You put together a stellar video all the way up to the point where you attributed it to being nothing more than a fluke. He has one of the best defenses in baseball behind him. His fly ball rate is high, yes. This actually HELPS when you consider he has the outfield with the highest (or maybe 2nd highest, I forget) outs above average in MLB by a WIDE margin behind him. He and Framber are so good at getting outs BECAUSE they trust their defense. It isn't a fluke. It's a well-oiled machine.
People put too much stock in a pitcher being able to independently secure outs. Like bro it’s a team sport for a reason. Give the pitchers a break. Part of why Kikuchi is doing so good in Houston is because his 4.7 era on the jays had a 3.6 FIP behind it. Now imagine what happens when you get him an elite defense? Surprise surprise, his era is way less than 3.6
The Good and the Bad about RUclips rn is that it’s Saturated with Amazing Content from various channels. Hot take but RUclips has content that rivals big streaming services 😶🌫️
With houston having only 1 of their initially planned rotation pitchers healthy, He has been absolutely HUGE for them. I think his change up is his best pitch as that is the newest addition to his arsenal as of this year. He has turned into a different type of monster with that.
Very good content bro. You explained the use of these different metrics and put it all together very nicely. I'll definitely be checking out more of your videos.
Lots of Latin players lie about their ages, and you see why in the story. After a certain age, interest drops off even if you're good. Lucky for Ronel, and for a number of other Astros prospects (including current players Valdez and Javier, IIRC), the Astros don't seem to care as much about that as other teams, and it's been to their benefit.
Part of the difference in expected stats and the actual results are how the astros as a team work on defense and pitching. This strategy goes back decades but the astros have always wanted a short stop caliber 3rd basemen to handle sliders down and away and sinkers/2 seamers/cutters in and down all to right handers of course. This is why the astros almost always lead the league in double plays. So while yes clearly there is some luck here its also how the catcher and team work together to keep the ball on the ground and max double plays/ground outs. The term often used is pitching for contact. Since moving to the AL the astros have been also doing things up high as well to create ground outs like moving FBs up and in etc.
I agree that these stats are hard to keep up, but i think looking at his innings pitched is something to look at. He’s never pitched this much through ANY season. I think being burnt out is playing more of a role than regression. I love this video though and love these stats are getting the spotlight. Keep it up!
He's overly reliant on fielding to succeed, at best a solid middle of the rotation player or a good 4-5 starter. He's already showing signs of arm fatigue with his fastball velo down to 92 mph in the most recent out.
@@safety4290i think everybody expected regression. Hes never pitched this many innings in his life, but hopefully with possibly 1 or 2 arms coming back his workload wont be as much.
Well, he has only improved every season since his debut. He has never regressed. I don't think he's hit his potential until this season. He may just be another Framber like pitcher that produces soft contact hitting.
@@mchenryjeremy lol well that’s not saying much seeing as how he only had like 7 starts before this season… the problem with contact pitchers is once it starts to fall apart your not far from being out of the league altogether just look at what happened to Keuchel and he had a much more impressive track record that would make you have faith in him. Regardless I’ll be rooting for Blanco.
As a Rangers fan who’s watched this guy a couple times and find him extremely annoying, I think I can weigh in on why he’s effective. His main strength is his command - he ONLY nibbles on the corners and when he’s on you’re never going to get a good pitch and you’re going to have to guess on every pitch whether it’s on the corner or just off the plate. Also, his main two pitches, his changeup and fastball, basically look the same coming out of his hand, so not only do you have to guess if he’s throwing you a strike, you have to guess the speed of the pitch. BUT, he does lose control and will start putting hitters on with walks and if you have him at an advantage, his stuff isn’t overpowering enough for him to throw get-me-overs and if you’re ready for either his changeup or fastball you can whack it pretty far.
