Archive for Teams

If you were perusing the Padres’ team stats, you might do a double-take when comparing your first impressions of their performances to date against their standing in the National League West. Fernando Tatis Jr. is slugging .273 and has yet to homer, Manny Machado’s batting average is below the Mendoza Line, and two of their five players with a wRC+ of at least 100 are part-timers. On the other side of the ball, just three of their starting pitchers have ERAs below 5.00, one of whom (Nick Pivetta) has been out since mid-April due to a flexor strain. While closer Mason Miller has been lights out, their higher-leverage relievers have not been uniformly dominant. And yet with all of this, the Padres took over first place in their division on Monday night, after Michael King and friends stifled the Dodgers, 1-0, at Petco Park, the season’s first game between the two teams.

Contending teams have become the expectation in San Diego despite near-constant instability, with the Padres claiming Wild Card spots in four of the past six seasons under three different managers, now all departed in favor of first-year skipper Craig Stammen. They raised their payroll as high as $255 million in 2023, third highest in the game, before cutting back dramatically in the wake of owner Peter Seidler’s death in November 2023 and a subsequent battle for control of the franchise among his survivors. This year’s projected $209 million payroll ranks ninth. Yet somehow through the turmoil — including the pending sale of the team to Chelsea Football Club co-owner José E. Feliciano and his wife Kwanza Jones — the Padres are giving the Dodgers another run for their money.

But how? As you might have guessed given those subpar stats I cited above, the Padres are playing well above their heads relative to their raw numbers. At 29-18, they’re 11 games above .500 despite outscoring opponents by just eight runs, 196-188. They’re a major league-high 4.6 wins above their Pythagorean-projected winning percentage of .519, and five wins above their BaseRuns-projected winning percentage of .510, second to only the Rays. Based on their per-game BaseRuns numbers, the Padres have overachieved on the offensive side, scoring 0.22 runs per game more than their expected 3.98, but they’ve underachieved slightly on the pitching side, allowing 0.1 runs per game more than their projected 3.90. Read the rest of this entry »

Tyler Samaniego isn’t perfect anymore. After throwing 15 scoreless innings over his first 13 big league appearances, the left-hander was taken deep by Kyle Schwarber with a runner aboard in the eighth inning this past Thursday night as the Boston Red Sox fell to the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-1. The inevitable imperfection was followed by a double whammy. On Friday, Samaniego surrendered a 10th-inning walk-off two-bagger to Mike Yastrzemski — the only batter he faced — in a 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves. Flawless no more, he now has a still-stellar 1.17 ERA and a pair of losses over his first 15 outings.

His initial level of success was somewhat surprising, and the same could be said of the 27-year-old rookie having earned an opportunity to show his mettle in high-leverage situations. He was anything but a proven commodity at season’s start. As for his presence in the Red Sox bullpen, that wasn’t wholly unexpected. When he came to Boston as part of the five-player December deal that shipped “The Password” to the Pirates, Eric Longenhagen wrote that Samaniego was “fairly likely to play a role on Boston’s pitching staff in 2026… occupying a lefty specialist spot.”

Shortly before he suffered his first big league adversity, I approached the 2021 15th-round pick out of the University of South Alabama to learn more about him. I’d perused his stat sheet, seen him pitch a handful of times, and knew that he had undergone an internal brace procedure while in the minors, but that was about it. As such, I began by asking how he has progressed as a pitcher over the years. Read the rest of this entry »

Things could be going better for Brayan Bello. I guess that’s true of most Red Sox players these days, but the right-hander is having an especially rough go of things. On Sunday, Bello took the decision in an 8-1 loss to the Braves, allowing seven earned runs in five innings pitched.

That kind of line doesn’t necessarily signal a terrible outing; sometimes a starter trudges along in quality-start territory before running into trouble late. A couple quick walks, then the bullpen lets a couple inherited runners score… three runs allowed over four innings can turn into seven runs in five innings in a flash.

That wasn’t the case here. Seven of the first 10 Braves hitters reached base; five of them scored. Manager Chad Tracy let Bello wear it until he’d reached five innings and 98 pitches. And it was Bello’s 27th birthday on Sunday, too. Usually you only hear “wear it” on a guy’s birthday in the context of a party hat or a new shirt. Read the rest of this entry »

Direct links to applications (please see job details below):

Baseball Analytics Fellow
Baseball Analytics Associate

Baseball Analytics Fellow

ABOUT US

The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club is embracing the climb, committed to building a championship-caliber organization on the field, in the clubhouse, and throughout our business operations. Playing at altitude presents unique competitive challenges and opportunities, and we embrace innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based practices to support elite performance. Rooted in the traditions of America’s pastime, we operate with integrity, service, quality, and trust while striving to create an exceptional experience for our players, staff, and fans.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Baseball Analytics Fellow will support Baseball Operations and Research & Development by preparing, analyzing, and communicating data-driven insights that inform game strategy, player evaluation, scouting, and player development processes. This role is designed for an early-career analyst with strong technical skills, intellectual curiosity, and a desire to apply quantitative methods to meaningful baseball questions.

