Photo by Keith Allison 
Now that we’ve reached Tax Day, Baseball Roundtable would like to take a look at a few MLB statistics – through April 15 – that you probably don’t see much of in regular baseball coverage. Admittedly, we are looking at a pretty small sample size, but the box below illustrates the kind of early-season “numbers” that caught BBRT’s eye.
- Rays’ righty Yonny Chirinos, as of April 15, had pitched more innings (14 1/3 innings in two starts and one relief appearance) without giving up a run this season than any other pitcher.
- The Mets’ Jose Reyes had the most at bats (16) of any player who had yet to get a hit this season.
- The Padres’ Jose Pirela has the most at bats (74) and the most hits (24) without a home runs this season. The other players with at least 60 at bats without a long ball through April 15: D-backs’ Ketel Marte; Reds’ Scooter Gennett; Marlins’ Starlin Castro; Astros’ Jose Altuve; Marlins’ Lewis Brinson.
Then, of couse, there are some team numbers that stand out.
THROUGH APRIL 15 …
- The Angels have scored an MLB-best 103 runs in 16 games – the Royals have plated MLB-worst 39 in 13 contests. No surprise, the Angels are 13-3, the Royals 3-10.
- The Indians are averaging right on the Mendoza Line (.200) – as a team. Despite the lowest average in the majors, the Tribe is 8-6 on the season.
- The Angels have hit more home runs (26) than the Royals (5), Tigers (5), Rays (7) and Marlins (8) COMBINED.
- The Brewers blew an MLB-leading seven saves (in just 11 opportunities) – and are still playing .500 ball (8-8). The Braves, meanwhile, have had only two save opportunities – and blew them both – but are 8-6 on the season.
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Here’s a few other stats that caught my attention – all through April 15.
- No player has grounded into more double plays than the Marlins’ Starlin Castro – seven times in 15 games. Still, Castro is hitting .295 over 61 bats.
GDP – Through April 15 …
Starlin Castro, Marins – 7; Stephen Piscotty, A’s – 5; Aaron Judge, Yankees – 5.
The Angels’ Albert Pujols led MLB in grounding into double plays in 2017 – with 26. That was 0ne more than the NL leader, Matt Kemp of the Braves.
- The Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes and Rockies’ Trevor Story are tied for the most strikeouts by a batter at 26 (in 58 and 62 at bats, respectively). Notably, both are hitting under .200 through April 15.
Most Strikeouts – Through April 15 …
Yeonis Cespedes, Mets – 26; Trevor Story, Rockies – 26; Drew Robinson, Yankees – 25; Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees – 25; Paul DeJong, Cardinals – 25.
BBRT note: Cespedes, despite leading in K’s and hitting just .190, has 12 RBI. Robinson is the only one among these leaders who has fanned in more than half his at bats (25 whiffs in41 at bats).
The 2017 MLB strikeout leader was Yankee rookie Aaron Judge who, last season, set MLB rookie records in both strikeouts (208) and home runs (52).
- No one has averaged more pitches seen per plate appearance so far this season than the Twins’ Miguel Sano (4.96) – who is hitting .250-3-8 in ten games.
Pitches Per Plate Appearance – Through April 15 …
Miguel Sano, Twins – 4.96; Jose Ramirez, Indians – 4.73; Matt Davidson, White Sox – 4.67; Todd Frazier, Mets – 4.57; Trevor Story, Rockies – 4.57
Curtis Granderson (Dodgers/Mets) saw the most pitches per plate appearance (among qualifiying hitters) in 2017 at 4.52. Overall, he hit .212-26-64 in 147 games.
- The Cubs’ Javier Baez leads the major leagues in intentional walks this season with four, while the Nationals’ Bryce Harper – hitting ,300 with an MLB-best seven home runs – leads in overall walks with 20.
Intentional Walks – Through April 15 …
Javier Baez, Cubs – 4; Freddie Freeman, Braves – 3; Jody Mercer, Pirates – 3; Michael Conforto, Mets – 3.
Total Walks – Through April 15 ….
