Evolution of Pitching Rotations Under the Cap

2013 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE

TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH WA  121.0 307 96 3.20 2.54 1.07 1.41 1 EL  126.2 303 147 2.06 2.39 1.61 0.78 2 WW  121.2 261 104 2.51 2.15 1.64 0.51 4 HB  131.2 260 155 1.68 1.97 2.28 -0.31 3 DU  113.0 277 253 1.09 2.45 2.48 -0.39 6 KF  154.2 293 207 1.42 1.89 2.44 -0.55 5 BW  132.1 209 146 1.43 1.58 2.94 -1.36 8 IS  125.1 258 276 0.93 2.06 3.71 -1.65 7 WSEM  1026.1 2168 1384 1.67 2.11 2.32 -0.21 —

2013 Only 3 of 8 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP and a positive KPI-WHIP (37.5%). Top 4 pitching teams take the four playoff spots. #Chalk

2014 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE

TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH WA  169.2 423 110 3.85 2.50 0.96 1.54 1 EL  176.0 408 119 3.43 2.32 1.07 1.25 2 BW  180.1 441 139 3.17 2.45 1.30 1.15 4 FS  139.2 360 168 2.14 2.58 1.80 0.77 5 ON  126.0 272 90 3.02 2.16 1.41 0.75 7 WW  115.0 233 106 2.20 2.03 1.70 0.33 6 HB  158.2 332 178 1.87 2.09 1.89 0.20 9 KF  139.0 296 181 1.64 2.13 1.94 0.19 3 WO  133.1 208 271 0.77 1.56 3.38 -1.32 8 IS  93.1 165 171 0.96 1.77 4.20 -2.43 10 WSEM  1430.2 3138 1533 2.05 2.19 1.82 0.38 —

2014 8 of 10 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP and a positive KPI-WHIP (80%). Top 4 pitching teams make playoffs, but the number 8 pitching rotation plays its way in. #Darkhorse

2015 TEAM PITCHING ROTATION PERFORMANCE

TEAM IP K BB K/BB KPI WHIP KPI-WHIP FINISH RC  169.2 409 116 3.53 2.41 1.14 1.27 2 WA  145.1 337 84 4.01 2.32 1.12 1.20 1 SY  169.2 360 99 3.64 2.13 1.46 0.67 8 FS  172.2 407 183 2.22 2.36 1.69 0.67 3 WO  167.2 343 161 2.13 2.05 1.56 0.49 4 EL  152.0 318 179 1.78 2.09 1.96 0.13 6 HB  176.2 367 181 2.03 2.08 2.06 0.02 6 IS  157.2 325 195 1.67 2.06 2.06 0.00 5 WSEM  1310.0 2866 1198 2.39 2.19 1.64 0.55 —

2015 6 of 8 team pitching rotations have a sub-2.00 WHIP (75%), but all 8 teams post a non-negative KPI-WHIP (100%). The number 8 pitching rotation plays its way into the playoffs along with the top 2 and numbers 4 and 5. #Parity

Evidently, the performance of pitching rotations around the league has come closer and closer over the years. There is no bad rotation to speak of from the 2015 season. Today's number 8 rotation would fit in the top 4 two years ago. Every staff is now dealing more strike outs than they are allowing walks or hits, and there is no longer a single team far removed from the numbers put up by the rest of the league. This has created a world where the eighth best rotation is good enough to be a playoff team. Every rotation is now throwing in playoff contention. For a deeper look at parity, just compare the average run differential of playoff teams and the shrinking divide of runs allowed over the past 3 years:

	2013	2014	2015
Average Run Differential of Playoff Teams	82.8	48.6	27.4
Difference Between High & Low Runs Allowed	253	266	101
Standard Deviation of Runs Allowed	76.8	78.6	33.7

Average run differential of playoff teams reduced by 58.6% in 2014 with the introduction of the talent cap, then reduced by another 56.4% in 2015 with the salary cap. Read: "Blowouts and domination are dwindling." The salary cap also closed the gap between the highest and lowest runs allowed by a pitching rotation, decreasing it to less than 40% of either preceding year. The standard deviation of runs allowed across the league saw similar reduction by nearly 60% from the previous seasons. #GettingThere

Team Salary Cap Situations: Before Franchise Decisions

	EL DIABLOS	SQUIRRELS	HOLY BALLS	ISLANDERS	RED COX	SEE YAS	WICKED ACES	WOLFPACK
Initial Cap:	$210	$210	$210	$210	$210	$210	$210	$210
Trade In:	$0	$0	$13	$45	$47	$50	$0	$11
Trade Out:   (Potential   Cap Hit)	$0	$0	$60	$0	$0	$36	$10	$60
			Lewis: $10			McKinnie: $1	Adams: $10 *	Fejza: $35 *
			Fisher: $50 *			Fisher: $35		Bencher: $13 *
								Villarreal: $12 *
Working Cap:	$210	$210	$163	$255	$257	$224	$200	$161
* Cap hit can be avoided by using franchise tag on player

El Diablos — No draft funds coming in or going out. El Diablos start with the stock working salary cap of $210. 2014 captain Chandler Phillips will cost his team $45. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: Kyle Tomlinson at $35, Nicco Lollio at $40.

Flying Squirrels — No draft funds coming in or going out. The Squirrels start with the stock working salary cap of $210. 2014 captain Michael Sessions will cost his team only $10. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: Craig Skinner at $50, Raymond Brown at $30, or Dylan Braden at $30.

Holy Balls — The Balls have $13 coming in. That is enough to cover the $10 cap hit already enforced after dropping Chris Lewis. Another $50 cap hit could be incurred if they do not franchise RJ Fisher; this is reflected in their $163 working cap. 2014 captain Chris Paquin will cost his team $20. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: RJ Fisher at $35, David Castle at $45, or Dennis Pearson at $45.

Islanders — The Islanders pocketed an additional $45 of cap space through two trades, with no potential cap hits. This gives them a working cap of $255. 2014 captain Alex Linebrink will cost his team $25. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: Kevin Doby at $35, Michael Giguere at $35.

Red Cox — The Red Cox are set up great with an additional $47 and no cap hits, giving them a working cap of $257. 2014 captain Stephen Werner will cost his team $40. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: RotY Scott Kujawa at $45, Trey Jardine at $45, or Kiefer Haffey at $30.

See Yas — The See Yas have already incurred $36 in cap hits. However, they're buoyed by an additional $50 traded in. This gives them a positive working cap of $224. 2014 captain Ryan Alexia will cost his team just $10. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: Clown Shu Stephen Farkas at $50, Brandon Corbett at $30.

Wicked Aces — The Aces face a cap hit of $10 if they do not franchise Zac Adams. With no additional money traded in the Aces start with the a working cap of $200. Austin Bischoff is expected to reclaim the captaincy and will cost his team $50. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: 2014 captain Evan Bischoff at $50, MVP Evan Bortmas at $50, or Nate Gendron at $40.

Wolfpack — The Wolfpack face pending cap hits of up to $60. $35 of this is on Dash Fejza, $13 on Jeff Bencher, and $12 on Michael Villarreal. At least one of these will be enforced; likely two. They do have $11 coming in to slightly take off the sting. 2014 captain Mark Brannan would cost his team a manageable $15, but there are rumors his brother Greg Brannan may take over; Greg would be $40 against the cap. Likely candidates for a franchise tag: MIP Travis Strony at $45, Dash Fejza at $35.

Note:  Cap hits are incurred when players received in a trade for future draft funds are not franchised. The amount of the cap hit is equal to the amount dealt in the trade.