clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Is There Something Wrong With Tommy Hanson?

New, 2 comments

Like many folks in “Braves Country” I am extremely panicked about our young ace Tommy Hanson. He’s had back-to-back outings where he hasn’t made it out of the fourth inning. What’s wrong with him?

↵

His strikeouts are actually up from last year. His walks are down, but his hits …

↵

Tommy is allowing a batting average against of almost 50 points higher than last year, but that’s not the whole story. Those hits could be a product of luck, as his BABIP against (batting average for balls in play) is almost 80 points higher than last year. Opposing batters are putting up a robust .347 BABIP against Tommy this year.

↵

Further evidence of this trend of luck against him is seen in his FIP (fielding-independent pitching), which is lower than his number last year.

↵

All of this data together conspires to tell us that Tommy Hanson has been very unlucky this season. If you’ve watched the last two games he’s pitched and seen the weak and lucky hits that opposing batters have been getting off of him, then you’re not alone in thinking that Tommy’s struggles are a product of bad luck and not bad pitching.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.