When Jason Hammel went out to the mound for his first start of the second half of the season last Saturday, a lot of fans watched with anxiety over what the results might look like. The long-held and frequently cited theory is that, as soon as the schedule officially moves across the midpoint, Hammel turns […]
Tag: Jason Hammel
Montero or Hammel Could Be Casualties of Cubs’ Long-Term Plan
Quietly, Miguel Montero and Jason Hammel have been huge parts of the Cubs’ success over the last two seasons. Montero was worth 3.9 WARP in relatively modest playing time last year, and has been worth 1.3 WARP already this year—in addition to which, he’s been Jake Arrieta’s partner in crime, Willson Contreras’s mentor, and one […]
Skill, Not Luck: Hammel Time
The Cubs rotation has been the driving force behind this team all season. As the club got off to a near-historic start, it was powered largely by a pitching staff with historic run prevention rates. There were questions marks, though, about how sustainable this level of performance was given the low .258 BABIP allowed by […]
The Rest of the Way: The Pitchers
Last week, I took a little liberty with statistical definitions and imagined what each member of the Cubs offense would slash the rest of the way if, at the end of the season, they were to hit their PECOTA projections and career averages. What did we learn from that exercise? For one, despite the name […]
The Sustainability of Jason Hammel’s Early Success
In nearly any other year, more of the space here at BP Wrigleyville would be devoted to lauding the early success of Jason Hammel, who, in some ways, has outshone his colleagues in the starting rotation, but we are in the midst of a pitching showcase from Jake Arrieta that is otherworldly, so the work of […]
Hammel, Cubs Banking On Familiarity With Schwarber To Drive Results
It now appears that Kyle Schwarber will be Jason Hammel’s personal catcher for some portion of the 2016 season, and possibly all of it. That’s the plan, anyway, according to (variously) the Chicago Tribune and Comcast SportsNet. Why? Let’s think about this first from Schwarber’s perspective. For one thing, the Cubs want to give Miguel […]
Competition in the Cubs’ Rotation? Maybe Not.
Now that we’re four games into spring training, it’s time for the worst and least-fruitful discussions to begin: the early looks at “position battles.” The Cubs’ main position battle is for the final two starter spots, which features incumbents Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel—who have the inside edge, to be honest—along with new Cub Adam Warren, […]
Boom or Bust? Evaluating Individual Upside and Downside, Pt. II
Earlier this week, my colleague Isaac Bennett dug deep into the rabbit-hole of the widely ranging PECOTA projection numbers for Cubs hitters. Fortunately, I was able to partner with Isaac on this PECOTA rabbit-hole adventure, so today, and without further ado, I bring to you the “what ifs” and the “maybes” of the Cubs’ starting pitching staff. […]
Jason, Get A Popup!
For a player who finished last season with relatively modest results, we here at Wrigleyville have spilled a fair bit of ink over Jason Hammel. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly how to feel about his stint with the Cubs, and I believe it is this curiosity which leads to our continued efforts to dive into the tumultuous nature […]
Cubs Player Profile: Jason Hammel
2015 Stats 170.2 IP, 3.74 ERA, 4.61 DRA, 24.2 K%, 5.6 BB% Year in Review If you’re like me, you probably only glanced over the above line: Jason Hammel’s 2015 stats. But take another look and really soak it in. Outside of that DRA—which is certainly concerning—Hammel had a damn fine season, and definitely one worthy […]