Watched this video on August 14th, 2024, coincidentally the night Blanco started against the TB Rays. His line, 6IP, 4k, 2 hits, 0R. 1 man left on base. He’s unreal
Slowly people are coming around to what FIP measures and why it exists. FIP is not designed to measure pitcher ability or value, which is good because it doesn't do it all that well. FIP measures how fungible a pitcher is, that is to say, how well can he pitch regardless of the defense behind him. That sounds desirable until you realize that it isn't based on the average defense but rather the worst possible defense. So if you're the Yankees and defense is tertiary, low FIP is essential. But if your franchise excells in producing defenders all of those early balls in play will benefit you defense, pitch count, and subsequently your bullpen. FIP isn't a garbage stat but it has a lot of garbage uses.
You also should note that he has already passed his career innings pitched. Good chance he hits a wall and there is evidence for this with his past starts.
Hopefully he can hang on long enough to up his game - maybe work on painting the corners and getting some Maddox style strike outs. We need time to get some of our other guys healthy. Looking at our schedule, the odds aren't as promising as I'd like. But, we'll see!
The Astros stand out as one of the smartest MLB franchises for a particular reason. A significant issue in Major League Baseball is how prospects from countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, or Venezuela are often discarded as soon as they turn 20 or 21, even when they possess tremendous potential. Many talented players who could perform at a high professional level are likely being overlooked due to this practice. This age-focused obsession by MLB teams has created a paradigm where many players, including a few cases who eventually make it to the MLB, feel compelled to lie about their age to navigate the system and meet the immense pressure to succeed.
The sad part is he didn't get to play in the all star game. The trend is more for popularity than skill, thou there is some highly skilled pitchers in the all star game. The league likes to ignore southern players like Yourdon only getting one at bat while lesser players were left in the game. Also they walked him so his skills wouldn't be displayed. It used to be looked on as a bad thing to walk a top player in the all-star game.
Luck or well timed execution (clutch) could be the same thing. It's not always about stuff there is a massive mental part of the game too and I think Blanco has "it."
I don’t think it’s fair to say that BABIP is basically luck. Having a great defense behind you helps for sure, but there is more to it. What was Mariano Rivera’s BABIP?. Dude was incredible at breaking bats and generating weak grounders. Greg Maddux too.
@@griffbvey7 What do you think he's up to? Meaning, what would he be gaining by not playing? The only thing that would keep you out that long by getting hit by the ball in that area would be a broken bone or a splinter fracture.
@@griffbvey7 I looked into it. He bruised the tibia bone (the big one of the 2 bones below the knee) severely - formal name is "bone contusion." If he fouled a fast ball off to his tibia, the ball could have been traveling between 85-100 mph. I've bumped by shin pretty hard before in MMA training doing low round kicks and it was extremely painful. I can't imagine how bad that must have felt having a baseball hit your tibia at that speed. I looked in a medical section (zero to do with baseball or Tucker) and it said that most bone contusions generally take 1-2 months to heal. If Tucker's is severe, it could take longer. The problem is the bone is structurally weak when there is blood in it. He could break his leg just running if he doesn't let it heal. FYI...
domingo german had a perfect game against the AAA’s last year, does the fact it was against the worst team in the league diminish his accomplishments? no. even in the NBA, 70 point games usually only happen against awful defensive teams.
No but he did have a no hitter going 6 inning against ranger and his 2nd start, he also almost had a nother no hitter against the Detroit Tigers but bullpen ruin it so he is indeed a weird pitcher
Funny how there is always someone that tries to dimish an Astros No-Hitter. The one in the 2022 World Series, it was 4 pitchers, so it doesn't count... Blanco's was against a weak team... etc... So annoying. I guess all the other ones in history against weak teams should be put into a category of not impressive so no one talks about them.
@@milesnexusicon9635 You really don't know ball if you think the Astros are the only team to cheat their way to a World Series. Hell, they weren't even the only team cheating in the 2017 season!
Finally somebody does a blanco video & gives him the much needed credit he deserves for the all star season he’s put together so far
Exactly.
Met him briefly at a road game in Minnesota in July. He was very nice. Wish him all the best.
I wouldn’t call this credit. He’s basically acknowledging why he’s getting attention and then proceeding to say it’s all luck
@@TheIcecreamtaco well he hasn’t gotten much attention either
Thats because he cheated with sticky stuff and got suspended. No surprises here.
with Houston being as beat up as we are, his emergence has been HUGE this season. we’re nowhere near first place without him.
