The Approach Angle

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about the numbers and ideas behind pitch models. The discussion begins by talking about what "stuff" actually is. What does it mean when a scout says a pitcher has great stuff, and how does that get valued? Kyle lays out the pitch characteristics and other factors that go into stuff. Then, they talk about if...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about the new miss distance and other bat tracking stats. There are new leaderboards on Baseball Savant! They talk about what all of these new numbers mean and what they're actually calculating. There's miss distance, the distance between bat and ball on a whiff, and there are dimensions to where to bat is in...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) are joined by Alex Chamberlain to talk approach angles and pitch movement. This week, Nate and Kyle hop into the world of pitch movement, and Alex Chamberlain joins the discussion as one of the key researchers on approach angles. They start with the foundation of pitch movement—what causes movement, how pitches mo...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about four hitters who are doing something new. After spending the last couple of weeks building up the analytical toolkit on the hitting side, the two investigate hitters who are doing something new—for better or worse. They start with Gunnar Henderson's struggles, looking at how his swing has changed from p...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) about ERA estimators and how to apply them. The discussion starts by talking about why ERA needs to be estimated. There are so many factors that go into run prevention that make it hard to value a pitcher just on ERA. They first dive into FIP, breaking down why it makes sense to remove balls in play from the equat...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) break down swing rates and contact rates for hitters. The discussion starts with how ABS has changed parts of how we value plate discipline, and how good discipline can play into challenges. They dive into swing rates: they start with how overall swing rate doesn't necessarily mean anything on its own, but can sho...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about different versions of game score. They start by talking about the theory behind the original game score, which was created by Bill James. That leads to the second version of game score, developed by Tom Tango, where the two talk about the philosophical differences in what a game score is meant to captur...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) are joined by Sara Sanchez to talk about park factors. The discussion starts with the group talking about what goes into park factors and what they actually mean. They discuss how specific factors, such as HR or strikeout factors, can be more important than the overall factor at times. They also talk about how the...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about what goes into wRC+ and why it's a strong, all-encompassing hitter stat. They start by discussing wOBA—the basis for wRC+. It's an important hitting stat that values outcomes in a slightly stronger way than OPS. Surprisingly, the under-the-surface nuances are more understandable for wOBA than OPS. They...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) are joined by Carson Picard to talk about BABIP and why it's more than just luck. They start by discussing what BABIP actually is: getting into the original idea and what it specifically measures. Then, they talk about why using BABIP as "just a luck stat" leaves a lot of information on the table. They also talk a...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) talk about bat tracking data and why context matters so much for these stats. They start by discussing bat speed as the best proxy for true batted ball power, but note that it's not as simple as the best swing speed is all that matters. Making the most of a slower bat speed can be just as effective at the same tim...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) discuss how to use a variety of batted ball metrics. They start by talking about how average exit velocity can be deceptive, and isn't the best way to evaluate how hard hitters hit the ball. Instead, they pivot to talking about HardHit% and get into power stats such as max exit velocity and 90th percentile exit ve...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) discuss the importance of WHIP and how it can be analyzed with Str-ICR to find underappreciated pitchers.  They talk about the basis of WHIP: first, why it's an important stat, and how it can be forgotten when analyzing a pitcher. Is it still important in today's analysis? Then, the discussion pivots to the most v...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz ( @_nateschwartz ) and Kyle Bland ( @blandalytics ) are joined by Alexander Chase to discuss auction values and other draft evaluation tools for upcoming fantasy drafts.  They compare the importance of industry rankings and calculated auction values, then get into how auction values are built using calculators. The group also breaks down auction values specifically...

The Approach Angle Nate Schwartz and Kyle Bland discuss 2026’s newest metrics that matter and where analytics stand heading into the season. They talk about how players are adapting to all the information they have and what information they want next. Then, they break down bat-tracking metrics, highlight the importance of similarity scores, and share what non-competitive rate means for pitchers. ...