In this role, you will work with analysts, coaches, scouts, and Baseball Operations leadership to develop reports, visualizations, models, and research outputs that are clear, timely, and actionable. The ideal candidate is highly autonomous, communicates frequently, manages up effectively, and is comfortable supporting fluctuating baseball-season workflows.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Advance Preparation & Game Strategy

• Assist in the preparation, quality review, and distribution of advance scouting reports for upcoming opponents.
• Monitor daily lineups, roster moves, transactions, and other league information to support game planning and analysis.
• Conduct ad hoc research to inform game strategy, including analysis of ABS-related questions and comparisons across players, teams, and game situations.
• Coordinate and deliver advanced reports to Major League staff in a timely, usable format.

Research, Modeling & Data Preparation

• Assist analysts with data preparation, validation, cleaning, and quality checks for modeling and reporting workflows.
• Support predictive modeling projects by preparing datasets, engineering features, checking assumptions, and validating outputs.
• Conduct research related to player development, scouting, player personnel, league trends, and other Baseball Operations priorities.
• Support R&D staff with highly technical analysis, model development, and exploratory research based on departmental needs and the Fellow’s skills and interests.

Reporting, Visualization & Communication

• Develop visualizations, dashboards, lightweight tools, and other mechanisms for disseminating analytical results across Baseball Operations.
• Translate complex technical findings into clear, concise, and actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide written summaries, presentations, and recommendations that clearly describe methodology, assumptions, limitations, and practical implications.
• Help maintain and QA internal datasets, reports, and recurring workflows to ensure accuracy and consistency across sources.

Operational Support

• Provide operational support across Baseball Operations and R&D, including recurring reporting, special projects, and time-sensitive requests.
• Take ownership of assigned tasks and small-to-medium projects, driving them forward with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Collaborate with analysts, developers, scouts, coaches, and front office personnel to understand needs and deliver practical solutions.
• Contribute to a positive, curious, and collaborative Baseball Operations environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical, quantitative, or otherwise relevant field, or equivalent demonstrated experience.
• Proficiency with SQL and at least one statistical programming language, such as R or Python.
• Experience preparing, cleaning, validating, and analyzing large or complex datasets.
• Foundational understanding of statistics, modeling, data visualization, and research design.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain analytical work to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to work autonomously, manage competing priorities, communicate frequently, and proactively surface questions or risks.
• Passion for baseball and curiosity about using data to support player evaluation, player development, scouting, and in-game decision-making.

Preferred

• Degree or coursework in statistics, mathematics, computer science, data science, engineering, economics, operations research, physics, or a related technical field.
• Experience with AWS or another cloud environment.
• Experience using Git or similar version control workflows.
• Experience developing web applications, dashboards, or interactive tools, including R Shiny, Python-based web apps, or similar frameworks.
• Experience with machine learning, predictive modeling, simulation, computer vision, or player-tracking data.
• Prior experience using AI tools to support software development, application building, analysis, or workflow automation; experience with Claude or similar tools is a plus.
• Familiarity with public baseball research, baseball datasets, player evaluation concepts, scouting processes, or advanced scouting workflows.

SCHEDULE & TRAVEL

• This role follows the rhythm of the baseball season and requires flexibility based on game schedules, reporting cycles, and Baseball Operation’s needs.
• Workload and schedule may fluctuate throughout the season based on game schedules, trade deadlines, draft preparation, player evaluation cycles, and other departmental priorities.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work: regularly required to remain in a stationary position, use a computer, communicate via phone/video/email, and review information on screens for extended periods.
• Occasionally required to move within an office or ballpark environment and attend meetings or events in person.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: at the rate of $58,000 per year. The role is expected to earn approximately $25,000 for the duration of the assignment through October 31, 2026.
• This role may come with a housing stipend for non-local candidates.
• Full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), PTO, and more, subject to plan eligibility and applicable policies.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by May 22, 2026. Please note that this is just an estimate, and the posting may be removed or extended at any time.
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by June 15, 2026.
• A note for Colorado Rockies employees:
  • Please apply via the internal job board in UKG by following these prompts: MENU > MYSELF > MY COMPANY > VIEW OPPORTUNITIES > select the position > CONSENT > APPLY NOW
  • If you cannot access UKG, please list your most recent Manager as an Employee Reference on your application.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

