Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. SCOUT Leaderboards: Spring Training Batters
3. Crowdsourcing Radio Broadcasters: Ballot Totals by Team

Select Televised Games
Some notable games available on MLB.TV.

Chicago NL at Texas | 16:05 ET
Prospective Cubs first baseman Bryan LaHair has a 0:14 BB:K in 37 at-bats this spring. What will he do today?!? It’s a mystery. Like a John le Carré novel. Which is to say, a lesser John le Carré novel.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. Lightly Annotated Video: Liam Hendriks Throws a Pitch
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: St. Louis Radio

Select Televised Games
Atlanta at Washington | 13:05 ET
This is MLB.TV’s free game for the day. The starting pitchers (Tommy Hanson and John Lannan) are known quantities — which, for the fan thirsting for knowledge, won’t provide much, uh, knowledge. That said, this game does present an opportunity both (a) to watch Braves right-hander Jairo Asencio pitch and (b) to gather more information regarding who might end up in the Nationals middle infield on Opening Day. Asencio, scheduled to pitch in relief, posted a 36:9 K:BB in 28.1 innings in the Dominican Winter League this offseason and has recorded similar numbers in the minors. Meanwhile, last year’s starting shortstop for Washington, Ian Desmond, has looked vulnerable this spring (1:11 BB:K in 37 AB) following a pair of seasons in which he’s recorded less than three wins total. Steve Lombardozzi is the leading candidate to replace him — likely, with Danny Espinosa moving over to shortstop.

MLB.TV Feed: Washington Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. Experiment: SCOUT- Pitching Leaderboards
3. SCOUT- Leaderboard: Spring Training Pitchers

Select Televised Games
Washington at New York NL | 18:10 ET
Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his fourth start of the spring. Here’s his line so far: 9.2 IP, ca. 42 TBF, 6 K (14.4%), 3 BB (7.2%), 3 HR.

MLB.TV Audio Feed: New York NL Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. Largely Inconsequential Table: Pitchers with Three Fastballs
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: San Diego Radio

Select Televised Games
Milwaukee at Texas | 16:05 ET
Very famous Japaniranian Yu Darvish makes his third start of the spring today, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan. Here’s his (i.e. Darvish’s, not T.R Sullivan’s) line so far: 2/2 G/GS, 5.0 IP, 6 K, 4 BB, 0 HR.

MLB.TV Audio Feed: Texas Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Experiment: SCOUT+ Batting Leaderboards
2. SCOUT+ Leaderboard: Spring Training Batters
3. SCOUT+ Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League Batters, Revisited

Experiment: SCOUT+ Batting Leaderboards
For the past year-plus, I’ve frequently published in these pages what I’ve called the “SCOUT leaderboards” for winter leagues and (recently) spring training. I’m quoting myself when I write that “SCOUT represents an attempt to derive something meaningful from small samples” and is the average of a player’s standard deviations from the league mean (or, z-score) either in regressed strikeout and walk rate (for pitchers) or regressed home-run rate, walk rate, and strikeout rate (for hitters). SCOUT builds off of work done by Pizza Cutter on when samples for different stats become reliable. By taking a batter’s strikeout rate, for example, after X plate appearances and figuring in the league-average strikeout rate for the remaining plate appearances — up to the reliable sample size for strikeout rate — we’re able to reach a conservative estimate of what that batter’s “true talent” strikeout rate is. (Click here for more on SCOUT.)

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Featured Game: San Francisco at Seattle
2. SCOUT Leaderboard: Spring Training Batters
3. Graph: Home Run vs. Walk Rates, 2002-11

Featured Game: San Francisco at Seattle
Regarding Seattle’s Starting Pitcher
Right-hander Erasmo Ramirez will start for the Mariners, reports MLB.com Chris Haft. As a 21-year-old last season, Ramirez struck out 17.4% of batters while walking only 4.8% over 152.2 innings between Double- and Triple-A. In terms of velocity and walk rate last season, he approached the accomplishment that was Michael Pineda’s 2010 minor-league season.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. Lightly Annotated Video: Aaron Crow
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: San Francisco Radio

Select Televised Games
Washington at Atlanta | 18:05 ET
Stephen Strasburg is scheduled to make his second start of the spring, according to MLB.com’s Bill Ladson, while Bryce Harper is expected to return to the Nats’ lineup after missing six game due to a tight left calf. Meanwhile, Joe Frisaro reports that right-hander Julio Teheran will start for the Braves (although, as of Tuesday night, the MLB scoreboard suggests it could be other Braves right-handed prospect Randall Delgado). Teheran was ranked first — and Delgado third — in the Atlanta system by our Marc Hulet. The pair were ranked No. 5 and No. 32, respectively, on Hulet’s top-100 prospect list.

MLB.TV Audio Feed: Braves Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Select Televised Games
2. SCOUT Leaderboards: Spring Training Pitchers
3. Video: Yu Darvish’s First Start, Lightly Annotated

Select Televised Games
St. Louis at New York Nationals | 13:10 ET
Both Adam Wainwright and Maikel Cleto are expected to pitch in this game for the Cardinals, MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch reports. The former (i.e. Wainwright) is interesting for obvious reasons; the latter (i.e. Cleto), because his fastball averaged 97.9 mph during the 4.1 major-league innings he threw last season.

MLB.TV Audio Feed: New York Television.

Read the rest of this entry »

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. All Three of Today’s Televised Games
2. Video: Andrew Bailey’s Fastball and Cutter
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Seattle Radio

All Three of Today’s Televised Games
Florida at Boston | 13:35 ET
Right-hander Andrew Bailey, acquired in the trade that sent Josh Reddick and two others to Oakland, will make his spring debut, reports MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli. Other recently acquired reliever Mark Melancon will also pitch. Someone who likely won’t play is Giancarlo Stanton, who, as the internet is more than willing to inform you, was hit on the wrist by Chris Schwinden on Sunday. Or, I should say, a ball pitched by Chris Schwinden.

MLB.TV Audio Feed: ESPN.

Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Notes is going to the desert through the weekend, either to (a) live the ascetic life of the early Christian Fathers or (b) watch spring-training baseball games. One or the other.

In the meantime here’s a ballot for the Tampa Bay radio team:

Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Tampa Bay Radio
Recently, we released the results of our television broadcaster rankings — itself the product of reader crowdsourcing that started in late November. Now, FanGraphs is asking readers to rate the radio broadcast teams for all 30 major-league clubs (Click here for more on this project.)

Read the rest of this entry »