Everyone still hates y’all
@@Bandanna-keyring-hardcore womp womp
@@Bandanna-keyring-hardcoreThanks for the info, absolutely none of us knew that 🤯🤯🤯🤯
@@MrH.09 No problem
@@raishauntanner4206 repent and believe in the gospel
You put together a stellar video all the way up to the point where you attributed it to being nothing more than a fluke. He has one of the best defenses in baseball behind him. His fly ball rate is high, yes. This actually HELPS when you consider he has the outfield with the highest (or maybe 2nd highest, I forget) outs above average in MLB by a WIDE margin behind him. He and Framber are so good at getting outs BECAUSE they trust their defense. It isn't a fluke. It's a well-oiled machine.
I agree. Well done video. Shit reasoning
People put too much stock in a pitcher being able to independently secure outs. Like bro it’s a team sport for a reason. Give the pitchers a break. Part of why Kikuchi is doing so good in Houston is because his 4.7 era on the jays had a 3.6 FIP behind it. Now imagine what happens when you get him an elite defense? Surprise surprise, his era is way less than 3.6
Regression is ineviatbale but I completely agree that their plan is working
I was at the no hitter. Absolutely electric.
Me too, it was a treat to witness.
@@FallenDeiity Me 3! I had never been so nervous at a blowout before.
Me 4
5!
Same! It was amazing
How your channel isn’t bigger baffles me. Quality stuff, interesting topics, and great insight every time
Keep watching bro. His content gets very old very quick. I still watch every now and then but I definitely don't watch every upload
most baseball channels arent that big, even baseball bits only has like 300k
@@swalczyk repent and believe in the gospel
The Good and the Bad about RUclips rn is that it’s Saturated with Amazing Content from various channels. Hot take but RUclips has content that rivals big streaming services 😶🌫️
With houston having only 1 of their initially planned rotation pitchers healthy, He has been absolutely HUGE for them. I think his change up is his best pitch as that is the newest addition to his arsenal as of this year. He has turned into a different type of monster with that.
Love his story, and lucky or not, he has helped save the astros' contention. Hope he gets a nice payday.
Very good content bro. You explained the use of these different metrics and put it all together very nicely. I'll definitely be checking out more of your videos.
Blanco has been the hero for the 2024 season. Without him, we wouldn't be where we are now. He is the 2024 MVP for the Astros.
this has to be the most impressive baseball channel on YT, incredible work!
I swear bro exposed jrod for being older than he actually is because he said when blanco was 22 jrod was 17
Wouldn’t doubt it honestly bro is a unit
People lie about ages sometimes but Ronel is 7 years Jrod's senior, not 5 lol its a descrepancy
Lots of Latin players lie about their ages, and you see why in the story. After a certain age, interest drops off even if you're good. Lucky for Ronel, and for a number of other Astros prospects (including current players Valdez and Javier, IIRC), the Astros don't seem to care as much about that as other teams, and it's been to their benefit.
I love seeing this dude get recognition literally one of the Astros hidden gems this year he was one of the key parts of the Astros comeback
Part of the difference in expected stats and the actual results are how the astros as a team work on defense and pitching. This strategy goes back decades but the astros have always wanted a short stop caliber 3rd basemen to handle sliders down and away and sinkers/2 seamers/cutters in and down all to right handers of course. This is why the astros almost always lead the league in double plays. So while yes clearly there is some luck here its also how the catcher and team work together to keep the ball on the ground and max double plays/ground outs. The term often used is pitching for contact. Since moving to the AL the astros have been also doing things up high as well to create ground outs like moving FBs up and in etc.
This is an amazing breakdown of Ronel's season!
I agree that these stats are hard to keep up, but i think looking at his innings pitched is something to look at. He’s never pitched this much through ANY season. I think being burnt out is playing more of a role than regression. I love this video though and love these stats are getting the spotlight. Keep it up!
Great video! Love the explanations and your overall take on blanco: results matter! He's what the 'stros have needed when they needed it!
