The Best Players of the Week

We’ve reported the top 10 best pitchers and batters of the week. There are separate rankings for starting and relief pitchers.

Players are ranked on the RPM statistic. A total above zero means above average performance for the pitcher or batter. The RPMs in the report have been multiplied by 100 to make it easier to read and compare. The higher the number, the more value and impact that player brought to their team in their role as a pitcher or batter.

In each top 10 list we show how many times a player has made it into a weekly top 10 list, with 1 meaning this is their first.

The Top Starting Pitchers (week 4)

Top starting pitchers for week 4: April 16th through April 22nd

Based on the rotation of starting pitchers we can see that the majority of pitchers played one game during week 4, except for Johnny Cueto of the Giants.

The RPM statistic incorporates every player’s involvement in every play in every game. Consequently, pitchers receive a large number of both above and below zero RPM values that represent their performance in each play. The top-rated players have the highest totals meaning that they exceeded average performance significantly. The poorest performing pitchers of the week have negative values. In week 4 the lowest rating was -44.38.

The Top Relief Pitchers (week 4)

Top relief pitchers for week 4: April 16th through April 22nd

Not all relief pitcher situations (outs and bases-occupied) are created equal. Furthermore, relief pitchers generally face fewer batters that starters. Relief pitcher ratings do not include any pitcher with fewer than 3 batters faced. The report shows that the ranked relief pitchers played ranged from 1 to 4 games played and from 4 to 17 batters faced.

For reference, the lowest Relief Pitcher RPM value after subtracting the average is -71.76, meaning almost 72 RPMs below the average compared to 41 above. The ranges of pitching performances can be quite wide.

The Top Batters (week 4)

Top batters for week 4: April 16th through April 22nd

Carlos Correa has been in the top 10 for weekly batters twice. The lowest RPM for a batter in week 4 was -51.04. The top 2 batters this week: Carlos Correa and Trevor Story are also currently in the top 25 players overall!