From the no need to rush the Narwhal Department:
6 of the top 10 Starting Pitcher Swinging Strike% leaders in the International League (AAA) have spent part of 2009 with their major league club(s). Below is the comparison between their AAA Swinging Strike and K %'s and their Major League numbers.
|
AAA SwStrk |
MLBSwStk |
AAA K% |
MLB K% |
|
|
David Hernandez |
15.7% |
7.4% |
34.1% |
12.0% |
|
Kris Medlen |
14.2% |
8.1% |
32.0% |
23.2% |
|
Tommy Hanson |
13.7% |
8.4% |
35.0% |
19.1% |
|
Ian Snell |
13.4% |
7.9% |
31.3% |
12.4% |
|
Clay Buchholz |
13.3% |
9.4% |
22.4% |
13.2% |
|
Luke French |
11.5% |
8.4% |
22.0% |
13.9% |
From Dave Cameron's Evaluating Pitcher Talent:
K% (Strikeouts per Total Batters Faced) does a decent job evaluating how often a pitcher induces swings and misses or called strikes. 16% is league average, with 20% being terrific and 12% being a problem.