18-19 being old for the mlb shows how the league has been extorting our people for years smh
No ways sports storm made a video about the Astros
He has been a surprise to many people. Glad to see him showcased here.
Gil's throat tattoo is diabolical
Nice video, awesome analysis, hope your other videos are as good as this. This is the first I came across this channel. I subscribed 👍
Regression is all but an absolute, but he’ll likely be a solid starter for long enough to qualify for the MLB Pension Plan at the very least.
He's overly reliant on fielding to succeed, at best a solid middle of the rotation player or a good 4-5 starter. He's already showing signs of arm fatigue with his fastball velo down to 92 mph in the most recent out.
@@safety4290i think everybody expected regression. Hes never pitched this many innings in his life, but hopefully with possibly 1 or 2 arms coming back his workload wont be as much.
Astros rule 🇺🇸
Really good statistical insight. He also has a disgusting change up, however, when he’s flat, he gets lit up.
Blanco has been a miracle for us but I can’t lie I’m not expecting it to last.
Well, he has only improved every season since his debut. He has never regressed. I don't think he's hit his potential until this season. He may just be another Framber like pitcher that produces soft contact hitting.
@@mchenryjeremy lol well that’s not saying much seeing as how he only had like 7 starts before this season… the problem with contact pitchers is once it starts to fall apart your not far from being out of the league altogether just look at what happened to Keuchel and he had a much more impressive track record that would make you have faith in him. Regardless I’ll be rooting for Blanco.
Preparation + opportunity = success. This was the perfect opportunity and Ronel was listo AF!!😮😮😊
He looks like a relatively solid regression candidate, but probably a solid and cheap 4/5 starter
@@fredreickweaver809 repent and believe in the gospel
don't quit your day job
As a Rangers fan who’s watched this guy a couple times and find him extremely annoying, I think I can weigh in on why he’s effective.
His main strength is his command - he ONLY nibbles on the corners and when he’s on you’re never going to get a good pitch and you’re going to have to guess on every pitch whether it’s on the corner or just off the plate. Also, his main two pitches, his changeup and fastball, basically look the same coming out of his hand, so not only do you have to guess if he’s throwing you a strike, you have to guess the speed of the pitch.
BUT, he does lose control and will start putting hitters on with walks and if you have him at an advantage, his stuff isn’t overpowering enough for him to throw get-me-overs and if you’re ready for either his changeup or fastball you can whack it pretty far.
Watched this video on August 14th, 2024, coincidentally the night Blanco started against the TB Rays. His line, 6IP, 4k, 2 hits, 0R. 1 man left on base. He’s unreal
The fact he was snubbed at the All star game is crazy
This video made me subscribe over every other video i've seen
Blanco has been amazing this year.
Slowly people are coming around to what FIP measures and why it exists. FIP is not designed to measure pitcher ability or value, which is good because it doesn't do it all that well. FIP measures how fungible a pitcher is, that is to say, how well can he pitch regardless of the defense behind him. That sounds desirable until you realize that it isn't based on the average defense but rather the worst possible defense. So if you're the Yankees and defense is tertiary, low FIP is essential. But if your franchise excells in producing defenders all of those early balls in play will benefit you defense, pitch count, and subsequently your bullpen. FIP isn't a garbage stat but it has a lot of garbage uses.
You also should note that he has already passed his career innings pitched. Good chance he hits a wall and there is evidence for this with his past starts.
Hopefully he can hang on long enough to up his game - maybe work on painting the corners and getting some Maddox style strike outs. We need time to get some of our other guys healthy. Looking at our schedule, the odds aren't as promising as I'd like. But, we'll see!
The Astros stand out as one of the smartest MLB franchises for a particular reason. A significant issue in Major League Baseball is how prospects from countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, or Venezuela are often discarded as soon as they turn 20 or 21, even when they possess tremendous potential. Many talented players who could perform at a high professional level are likely being overlooked due to this practice. This age-focused obsession by MLB teams has created a paradigm where many players, including a few cases who eventually make it to the MLB, feel compelled to lie about their age to navigate the system and meet the immense pressure to succeed.
