The Best of FanGraphs: June 1-5, 2015

Each week, we publish north of 100 posts on our various blogs. With this post, we hope to highlight 10 to 15 of them. You can read more on it here. The links below are color coded — green for FanGraphs, brown for RotoGraphs, dark red for The Hardball Times, orange for TechGraphs and blue for Community Research.

ALL WEEK
We served up a heaping helping of hot draft content this week, and we served it up hot. To wit:

If you only have time for one, make it the sortable draft board, but there’s a lot of great content in those internet pages.

MONDAY
Let’s Watch Bryce Harper Face Aroldis Chapman, by Jeff Sullivan
Baseball is always fun, but it is rarely more fun than this.

On Rotation, Part 1: The Effects of Spin on the Flight of a Pitch, by Jonah Pemstein
Come along on a ride with Jonah. Part two is right here.

Chad Bettis Emerges, by Zach Sanders
A nice breakdown from Zach on the Rockies’ latest pitching hopeful.

TUESDAY
What Hard-Hit Rate Means for Batters, by Owen Watson
A thorough/comprehensive look, with some encouraging results.

Gerrit Cole and Making the Leap, by Dave Cameron
I came away from Big Data Baseball very impressed with Gerrit Cole, and he keeps impressing on the field as well.

Jason Hammel: Pretty Much a Beast, by Paul Sporer
My lasting memory of Jason Hammel in a Rockies uniform was that of a pitcher who struggled to get from strike two to strike three. He no longer has this issue.

Using Batted-Ball Data to Measure Hitter Performance, by Stephen Brown
An impressive new tool, and it should get even better as more data becomes available.

WEDNESDAY
Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and Joc Pederson on the Top Hand, by Eno Sarris
Eno puts together an outstanding piece, with guest starring roles from Dan Farnsworth and Jerry Brewer.

The Future of Baseball Technology, Part Two: Into the Unknown, by Jesse Wolfersberger
Jesse steps into the void again (check out part one here) to break down just how technology will change baseball in the future.

How to Create a Great GIF (By Not Actually Doing So), by David G. Temple
It’s pretty, it’s so pretty.

THURSDAY
Baseball’s Antitrust Exemption: A Primer, by Nathaniel Grow
Few people are more qualified to analyze this subject than is Nathaniel. And buy his book on the subject while you’re at it!

FRIDAY
The First Two Months in Home Runs, by Owen Watson
Baseball might not get more fun than Chapman vs. Harper, but this post is a close second. Props to Owen for picking up August Fagerstrom’s mantle here.

The Prospect Stock Watch: Ross, Stephenson, Urena, by Marc Hulet
A pair of well-regarded hurlers, and a pair of (to date) under the radar shortstops, one of whom could help the Blue Jays absorb the loss of Franklin Barreto.





Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.

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