April 2010 - Starting Rotation Profile

I try to keep up with the Rangers starting rotation as a group and as individuals as we navigate through the season, and I thought you might enjoy looking at the results, too. 2,328 pitches were thrown by Rangers rotation members in April, and only 5 men took the hill in 140 innings of work.

Just so we are all up to speed with the different stats, IPS is Innings Per Start and PPS is Pitches Per Start. Everything else will be metrics that I am sure you are familiar with.

Before you start, we need to establish league averages for the stats so you understand what consitutes "league average". So, here you go - These are the American League Averages for April 2010:

ERA - AL Average is 4.16
AVG - AL Average is .256
OBP - AL Average is .330
SLG - AL Average is .408
K/9 - AL Average is 6.85
BB/9 - AL Average is 3.59
HR/9 - AL Average is 0.97
WHIP - AL Average is 1.37

Rotation Splits

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	23	13	140.2	6.11	101.2	3.71	.230/.320/.312	7.03	4.16	0.83	1.30
Total	23	23	140.2	6.11	101.2	3.71	.230/.320/.312	7.03	4.16	0.83	1.30

Table Tutorial

To compare to last year's rotation, Check out the Final 2009 Rotation Profile

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Scott Feldman

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	5	3	26	5.2	96.8	4.50	.279/.345/.404	4.84	3.80	0.69	1.53
Total	5	3	26	5.2	96.8	4.50	.279/.345/.404	4.84	3.80	0.69	1.53

Table Tutorial

Not totally sure what to make of Scott Feldman's April. He did give them 3 out of 5 Quality Starts, but was hit too hard to have a chance to duplicate his 2009 campaign. Lots of baserunners with a WHIP over 1.50, and he is back under 5 K's/9. We will continue to follow this story, because he is certainly being counted upon for plenty.

HRs: (2) Adam Lind, Vernon Wells


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Rich Harden Splits

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	5	2	23.2	4.7	94.8	4.56	.250/.430/.417	8.36	8.74	1.52	1.86
Total	5	2	23.2	4.7	94.8	4.56	.250/.430/.417	8.36	8.74	1.52	1.86

Table Tutorial

Let's be honest; April was a disaster for Rich Harden. His strikeouts are nice, but not when you cannot average 5 innings a start, walk almost 9 per 9 (I have never seen that before), and basically allow a OBP that is 100 points higher than the league average. Not good at all. He has promise, but that was not a great first impression.

HRs: (4) Alex Gonzalez, Shin-Soo Choo, Mark Teixeira, Carlos Quentin

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Matt Harrison Splits

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	4	2	23	5.75	101	5.48	.253/.314/.367	5.86	3.13	1.95	1.39
Total	4	2	23	5.75	101	5.48	.253/.314/.367	5.86	3.13	1.95	1.39

Table Tutorial

Matt Harrison's April was not great. You have to wonder about how much his start in Cleveland and the famous 8th inning Choo HR affected his whole month. Too many HRs and too many baserunners have sabotaged his early going. Surely a candidate to lose his spot as Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter lurk below.

HR: (5) Shin-Soo Choo, JD Drew, Mike Lowell, Darnell McDonald, Brandon Inge

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Colby Lewis Splits

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	5	2	32.2	6.5	109.4	2.76	.195/.286/.297	10.5	3.58	0.55	1.10
Total	5	2	32.2	6.5	109.4	2.76	.195/.286/.297	10.5	3.58	0.55	1.10

Table Tutorial

Colby Lewis has a 10.5 strikeouts/per 9 ratio right now. I could go on and on about his 1st month back with the Rangers, but instead, allow me to make the point again that he has a 10.5 strikeouts/per 9 ratio.

HRs:(2) Jeremy Hermida, Austin Jackson

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CJ Wilson Splits

Month	GS	QS	IP	IPS	PPS	ERA	AVG/OBP/SLG	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	WHIP
April	4	4	25.2	6.4	104.7	1.75	.223/.318/.255	7.36	3.50	0.00	1.20
Total	4	4	25.2	6.4	104.7	1.75	.223/.318/.255	7.36	3.50	0.00	1.20

Table Tutorial

CJ Wilson is doing everything they dreamed he would do in the starting rotation. 4 out of 4 with Quality Starts, high strikeouts, and the beautiful premise of almost no extra-base hits. The moving of Wilson to the rotation has certainly caused unrest in the back of the bullpen, but I think they would have to agree it has been worth it to get this every 5 days.

HR: None