This is the opener of a three-game series in Cleveland between the Guardians and visiting Texas Rangers.
Jack Leiter is scheduled to pitch for Texas, while Slade Cecconi is scheduled to pitch for Cleveland.
Rangers at Guardians prediction, preview
Leiter has the pedigree and the arm, averaging 97.4 mph on the fastball. Unfortunately, he still has too much Ricky Vaughn in him, as the walk rate is 10.6%. The strikeout rate is solid at 22.3% while the swinging strike rate is 10.4%, but the chase rate is only 26.5%. Leiter has allowed 17 home runs in 144.2 innings. The barrel rate is 10.7% and the hard hit rate is 43.8%.
Ten of the 17 home runs have been served up at home. The numbers are almost identical to both righties and lefties. He’s also been split neutral.
In 28 starts, Leiter has allowed more than three earned runs five times and gone at least six innings nine times. He faced Cleveland six starts ago and went seven innings, did not issue a walk and struck out 10 without allowing an earned run on two hits.
Against right-handed pitching, the Guardians rank 16th in strikeout rate, 21st in ISO and 27th in wOBA.
Cecconi averages 94.3 mph on the fastball and is posting a 4.15 ERA through 128 innings. The FIP is slightly higher at 4.62 as the BABIP is .266. The strikeout rate is 20.1% while the walk rate is 5.9%. He’s gets hit hard and has allowed 23 home runs. The average exit velocity is 91.9 mph, barrel rate is 12.1% and the hard hit rate is a whopping 50.1%.
The K-BB% is 3.4% higher against lefties while the FIP is slightly lower. He’s been much better on the road, as the K-BB% is 19.8% compared to 8.9% at home. The FIP is 5.3 at home vs. 3.89 on the road.
In 22 starts, Cecconi has allowed more than three earned runs five times while going at least six innings 12 times. He faced Texas six starts ago and went six innings, did not issue a walk and struck out three while allowing two earned runs on four hits.
Against right-handed pitching, the Rangers have the 20th-highest strikeout rate in MLB, the 25th-best ISO, and rank 25th in wOBA.
As for the bullpens since Aug. 1, Texas ranks 21st in FIP while Cleveland ranks first.
Rangers at Guardians pick, best bet
Give me the team that has the best bullpen and is still battling for the division crown.
