64 | 5.5 | 71.0% | 72.9% |
| 2025 | 24 | 152 | 91.0 | 14.4 | 3.64 | 6.3 | 67.7% | 66.8% |
However by way of total effectivity, Woo stays among the many league leaders. Right here you’ll discover the ten beginning pitchers who’ve thrown the fewest pitches per plate look.
MLB Leaders in Pitches per Batter Confronted
| Title | Crew | GS | IP | Pitches/IP | Pitches/BF | Strike% | ERA- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germán Márquez | COL | 20 | 98 1/3 | 16.3 | 3.52 | 62.8% | 119 |
| Kyle Freeland | COL | 23 | 120 1/3 | 15.5 | 3.52 | 67.7% | 108 |
| Cristopher Sánchez | PHI | 25 | 157 | 14.5 | 3.58 | 66.3% | 58 |
| Zack Littell | TBR/CIN | 25 | 151 | 14.5 | 3.58 | 67.6% | 85 |
| Adrian Houser | CHW/TBR | 14 | 84 1/3 | 14.9 | 3.62 | 65.2% | 65 |
| Framber Valdez | HOU | 25 | 157 1/3 | 14.9 | 3.62 | 64.3% | 82 |
| Sonny Grey | STL | 25 | 140 1/3 | 14.9 | 3.62 | 66.7% | 104 |
| Spencer Schwellenbach | ATL | 17 | 110 2/3 | 14.2 | 3.62 | 68.7% | 73 |
| Antonio Senzatela | COL | 22 | 104 | 17.3 | 3.64 | 61.6% | 153 |
| Bryan Woo | SEA | 24 | 152 | 14.4 | 3.64 | 67.7% | 79 |
Minimal 80 innings
You’ll discover that the standard of pitchers right here is everywhere in the map. Truly, I take that again. There are seven good pitchers right here and three Rockies. As a result of typically a first-pitch strike at Coors Area turns right into a 440-foot homer.
Nonetheless, it’s value mentioning that there are a ton of fine pitchers who’re among the many league leaders in pitches per plate look. Freddy Peralta is throwing 4.22 pitches per plate look; that’s an additional seven-tenths of a pitch to each batter than Freeland throws. Zack Wheeler, MacKenzie Gore, Hunter Brown, and Logan Gilbert are not any. 6 by no. 10 on the most-pitches-per-batter leaderboard. Paul Skenes is twelfth.
However guys who go deep each recreation are likely to throw fewer pitches per plate look. Along with Woo, Sánchez and Schwellenbach — the opposite two lively starters with a 10-game streak of constructing it by the sixth inning — are within the high 10 in effectivity on a per-batter foundation.
In the event you change the denominator from per batter to per inning, nevertheless, you get a a lot, a lot stronger correlation with pitcher high quality. Which is smart; the variety of pitches a pitcher throws per inning is extra a perform of permitting fewer baserunners than throwing extra strikes.
I’ve highlighted Schwellenbach in brown, Woo in gold, and Sánchez in crimson. These three are not any. 1, no. 2, and no. 4 in fewest pitches per inning. Zack Littell, the league chief in solo dwelling runs allowed, is the one pitcher to interrupt up that group.
Complaints about how pitchers by no means go deep into video games anymore have grown a bit tiresome. It’s a unique recreation now than it was again within the Sixties, and even the Nineties. You possibly can’t simply pound the zone with a mid-90s fastball all of the reside lengthy day and anticipate to get by six or seven innings each day out.
Properly, “you” can’t, however Woo can. Possibly he’s acquired a time machine. Granted, he’s not Nolan Ryaning his manner by 180 pitches a begin — Woo has hit the 100-pitch mark solely 3 times in his total profession, and has by no means gone over 103 — however when a fastball within the zone is an out pitch, the remainder of the puzzle solves itself.
