FanPost

Why Zach Britton is the Most Underrated Player in the MLB Without a Question

After tonight's comeback win against the Giants, the Orioles finished with a 5-5 record over the past 10-game road trip, which is not bad considering our home record of 39-17, the best in the AL in both wins and winning percentage. Baltimore has now accumulated 34 comeback wins in 2016, which is among the best in the MLB this year. Could this be possible without the hard hitting offense? No, but many of those wins should be accredited to our fantastic bullpen, especially the MLB's top closer, Zach Britton.

Britton has had a magical campaign so far, putting up numbers that cannot be matched. In fact, he has the most consecutive saves to start a season by any left handed reliever EVER, which is currently at 37. His ERA is lower than his WHIP, even though his WHIP is a stellar 0.80. That's the best out of all AL closers. AND he has the MLB's best ERA this season at 0.54 (50 IP minimum). Some argue that his K/BB rate should improve and that he needs to work on his control (he has thrown 9 wild pitches this year, T7 throughout the MLB), but he wins games and closes them out. It's okay to let runners on base as long as they don't end up scoring, which is what Britton did today vs. the Giants. It's scary to watch him work, and sometimes you think that it could end up catching up to him.

Then you look at his stuff. A 97 MPH sinker that is unsurpassed throughout the league and one of the best sliders in the MLB (too bad it doesn't have Chaz Roe type movement, that just makes your jaw drop). His swing and miss rate is extremely high for the stuff he throws, and his groundball pitches often help double up some of the runners that he puts on base. He also allows very few home runs, as he has only gave up 1 all year, which came in April to young star Mookie Betts.

His best stats all year, however, comes through in the saber-metrics department. He has saved about 24 runs according to the Base Out Runs Saved statistic, which is calculated given the context of each at bat, such as how many runners are on base, how many outs have been recorded, etc. This is tops among all closers in the MLB and corresponds well with his amount of allowed base runners. However, his best statistic is WPA, which stands for win probability added. Similar to WAR, it is calculated by tracking a pitcher's affect on the game and how it increases or decreases the probabilty of winning the game. Each 1 point is equivalent to 1 win, and Zach Britton's WPA equates to a whopping 4.6. That is the best out of all pitchers in the MLB, including starters. It's .5 higher than Clayton Kershaw (yes, he's injured, but he's still the best pitcher in the league nonetheless), and more than a point higher than 3rd place (Johnny Cueto).

Is Britton the best pitcher in the MLB? Probably not, but you could make an argument that he's one of the most valuable by closing out each game and keeping a 100% save to opportunity rate. Plus he has arguably the strongest sinker in the MLB. It's always tough to face Zach Britton, and no team has been able to pry him off the top level of relievers. As his name is usually covered by the faces of the closer position (Aroldis Chapman, Kenley Jansen), he isn't always considered in the top tier of closers. But, his stats go to show his value for the Orioles as well as his elite status as the most underrated player in the MLB.

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