Baseball Analytics Associate

ABOUT US

The Colorado Rockies Baseball Club is embracing the climb, committed to building a championship-caliber organization on the field, in the clubhouse, and throughout our business operations. Playing at altitude presents unique competitive challenges and opportunities, and we embrace innovation, collaboration, and evidence-based practices to support elite performance. Rooted in the traditions of America’s pastime, we operate with integrity, service, quality, and trust while striving to create an exceptional experience for our players, staff, and fans.

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Baseball Analytics Associate will provide part-time analytical, reporting, visualization, and operational support to Baseball Operations and Research & Development. This role is well suited for a current student or early-career analyst who can contribute independently to recurring reports, data validation, ad hoc research, and lightweight tools while continuing to build technical and baseball operations experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Advance Preparation & Game Strategy

• Assist in the preparation, quality review, and distribution of advance scouting reports for upcoming opponents.
• Monitor daily lineups, roster moves, transactions, and other league information to support game planning and analysis.
• Conduct ad hoc research to inform game strategy, including analysis of ABS-related questions and comparisons across players, teams, and game situations.
• Coordinate and deliver advanced reports to Major League staff in a timely, usable format.

Research, Modeling & Data Preparation

• Assist analysts with data preparation, validation, cleaning, and quality checks for modeling and reporting workflows.
• Support predictive modeling projects by preparing datasets, engineering features, checking assumptions, and validating outputs.
• Conduct research related to player development, scouting, player personnel, league trends, and other Baseball Operations priorities.
• Support R&D staff with highly technical analysis, model development, and exploratory research based on departmental needs and the Fellow’s skills and interests.

Reporting, Visualization & Communication

• Develop visualizations, dashboards, lightweight tools, and other mechanisms for disseminating analytical results across Baseball Operations.
• Translate complex technical findings into clear, concise, and actionable insights for both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Provide written summaries, presentations, and recommendations that clearly describe methodology, assumptions, limitations, and practical implications.
• Help maintain and QA internal datasets, reports, and recurring workflows to ensure accuracy and consistency across sources.

Operational Support

• Provide operational support across Baseball Operations and R&D, including recurring reporting, special projects, and time-sensitive requests.
• Take ownership of assigned tasks and small-to-medium projects, driving them forward with limited day-to-day supervision.
• Collaborate with analysts, developers, scouts, coaches, and front office personnel to understand needs and deliver practical solutions.
• Contribute to a positive, curious, and collaborative Baseball Operations environment.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• Currently enrolled in or recently completed an undergraduate (Junior going into Senior Year), graduate, PhD, postdoctoral, or technical program, preferably with a quantitative or technical focus.
• Experience with SQL and R or Python.
• General cloud experience, AWS exposure preferred.
• Experience with Git or similar version control preferred.
• Ability to communicate clearly, manage time independently, and provide frequent updates in a remote or hybrid environment.
• Interest in baseball analytics, player evaluation, advanced scouting, and/or game strategy.
• Ability to work in the United States and maintain availability during required Mountain Time work windows.

Preferred

• Degree or coursework in statistics, mathematics, computer science, data science, engineering, Experience with AWS or another cloud environment.
• Experience using Git or similar version control workflows.
• Experience developing web applications, dashboards, or interactive tools, including R Shiny, Python-based web apps, or similar frameworks.
• Experience with machine learning, predictive modeling, simulation, computer vision, or player-tracking data.
• Prior experience using AI tools to support software development, application building, analysis, or workflow automation; experience with Claude or similar tools is a plus.
• Familiarity with public baseball research, baseball datasets, player evaluation concepts, scouting processes, or advanced scouting workflows.

SCHEDULE & TRAVEL

• This role follows the rhythm of the baseball season and requires flexibility based on game schedules, reporting cycles, and Baseball Operations needs.
• Workload and schedule may fluctuate throughout the season based on game schedules, trade deadlines, draft preparation, player evaluation cycles, and other departmental priorities.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

• Sedentary work: regularly required to remain in a stationary position, use a computer, communicate via phone/video/email, and review information on screens for extended periods.
• Occasionally required to move within an office or ballpark environment and attend meetings or events in person.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

• Salary: at the rate of $19.29 per hour for the duration of the assignment through October 31, 2026.
• Part-time benefits include 401(k), sick time, and access to the Employee Assistance Program, subject to plan eligibility and applicable policies.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by May 22, 2026. Please note that this is just an estimate, and the posting may be removed or extended at any time.
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by June 15, 2026.
• A note for Colorado Rockies employees:
  • Please apply via the internal job board in UKG by following these prompts: MENU > MYSELF > MY COMPANY > VIEW OPPORTUNITIES > select the position > CONSENT > APPLY NOW
  • If you cannot access UKG, please list your most recent Manager as an Employee Reference on your application.

