By Jesus Perez Vichot (Chuchi)
Today begins the Final Series 2021-22 of the Dominican winter baseball. A delight for the baseball fans of the island of Quisqueya. The Giants of Cibao and the Eastern Stars will face each other. The series starts at 7pm at the Tetelo Vargas Stadium, so the Stars will have home court advantage. The next matches will be played on the 18th, 19th, 21st and 22nd, 23rd, 24th (if necessary). The games of 18, 21 and 23 would be at the Julián Javier Stadium.
Let’s review the performance of both teams and so you can have an idea of which team will be the favorite:
The Giants’ starting pitching combined to pitch the most innings in the semifinal. These were his numbers: 74.2 IP, .216 BAA, 1.21 WHIP, 10.8 K-BB%, 2.65 PCL and 3.07 FIP.
The most outstanding starters of the team were:
Tyler Alexander: 17.1 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 1.04 PCL and 2.64 FIP (Fielding Independent Effectiveness)
Logan Ondrusek: 15.2 IP, 0.89 WHIP, 2.30 PCL, and 2.59 FIP.
Raúl Valdés: 11.2 IP, 1.20 WHIP, 1.54 PCL and 2.67 FIP.
Elián Leyva is one of the announced starters for the Cibao team. His numbers are not very encouraging, but the Giants are confident in what the Cuban can do from the mound. Especially with his dominant curve and his splitter, with which he has achieved 52% of swing swings, using these shipments in 28% and only his opponents average .182 Batting and .364 SLG.
There are also doubts about Enny Romero, because she pitched for a high ERA (4.91), in three starts she worked 11 innings, with 1.45 WHIP, 4.91 ERA and 2.74 FIP, this last statistic is more flattering.
The Giants’ relievers had less work in the semifinal stage, but they weren’t very effective either: in total they pitched 66 innings, hitting .265 with a 1.62 WHIP, 3.68 PCL and a 4.86 FIP.
The highlights of the bullpen in the semifinal were:
Juan Minaya: 8 IP, 0.88 WHIP, 4.50 PCL and 2.72 FIP.
Luis Santos: 6.2 IP, 0.90 WHIP, 0.00 PCL and 2.80 FIP.
Andrew Case: 4.1 IP, 0.69 WHIP, 2.08 PCL, and 3.10 FIP.
The starters of the Giants in the semifinal series pitched an average of 4.2 innings per game, although it must be taken into account that the strategies used by the managers at this stage can affect this aspect. Those from Ciabo selected Jake Sánchez and Arturo López, from Águilas Cibaeñas, in the Imported Re-entry Draft. In their respective participations, their numbers were:
Sanchez: 3.2 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 4.91 PCL and 8.83 FIP.
Lopez: 7 IP, 1.71 WHIP, 5.14 PCL and 3.96 FIP.
Giants pitchers caused 44% ground balls. Of that total ground balls allowed, the box turned 71% out. Additionally, of all the fly balls defended (excluding HR) by their outfielders, they converted 66% into outs.
For its part, the starting pitching of the All-Star team was the worst. In 53.1 innings pitched he was hit for a .318 average, with 1.65 WHIP, 6.7 K-BB%, a lofty 5.74 PCL and 3.25 FIP. The starters who stood out the most from the eastern team in the semifinal were:
Andy Otero: 10.2 IP, 0.75 WHIP, 0.84 PCL and 3.85 FIP.
Rony Garcia: 14.1 IP, 1.40 WHIP, 3.14 PCL and 3.24 FIP.
The rest of the starters combined for: 28.1 IP, 1.25 WHIP and 8.96 PCL. With these numbers, it is to be expected that the Stars were the team that used the bullpen the most in the semifinal. The collective performance of these was: 90.2 IP, .241 opponent batting, 1.48 WHIP, 5.2 K-BB%, 3.18 PCL and 4.38 FIP.
The relievers to take into consideration from those of San Pedro de Macorís, are:
Diógenes Almengó: 6.1 IP, 1.11 WHIP, 1.42 PCL and 3.57 FIP.
Samuel Zazueta: 5.1 IP, 0.56 WHIP, 0.00 PCL and 0.85 FIP.
Daniel Duarte: 4.1 IP, 0.92 WHIP, 0.00 PCL and 2.18 FIP.
There were 23 times that he had to go out to pitch a reliever for the green team, working for an average of more than five innings per game.
The Stars in the Re-Entry Draft of imported players strengthened their pitching staff, especially with Cuban Yunesky Maya: 18.1 IP, 1.31 WHIP, 2.95 PCL and 4.14 FIP. The other import is Pat Ruotolo: 5 IP, 0.80 WHIP, 1.80 PCL and 2.70 FIP.
The pitchers of the Eastern Stars caused 40% of balls as ground balls, of which they converted 72% into outs. In relation to the outs converted by his outfielders, the mark was 57%.
On the offensive side, this should be a very attractive final. Both teams were the best in the semifinal, with very similar numbers: Giants: .275 BA, .341 OBP, .400 SLG, 3.8 R/G (runs per game), 40 XBH (extra-base hits) and 11 BR . Stars: .266 BA, .367 OBP, .361 SLG, 5.0 R/G, 40 XBH, and 14 BR.
The best offensive exponent by the Giants was Cuban Henry Urrutia: .388 BA, .444 OBP, .653 SLG, 3 HR, 12 CI, 169 OPS+. He was followed by José Siri: .317 BA, .343 OBP, .524 SLG, 3 HR, 7 CI and 134 OPS+. Marcell Ozuna: .276 BA, .328 OBP, .500 SLG, 3 HR, 9 RBI and 128 OPS+.
The green trident in the semi-final was also on display:
Junior Lake: .351 BA, .472 OBP, .491 SLG, 1 HR, 11 RBI and 149 OPS+.
Yamaico Navarro: .365 BA, .431 OBP, .481 SLG, 1 HR, 11 RBI and 141 OPS+.
Robinson Canó: .262 BA, .324 OBP, .415 SLG, 1 HR, 14 RBI and 114 OPS+.
Both teams per plate appearance they saw roughly the same number of pitches in the semifinal: Stars: 3.8 P/PA and Giants: 3.6 P/PA. The Giants swung more (50%) and swung more (25%) than the Stars (44% Swing, 21% Whiff). The All-Stars’ walk and strikeout percentages: 13.6 BB% and 14.2 K%. The Giants: 8.3 BB% and 18.6 K%.
The Giants were better at baserunning, although they stole fewer bases, they did it more effectively, achieving 11 steals in 14 attempts (79%), while the Stars stole 14 bases in 22 attempts (64%).
The best Defensive Efficiency (DER) between the two teams in the semifinal was the Giants with .714, while the Stars achieved a .679.
This final series is expected to be very close, the favorite is up to you. Each group has its own, talent and dedication should not be lacking. May the best win!
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