Bryce Harper, Nationals – 20; Freddie Freeman, Braves – 17; Matt Carpenter, Cardinals – 14; Trea Turner, Nationals – 14.
The Reds’ Joey Votto led MLB with 20 intentional walks in 2017. He also led in total walks with 134.
- The Cubs’ Kris Bryant has already been hit by a pitch an MLB-leading five times.
Hit-By-Pitch – Through April 15 …
Kris Bryant, Cubs – 5; Martin Machado, Angels – 4; Robinson Chirinos, Rangers – 4; Jose Abreu, White Sox – 4.
Last season’s MLB hit-by-pitch leader was the Mets’ Anthony Rizzo with 24. The Rangers’ Carlos Gomez led the AL with 19.
- Looking at players with at least 10 at bats with runners in scoring position – The Braves’ Dansby Swanson has the best RISP average at .615 (8-for-13).
Average with RISP – Through April, minimum 10 RISP at bats) … Dansby Swanson, Braves – .615 (8-for-13); Freddie Freeman, Braves – .600 (9-for-15); Jose Pirela, Padres – .571 (8-for-14).
Among players with at least 75 at bats with runners in scoring position in 2017, the Nationals’ Daniel Murphy had the highest average with RISP at .409 (47-for-115).
- The Dodgers’ Chase Utley, Dodgers’ Kyle Farmer and Cubs’ Tommy La Stella share the lead in pinch hits with four reach. Utley got his in just five pinch-hit at bats, Farmer in six at bats and La Stella in eleven.
The Marlins’ Ichiro Suzuki led all MLB players in pinch hits in 2017 with 27 (in 100 pinch-hit at bats). Looking at players with at least 20 pinch-hit at bats, The Cardinals’ Jose Martinez put up the highest pinch-highest average at .462 (12-for-26).
- The Mariners’ Dee Gordon leads MLB in stolen bases through April 15 with seven – and also had the most stolen bases through April 15 with being caught. The leaders in caught stealing – all with three through April 15 – are the Padres’ Freddy Galvis (3 attempts); Rays’ Mallex Smith (five attempts); and Cardinals’ Tommy Pham (8 attempts).
- Among pitchers with at least 15 innings pitched, the Astros’ Gerrit Cole has fanned the most batters per nine-inings at 15.43.
Strikeouts Per Innings – Through April 15 (minimum 15 innings pitched) …
Gerrit Cole, Astros – 15.93 (36 K/21 IP); Patrick Corbin, D-backs – 14.24 (29K/18 1/3 IP); Noah Sundergaard, Mets – 13.92 (33K/21 1/3IP).
In 2017, among pithchers with at least 100 innings pitched, Chris Sale led the way with 12.93 strikeouts per nine innings. Among pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched, the leader was the Red Sox’ Craig Kimbrel at 16.43 (126 K in 69 IP).
- The Angels’ Garrett Richard leads MLB in walks allowed with 15 (20 innings pitched/24 strikeouts). Special mention goes to the Padres’ Bryan Mitchell, second in walks with 14, but in just 13 2/4 innings.
Most Walks Allowed – Through April 15 …
Garrett Richards, Angels – 15 (20 innings pitched/24 strikeouts); Bryan Mitchell, Padres – 14 (13 2/3 IP/3 K); Carlos Martinez Cardinals – 14 (25 2/3 IP/ 30 K).
- The highest earned run average among pitchers with at least two starts in 2018 is 12.00 – A.J. Cole of the Nationals. Chris Tillman has an 11.91 ERA in three starts. At the other end of the spectrum, Yonny Chirinos of the Rays has two starts and one relief appearance and has yet to give up a run (14 1/3 innings).
The highest ERA among qualifyng pitchers (162 innings pitched) in 2017 was 5.52 (Matt Moore, Giants). Note: Jordan Zimmerman had a 6.08 ERA in 29 starts – but only 160 innings pitched.
Primary Resources: ESPN.com; MLB.com; Baseball-Reference.com.
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Member: Society for American Baseball Research; The Baseball Reliquary; Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.
