5 Starting Pitchers Quietly Having a Great Start to the Second Half
Parker Bridwell, Los Angeles Angels
Parker Bridwell has been mostly solid for the Los Angeles Angels throughout the duration of his 66 big-league innings this season, but the peripherals have taken a noticeable jump since coming back from the All-Star break.
The below table compares his strikeout rate (K%), walk rate (BB%), wOBA allowed, hard-hit rate (Hard%), strand rate (LOB%), ERA, and SIERA between the first and second half.
| 2017 | K% | BB% | wOBA | Hard% | LOB% | ERA | SIERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Half | 13.7% | 7.2% | .362 | 40.7% | 91.8% | 2.70 | 5.24 |
| Second Half | 18.1% | 4.7% | .247 | 28.6% | 79.1% | 1.65 | 4.49 |
He's actually outperforming his second-half SIERA even more than his first-half mark, but it's pretty clear to see where the improvements have been made thus far despite not stranding runners nearly as often. Another big difference between these two time periods is the frequency in which he allows home runs.
Prior to the All-Star break, Bridwell was allowing 1.89 homers per nine innings, but since the midsummer classic, that number has gone down to just 0.83. Limiting hard contact certainly helps, and while his fly-ball rate allowed has barely changed (38.3% in the first half and 38.1% in the second half), his ground-ball rate has dropped in favor of more line drives (21.5% to 26.8%).
So, unless he can continue keeping his hard-hit rate low, that may end up being a problem moving forward.
