Any seasoned baseball bettor or handicapper understands the importance of comparing pitching matchups before placing a bet on a baseball game. No other player on the field has as much direct impact on the betting lines, as well as the outcome of the game, as the pitcher. To the casual baseball bettor, a quick look at a pitcher’s win/loss record and their ERA might be enough, but if you take baseball betting seriously, a deeper investigation is required.
While virtually any baseball statistic can be found with enough research, astute bettors require tools that provide them with the necessary information without having to jump around from website to website. Time is money in the world of sports betting, which is why Cappers is dedicated to providing our customers with all of the necessary data points in one convenient location.
When you submit the Cappers MLB handicapping form, a wide variety of betting-related data is returned. Regarding pitching-specific data, there are two sections that MLB bettors will find useful: probable pitchers and pitching leaders. The probable starting pitcher for both teams is returned (assuming both teams have listed a probable starter), and a variety of data is included for each.
Probable Pitcher Data
Probable pitcher data is separated into multiple categories depending on how much data is available for the current season. Clicking on the blue heading for each category will expand that section to show you the corresponding data. By default, the pitcher’s current season statistics are shown, which include the following:
Current Season Pitcher Statistics
Games
- Summary - the pitcher’s win/loss record and earned run average
- Wins
- Losses
- Win Percentage
- Games Played
- Games Started
- Complete Games
- Shutouts
Runs Allowed
- ERA - Earned Run Average
- Runs - Total runs allowed
- Earned Runs
- Runs Scored per 9 Innings
Pitches
- Innings Pitched
- Batters Faced
- Pitches Thrown
- Pitches Per Inning
- Balls
- Strikes
- Strike Percentage
Control
- Base on Balls
- Walks per 9 Innings
- Intentional Walks
- Hit By Pitch
- Wild Pitches
- Balks
Hits Allowed
- Hits
- Doubles
- Triples
- Home Runs
- Hits per 9 Innings
- Home Runs per 9 Innings
- OBP - On Base Percentage
- WHIP - Walks Plus Hits per Inning Pitched
Stealing
- Stolen Bases Allowed
- Caught Stealing
- Stolen Base Percentage
Outs
- Outs
- Strike Outs
- Strike Out to Walk Ratio
- Strike Outs per 9 Innings
- Ground Outs
- Air Outs
- Pick Offs
- Ground Out to Air Out Percentage
Batting
- RBI - As a batter
Assuming this isn’t the probable pitcher’s first start of the season, the following stats from their previous start are available.
Probable Pitcher Last Game Statistics
Game
- Summary
- Opponent
- Game Date
- Won Game?
- Lost Game?
- Was Shutout?
- Was Complete Game
- Was Save Opportunity? - Only shows if this is true
- Saved Game? - Only shows in save opportunities
- Blown Save? - Only shows in save opportunities
Runs Allowed
- Runs
- Earned Runs
- Runs Scored Per 9 Innings
Pitches
- Batters Faced
- Pitches Thrown
- Balls
- Strikes
- Strike Percentage
Control
- Base on Balls
- Passed Ball
Hits Allowed
- Hits
- Doubles
- Triples
- Home Runs
- Home Runs per 9 Innings
Stealing
- Stolen Bases Allowed
- Caught Stealing
- Stolen Base Percentage
Outs
- Strike Outs
- Fly Outs
- Air Outs
- Ground Outs
In cases where the probable starting pitcher has faced this opponent previously during the current season, another section with the same data points as those from the last game is available. This allows handicappers to not only evaluate how a pitcher performed in their last performance but they can then compare that to how the pitcher performed in their last game against this specific opponent.
Finally, a section containing the following personal information is available for each pitcher.
Probable Pitcher Personal Information
- Full Name
- First Name
- Last Name
- Box Score Name
- Pitching Hand
- Bat Side
- Height
- Weight
- Primary Number
- Draft Year
- MLB Debut
- Is Player?
- Is Active?
- Is Verified?
- Birth Date
- Birth City
- Birth State / Province
- Birth Country
Below is a screenshot of the default Probable Pitchers view showing current season statistics for Kevin Gausman of the Toronto Blue Jays from early June 2023. As you can tell from the description, an abundance of data is available to Cappers users, making the research and comparison process quick and efficient.
Pitching Leaders Data
Directly below the Probable Pitchers section is a section titled ‘MLB Pitching Leaders.’ This section contains the top ten pitchers across MLB for the following six categories:
- Wins
- Win Percentage
- ERA
- Strikeouts
- Batting Average
- OPS - On-base plus Slugging Percentage
When handicapping a baseball game, not only is it helpful to know all of the previously mentioned statistics for the expected pitchers, but it’s also helpful to know if either pitcher is a league leader in any of these categories. This type of information helps astute sports bettors and handicappers make intelligent decisions before putting their money on the line.
Here is an example of the Pitching Leaders section from July 2023 during the All-Star break.
Summary of Pitching Analysis with Cappers
As you can see, Cappers takes pitching analysis seriously. We understand how important this type of research is in the handicapping process and providing this information to our users in a well-organized manner is a major part of our MLB handicapping engine. We hope you can see how efficient it is to evaluate pitching matchups using the Cappers web application and encourage you to get started with a 14-day free trial on the Cappers App today. Here’s to our mutual success!
