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There were 58 starting pitchers in the AL and NL who averaged 90.0 MPH or more on their fastballs last year. Of these, 12 threw with their left hands:
| SP | MPH | 2011 ERA+ |
| David Price | 94.8 | 107 (and 144 in 2010) |
| Derek Holland | 94.2 | 113 |
| C.C. Sabathia | 93.8 | 147 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 93.4 | 163 |
| Matt Harrison | 92.8 | 131 |
| Jon Lester | 92.8 | 122 (worst year of his life) |
| Gio Gonzalez | 92.5 | 130 |
| Ricky Romero | 92.1 | 146 |
| Cole Hamels | 91.7 | 138 |
| John Danks | 91.6 | 97 (and 111 lifetime) |
| Cliff Lee | 91.5 | 161 |
| C.J. Wilson | 91.0 | 152 |
That's every left hand starter who threw 90.0 or above.
Oh, I know whatcher thinkin'. It can't work like that all the time. Certainly you could go back to 2008 or something and there would be at least one non-TOR in there?! Just throwing 91 mph with your left can't possibly guarantee that you're a TOR.
Why resist the obvious point?
A hot left handed fastball is a plus-plus weapon, end of story. Not in class-A baseball. In the major leagues.
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=== Sofistikation, Dept. ===
We bloggers are always in search of the next Dramatic Stats Find. Hey, look at this table I found here! If you sort to get BB% = 10, and K = 12, and ISO = 150, and Madden NFL Ranking = 23, you've got a table of pretty good players!
Is the above table too simple? LHP's who threw 90 and up were great. ::blinks:: Hey, is that fair?
Holland and Danks are the lower bounds of this group, the #11 and #12 pitchers out of twelve, which is kind of like saying you had twelve minor league players of whom Jesus Montero was the worst.
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The James Paxton gamble doesn't take place in March. It took place when the Mariners signed him, before he strolled in and threw his easy 95 in the bullpen. That was the gamble. The M's rolled a 7. They don't have to roll again.
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=== Don't Get Him Angry, Dept. ===
In summer 2011, we had stepped into the cage and took a first cut at Danny Hultzen's pitching template. We laid that out, guessingly so, as "LHP's with quick fastballs and polished straight changeups." There had been two such pitchers in the last five years, those being Johan Santana and Cole Hamels.
But I didn't know about the above table, which suggests a different strategy:
"I wouldn't upset him if I were you."
"But, sir, nobody worries about upsetting a droid!"
"That's 'cause droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookiees are known to do that."
"R2, I suggest a new strategy. Let the wookiee win. If he's left handed, that is."
Should it have been "LHP, 90+, and Good Changeups" or should it have been, "LHP, 90+ and Anything Else"?
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