Javier Vazquez: Braves Ace

Ok, let us allow him more time.

But Rich Lederer has a nice piece, ranking all pitchers by K/100 pitches.  A method that Rich set up, so that pitchers who throw a ton of pitches don't have an advantage.

For example:  Well, Rich explains it better than I...

"Strikeouts. Pitch totals. Putting strikeouts in the numerator and pitch totals in the denominator allows us to measure dominance and efficiency or what I have referred to it as "strikeout proficiency." As a standalone stat, I believe it tells us more than K/9 or K/BF."

And the leader is...Javier Vazquez, who if you haven't heard, has been criticized for years now it seems.  His stuff and ability have never translated to the results that should come with a guy, who, well, has that kind of talent.

But this year it's a different story.

Vazquez is of course leading Rich's metrical creation.  His ERA+ sits at a pretty little 124, which is very close to his 2007 campaign--one in which he was very good, and underrated.

His 112 K's leads the league.  His 18 walks, which is awesome, is fourth in the NL, expressed in BB/9.  And he's matched his career high in Groundball percentage, keeping the ball on the ground about 42% of the time.

According to "Pitch Type Values" it's his curve doing the most damage.  But his change has been nothing short of stellar either.

Vazquez has four quality pitches, and he knows how to use them.  Not that he's been poor in the past, but he has rarely been this good.  If he can get that slider going a little better than it has, then he can be even scarier.

The Braves done good getting this guy.

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