This is the finale of a three-game series in New York between the Yankees and visiting Seattle Mariners.
Bryan Woo is scheduled to pitch for Seattle while Marcus Stroman should get the nod for New York.
Mariners at Yankees prediction, preview
Bryan Woo is so good. He makes me want to jump out of my chair and scream, “Woo Woooo!!!!” The fastball averages 95.6 mph and he’s only walked 19 batters in 107.1 innings. He’s not as good as the 2.77 ERA indicates, as the FIP is higher at 3.46 while the BABIP is .247 and the strand rate is 82.2%. That said, he limits hard contact well, as the average exit velocity is 88 mph while the hard hit rate is 38%. The swinging strike rate is 11.8% while the chase rate is 29.6%.
Woo has been site neutral but lefties have had more success against him. 10 of the 14 home runs have come off the bat of lefties while the K-BB% is 9% lower than against righties.
Woo has allowed more than three earned runs four times. He hasn’t allowed an earned run in three of the four most recent starts. Another impressive aspect of Woo’s season so far is that he’s pitched at least six innings in every start, with four of those at least seven innings.
Against right-handed pitching, the Yankees have struck out at the seventh-highest rate while having the second-best ISO. The wOBA is fourth-best in MLB.
Marcus Stroman is the antithesis of Woo, as he doesn’t throw hard, has control issues and gets hit hard. Stroman has been a groundball/contact pitcher for most of his career, so a low strikeout rate isn’t out of the ordinary, but the 13.5% this season is a career-low by a wide margin. The 11.2% walk rate is the first time in double digits in his career. For perspective, Stroman had a 5.2% walk rate his rookie season. The average exit velocity is 91.2 mph, the barrel rate is a whopping 12.1% and the hard hit rate is 45.5%. The ERA is 7.45 while the FIP is 6.24. Granted, it’s only been 19.1 innings, but still.
Three of the four home runs allowed have come off the bat of lefties in Yankees Stadium.
Stroman has allowed a home run in four of the five starts and has yet to pitch more than five innings.
The Mariners have struck out at the 11th-highest rate against right-handed pitching while being 12th in ISO. The wOBA is 12th-best.
As for bullpens, Seattle has the 16th-lowest FIP while New York has the 12th-lowest.
Mariners at Yankees, Best Bet
While writing up Stroman made me want to puke, he’s still primarily a ground ball pitcher. He may give up a home run and get some runs scored on him, but I don’t think he gets lit up. On the flip side, I do like Woo to continue pitching well. He’s very good, although it’s baseball, and the game is in Yankees Stadium, so anything can happen on a given day.
