FIP's Of St. Louis Cardinal Minor League Pitchers

Posted on September 30, 2010 on Rising Redbirds.

The reason sabermetrics were invented is because standard statistics are misleading. For pitchers, W/L record, ERA, and even WHIP are overrated. Most general stats do not take into account several factors that take place during a game, including the players that field the ball after it is hit. There are three things that a pitcher can control: strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed. Fielding is entirely different. The pitcher cannot make his teammates field better. Fielding Independent Pitcher (FIP) is a stat that, essentially, judges how valuable a pitcher actually is. Strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed are the basis of the stat, while fielding is completely eliminated from the equation.

Take a quick look at how the Cardinals pitching prospects truly played in 2010.

PLAYER	FIP	LEAGUE RANK
Josh Kinney (AAA)	3.47	7th
Brandon Dickson (AAA)	3.53	8th
Brian Broderick (AA)	3.45	16th
Kevin Thomas (A+)	2.65	13th
Deryk Hooker (A)	2.4	3rd
Shelby Miller (A)	2.42	5th
Justin Smith (A)	2.59	8th
Scott Schneider (A)	2.76	10th
Michael Blazek (A)	2.83	11th
Joe Kelly (A)	3.75	16th
Chase Reid (A-)	1,83	4th
Keith Butler (A-)	1.93	5th
John Gast (A-)	2.29	9th