In one of the most bizarre early-season stats you will see in recent memory, you’ll probably be glad to know that the Baltimore Orioles lead the majors in pitching WAR.
“The Orioles lead baseball in pitching fWAR. The Orioles lead baseball in pitching fWAR. Just…had to put that twice to make sure you read it,” Alex Fast, the VP of Pitcher List, tweeted.
The Orioles lead baseball in pitching fWAR.
The Orioles lead baseball in pitching fWAR.Just…had to put that twice to make sure you read it.
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) April 21, 2022
WAR means Wins Above Replacement, and is a great way to determine how valuable a player (or a staff, in this case) is.
In this particular case, it means the Orioles’ pitching staff has been, against all odds, the best in the game.
Who would have thought?
It’s Very Early, But There Is No Denying There Has Been An Improvement
Of course, it’s still very early into the season and these kind of small-sample bits of data usually don’t last too long.
But there is no denying that Orioles’ hurlers are much, much better this year than last.
Last season, we had the Orioles’ pitching as a disaster, and their offense was actually quite respectable.
This time, the complete opposite scenario is presenting itself: Baltimore arms are pitching incredibly well, and their offense is one of the worst in baseball.
Orioles’ pitchers as a whole lead MLB with 2.5 pitching WAR through Wednesday, tied with the San Francisco Giants for the top spot.
They have a 2.57 ERA and a 2.93 FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching (another useful metric that removes defense from the equation).
On the other hand, their offense has hit a woeful .206/.301/.284 and is dead last in runs scored, with 24.
Kudos to the Orioles’ pitching coaches and to the arms themselves: John Means, Bruce Zimmermann, Jorge Lopez, Bryan Baker, Dillon Tate, Jordan Lyles, Cionel Perez, Keegan Akin, Spenser Watkins, and others have been excellent.
NEXT: Cedric Mullins Has Orioles Fans Interested In 2022