Max Scherzer, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Frankie Montas (suspended) and Walker Buehler.
Those four starters have racked up the lowest Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), which translates a pitcher’s true outcomes (strikeouts, unintentional walks, home runs, hit-by-pitches) into an ERA-like number, across baseball. A pair of them are in the Dodgers’ rotation, with Buehler leading the way over the last month-plus.
The 24-year-old right-hander has tallied a 1.89 ERA and 2.60 FIP since May 6, as well as a MLB-high 19.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) over that span. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joined “Big Time Baseball” co-hosts Tony Gwynn Jr. and Ben Davis to discuss Buehler’s ascension.
“I don’t think there really is a ceiling (with Buehler),” he said. “Not just to hit 99-100 (mph) on the gun, but to expect command. Glove-side command and to be able to change eye-level and to mix in that slower breaking ball, to go off the cutter, the four-seam fastball. It’s special.”
Los Angeles’ starting rotation boasts the league’s lowest ERA (2.77), too, as Roberts will have plenty of weapons to aid its push for a third-straight World Series appearance.
Gwynn and Davis also discuss Albert Pujols and Manny Machado’s return to their respective former ballparks (2:30), Cleveland’s playoff chances and Carlos Santana’s resurgence (10:30), why the All-Star Game should mean more to players (13:38) and whether or not managers are held accountable for too much after Mets manager Mickey Callaway’s incident on Sunday (21:22).