Player Valuation

Why Swing Decisions and Contact Ability Will Be Increasingly Valued For much of the past decade, offensive player valuation across Major League Baseball has increasingly accepted an "all-or-nothing" ideology in which elevated strikeout rates are tolerated in exchange for power production. As long as a hitter could generate damage on contact, swing-and-miss and aggressive chase tendencies were often viewed as acceptable tradeoffs rather than inefficiencies. The gradual adop

Its impact on roster construction, player valuation, game strategy, and more The catcher is one of the most resource-intensive positions in baseball. It combines the highest physical workload with one of the steepest offensive penalties, and its defensive value is tied to skills that are difficult to quantify and replace. Under current roster rules, teams typically carry two catchers on a 26-man active roster, accounting for roughly 7.7% of roster spots leaguewide. What if t

What makes Skubal so valuable and why a 7 year deal for $315M might make sense next year (Written in July 2025) BACKGROUND Skubal is in the midst of his fifth full MLB season and is unquestionably having the best year of his career. The 255th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, Skubal made his major league debut in 2020 but had not experienced a true breakout season until 2024. Since then, he has taken the league by storm and taken an even greater step forward through the fi

Looking into why a 6 year deal for $120M might make sense for both the Pirates and Skenes (Written in June 2025) BACKGROUND Since his debut in May 2024, Paul Skenes has quickly established himself as one of Major League Baseball’s best pitchers. The 2023 first overall draft pick concluded his rookie season with 23 starts, 133 innings pitched, an 11–3 record, 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts, and a 2.44 FIP. His dominance earned him a list of accolades including the fifth