To Apply
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Colorado Rockies.

In high school statistics, we got one rule beaten into our heads over and over again: Don’t extrapolate outside the bounds of your data. Then, when we were done learning that one, we got another rule: Outliers tend to revert towards the mean. Gee, thanks a lot, Mr. Gilliam – how am I supposed to explain Cristopher Sánchez using those two rules?

Look at this table of pitching statistics. Clearly, extrapolating past the edge of Sánchez’s performance seems fine:

We have all of these ERA estimators – FIP, xFIP, xERA, SIERA – because merely looking at someone’s ERA can be misleading. ERA is noisy. Between inherited runners, sequencing, scoring decisions, and just plain old variance, knowing a player’s ERA in one year doesn’t necessarily mean you know how well they played. The whole alphabet of advanced pitching statistics comes down to trying to solve that noise problem by focusing on indicators with greater stability.

In other words, advanced ERA estimators tend to move around less than actual ERA. It follows naturally that changes in ERA estimators are more predictive of future results than changes in ERA. When all of these markers are moving in tandem – and moving by a lot, to boot – the aggregate picture looks very different than your average pitcher with a shiny ERA early in the season. Read the rest of this entry »

The Mariners didn’t expect to call up Colt Emerson, but they had no choice.

Emerson made his big league debut Sunday in the Mariners’ 8-3 loss to the Padres. It wasn’t a particularly eventful day in the box score. He flied out to right field in his first at-bat, drew a walk in his second, and flied out to right field again in his third. But at just 20 years old, he became the youngest Mariner to reach the majors since Félix Hernández in 2005.

General manager Justin Hollander told reporters that calling up Emerson wasn’t a move he anticipated making when he woke up that morning. However, Emerson was next on the depth chart, and once it became clear that Brendan Donovan needed time on the injured list, Hollander felt it was the only choice to make. Read the rest of this entry »

It would be inaccurate to say that that Blake Snell saw what teammate Edwin Díaz and fellow two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal both had and decided he wanted in. Clusters of injuries, such as the wave of broken hamate bones from this spring or the more recent outbreak of loose bodies in pitchers’ elbows, are just coincidences instead of sudden fads or outbreaks. Nonetheless, like Díaz and Skubal before him, Snell will undergo surgery on Tuesday, with the expectation that he’ll return this season.

This is already the second interruption to Snell’s season, and the third time that the now-33-year-old lefty has landed on the injured list since signing a five-year, $182-million deal with the Dodgers in November 2024. Last season, Snell made just two starts for the Dodgers before inflammation in his left shoulder forced him to the IL in early April. The Dodgers’ depth and focus on having their top starters available for the postseason allowed him to take his rehab slowly. He missed four months and made just 11 regular season starts, posting a 2.35 ERA and 2.69 FIP in 61.1 innings, then followed that by pitching brilliantly in the first three rounds of the playoffs, allowing just six hits and two runs in 21 innings against the Reds, Phillies, and Brewers, highlighted by eight innings of one-hit shutout ball in the NLCS opener against Milwaukee. His two starts against the Blue Jays in the World Series were less successful; he pitched his way into jams that neither he nor the Dodgers bullpen could escape unscathed, and was charged with five runs in each. He did come out of the bullpen to get four very big outs in the eighth and ninth innings in Game 7 before yielding to the heroics of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

In January, Snell admitted that he felt “exhausted” at the end of the World Series. Mindful of his injury history — this is a pitcher who’s made more than 27 starts in a season just twice — and his lingering shoulder soreness, the Dodgers had him delay his offseason throwing program to the point that he didn’t even pitch in the Cactus League. He began the season on the injured list before going out on a rehab assignment on April 22, and totaled just eight innings over three starts, maxing out at four innings and 55 pitches before being brought to Los Angeles. Read the rest of this entry »

AJ Blubaugh has given a boost to the Astros bullpen since debuting in late April of last season. Over 29 big-league appearances (including three as a starter), the 25-year-old right-hander has logged a 3.22 ERA over 58-and-two-thirds innings while being credited with five wins, against three losses, and three saves. Drafted in the seventh round by Houston out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2022, he ranked third among the system’s prospects with a 45 FV when he reached The Show.

