Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Prospecting 101 " The F.I.P "


At times prospecting a pitcher can be a very difficult, and frustrating task. Most collectors shy away from prospecting pitchers, because of inconsistencies between the Minor, and Major League levels. Over the years I have used a prospects F.I.P to determine their skill level, and collectability with huge success. Its an easy formula to use, and can be applied to any pitcher on any professional level.

What Is F.I.P ?

Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a concept developed by Tangotiger and is similar to the Defense Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS) created by Voros McCracken. According to the Hardball Times, "FIP helps you understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded.

Here is the formula:







Heres how it works:

Things You’ll Need,

HR given up by the pitcher

BB allowed

Strikeouts

Innings pitched

Step 1:Record the number of home runs allowed, walks surrendered, strikeouts and total innings pitched for a given pitcher. For the sake of this blog, I will use a pitcher with 10 home runs allowed, 25 walks and 60 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched.

Step 2: Multiply the number of home runs by 13 (13 x 10 equals 130).

Step 3: Multiply the number of walks by 3 (3 x 25 equals 75).

Step 4: Multiply the number of strikeouts by 2 (2 x 60 equals 120).

Step 5: Add the products from Steps #2 and #3 (130 + 75 equals 205). Subtract the number of strikeouts (205 - 120 equals 85).

Step 6: Divide the total from Step #5 by the total innings pitched (85 divided by 40 equals 2.13).

Step 7: Whatever the quotient is, always add 3.20 (2.13 + 3.20 equals 5.33. The pitcher's FIP of 5.33 suggests his ERA should be somewhere in that range, rather than what it is generally calculated as.

Good luck, and I hope The F.I.P will bring a future Cy Young to your collection.

The Mojo hand


4 comments:

  1. Very interesting! I tried it for Mike Pelfrey and got a 4.38 F.I.P. This statistic should mean alot for mets pitchers, with the horrible errors weve made this season!

    ReplyDelete
  2. mojo any Chris Coghlan cards or autos??

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anthony

    It would be interesting to compare Mike's F.I.P to the top five pitchers in the league.

    ReplyDelete