Spring training baseball is like the premise of “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” Yes, there’s a scorekeeper who issues points and declares a winner at the end of the episode, but the points (well, stats), as well as wins and losses, don’t matter (no records are kept).
The stats, however, are not completely meaningless, as they can offer valuable insight into a pitcher’s improvements or the potential quality of their stuff.
Take Mick Abel, the key player Philadelphia sent to Minnesota last season in exchange for Jhoan Duran. He went 7-2 with a 2.20 ERA, 28.6 percent strikeout rate, .194 opponents’ average and a 12.8 percent swinging-strike rate in 18 Triple-A starts for both teams’ affiliates. He also made 10 big league appearances (eight starts) for both teams, going 3-4 with a 6.23 ERA (5.07 xERA, 4.34 xFIP), .274 opponents’ average, 9.2 percent walk rate and an 11.3 percent swinging-strike rate.
Overall, it was unremarkable, but his last two outings gave a glimpse of his potential. He owned a 1.80 ERA, a 15-4 strikeout-walk rate, and generated 21 swings and misses on 144 pitches (14.6 percent) — 13 of which came in his final 73-pitch start of the season.