His backstory is atypical, in part because of a pitch he hasn’t thrown since his days as an Ohio prep. Moreover, the Mansfield native now has a delivery that is both conventional and consistent. That wasn’t always the case.

“When I was in high school and started to get into pitching, I threw from three different slots,” Blubaugh explained. “An over-the-top arm slot, a sidearm arm slot, and a submarine arm slot. I would differentiate that every single pitch. One pitch would be a curveball from over the top, then I’d drop to sidearm and throw a slider. Then I’d throw a fastball from submarine. I was just a funky junk-ball thrower. I threw a knuckleball a bunch, probably from the time I was 10 years old to the time I graduated. It was probably my main pitch.”

Remarkably, his butterfly wasn’t simply delivered from down under; it came from each of his arm angles. Read the rest of this entry »

Like many of you, Lilo & Stitch taught me that, “‘Ohana means family,” and Hawaiian Bros, like many businesses, boasts that it has a familial relationship with its employees and customers. But that didn’t stop the fast casual restaurant chain from making a business decision to walk back a promise to its most loyal customers.

At the beginning of the season, Hawaiian Bros announced a Plates for Plates promotion in conjunction with the Royals. Anytime the Royals “plated” six or more runs during a home game, HB Rewards members would be eligible for a free Classic Plate Lunch, redeemable the following day at participating locations. But by May 6, the Kansas City-based restaurant had issued a statement to its rewards members, announcing a change to the Plates for Plates promotion. Now when the Royals score six or more runs at Kauffman Stadium, members of the loyalty program can receive a free Classic Plate Lunch only with the purchase of a Plate Lunch. It’s still a good deal, but going from a no-purchase-necessary perk to one that requires spending a minimum of $12 is a sizable downgrade.

So what prompted the change? In their first 17 home games, the Royals reached the six-run scoring threshold eight times. To start 2025, Kansas City hit the six-run mark just three times over the same number of home games. The promotion’s cashing in at more than twice the rate it would have just one season prior is reason enough for the company to reevaluate, but the Royals amplified the issue for those running the corporate fraternity of Polynesian food by scoring six-plus runs in five consecutive home games from April 21 to April 26.

At this early stage of the season, it is fair to wonder if Hawaiian Bros perhaps overreacted to a hot performance during a soft part of the schedule. Maybe this year’s slate of opponents was less competitive than last year. The Guardians, Orioles, Twins, Rockies, Astros, and White Sox made up the early part of the home schedule in 2025, while this year, the Royals faced the Twins, Brewers, White Sox, Orioles, Angels, and Guardians. Some overlapping opponents and similar vibes across both years, but for the sake of thoroughness, I calculated a weighted ERA- to compare the overall quality of pitching faced in the early going each season. In 2025, that number came in at 103, and in 2026, it was 104, making for a very similar strength of opponent in the visiting dugout. Read the rest of this entry »

Just because the Athletics are leading their division while the Astros are well below .500 doesn’t mean that the AL West is entirely upside-down. Once again, a catcher is having such an incredible season at the plate that his offense is worth talking about, and if the season ended today, he’d be in the MVP discussion. This time around we’re not talking about Cal Raleigh — who just landed on the injured list shortly after snapping an 0-for-38 slump — but Shea Langeliers. At this writing, the A’s catcher is currently hanging with the big boys on the batting leaderboards and doing things that are worth keeping an eye upon.

The 28-year-old Langeliers entered Friday hitting .340/.397/.623, which is not just great for a catcher, but it’s one of the best lines in baseball. His 179 wRC+ ranks third in the majors behind only Ben Rice and Yordan Alvarez, one point ahead of Aaron Judge, and his slugging percentage is third in the AL, nestled among those same four hitters. He leads all catchers with 12 home runs, tied for eighth among all major league hitters. But what really caught my eye is that his batting average leads the AL.

Yes, batting average is the least important of those slash stats, but as I’ve maintained before, at a time when .300 hitters have become an endangered species — the NL had just one last year, Trea Turner — it’s worth giving a damn about batting average again. Batting average is fun; batting average has entertainment value. When batting averages are low, the game is more static, and right now the 30 teams as a whole are slashing a combined .240/.319/.389, down from .245/.315/.404 last year. If maintained over a full season, this year’s batting average would be the third lowest since 1901, ahead of only 1968 (.237) and 1908 (.239). Read the rest of this entry »