Well 2.80 ERA guess he did keep it up
great video
So 20 seconds into this video he’s basically Trevor Bauer his last 2-3 years in the MLB
The sad part is he didn't get to play in the all star game. The trend is more for popularity than skill, thou there is some highly skilled pitchers in the all star game. The league likes to ignore southern players like Yourdon only getting one at bat while lesser players were left in the game. Also they walked him so his skills wouldn't be displayed. It used to be looked on as a bad thing to walk a top player in the all-star game.
Sticky stuff Blanco.
Your just a mad Jays fan
Go astros
One of the reason why astros have a wining team ,
Luck or well timed execution (clutch) could be the same thing. It's not always about stuff there is a massive mental part of the game too and I think Blanco has "it."
So Ronel literally has an EX luck stat. Got it.
I don’t think it’s fair to say that BABIP is basically luck. Having a great defense behind you helps for sure, but there is more to it. What was Mariano Rivera’s BABIP?. Dude was incredible at breaking bats and generating weak grounders. Greg Maddux too.
BABIP isn't necessarily luck if you induce a lot of weak contact.
He has 2 no hitters but the other one was only 7 innings
ANY sense.
5 or 6 top players injured and the astros still can beat any MLB team 😂😂😂
$5k signing bonus? They couldn't make that literally anything significant?
If its not significant then can you give me 5k?
Can he be called J-rod 😂
He's garbage now. Body only goes so far.
Nah he ended with 2.80 ERA just bad month
Blanco is one of our best players. We would be even better if Kyle Tucker wasn’t “injured”.
Why do you have "injured" in quotes? What did I miss?
@@marshalbaek5580 he’s been injured for like 2 months and he hasn’t came back. He hit a foul ball on his shin. There’s no way he’s still injured
@@griffbvey7 What do you think he's up to? Meaning, what would he be gaining by not playing? The only thing that would keep you out that long by getting hit by the ball in that area would be a broken bone or a splinter fracture.
@@marshalbaek5580 but he dosent have a broken bone! I don’t understand why he’s not coming back
@@griffbvey7 I looked into it. He bruised the tibia bone (the big one of the 2 bones below the knee) severely - formal name is "bone contusion." If he fouled a fast ball off to his tibia, the ball could have been traveling between 85-100 mph. I've bumped by shin pretty hard before in MMA training doing low round kicks and it was extremely painful. I can't imagine how bad that must have felt having a baseball hit your tibia at that speed.
I looked in a medical section (zero to do with baseball or Tucker) and it said that most bone contusions generally take 1-2 months to heal. If Tucker's is severe, it could take longer. The problem is the bone is structurally weak when there is blood in it. He could break his leg just running if he doesn't let it heal. FYI...
Cough cough sticky stuff
He’s been mid lately
To
Be fare a no hitter against the blue jays is not as impressive
Huh what are you talking about a no hitter is a no hitter also the offense was good at the time.
domingo german had a perfect game against the AAA’s last year, does the fact it was against the worst team in the league diminish his accomplishments? no. even in the NBA, 70 point games usually only happen against awful defensive teams.
No but he did have a no hitter going 6 inning against ranger and his 2nd start, he also almost had a nother no hitter against the Detroit Tigers but bullpen ruin it so he is indeed a weird pitcher
Funny how there is always someone that tries to dimish an Astros No-Hitter. The one in the 2022 World Series, it was 4 pitchers, so it doesn't count... Blanco's was against a weak team... etc... So annoying. I guess all the other ones in history against weak teams should be put into a category of not impressive so no one talks about them.
Fair
I would have to assume that like the Cheastros hitters, the pitchers are also cheating.
Give it a rest. Other teams cheated too. Old news.
@@Chibbidy15 No team cheated their way to the World Series. You will forever be cheaters.
@@milesnexusicon9635Boston
@@milesnexusicon9635 You really don't know ball if you think the Astros are the only team to cheat their way to a World Series. Hell, they weren't even the only team cheating in the 2017 season!
@@joshuabrock5547 Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.
In short he’s having a Mickey year