Jacob

19 | @WakeForest

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

I like going back to this thread whenever Burleson gets hot. He’s so good at hitting bad pitches and it makes his aggressive approach sustainable:

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Alec Burleson is on pace to be the first Cardinal since 1967 to have a sub-5% BB% and a wRC+ above 125.

Here's why he's doing it, how he's doing it, and why it shouldn't change.

A data-driven thread 🧵

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

In simpler terms: Herrera sits with pretty good company when it comes to pairing elite contact quality with managing BBs/Ks

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Qualified players with an xwOBAcon ≥ .390 and more walks than strikeouts:

Yordan Alvarez
Mike Trout
Jose Ramirez
Ivan Herrera

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Riley O’Brien’s last two pitches of his save were both 101.1 MPH

His previous career high’s in MiLB and MLB respectively were 100.8 and 100.5 (which was 3 days ago)

He is something else. Cardinals got him for basically nothing in 2023.

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

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[Jacob @jacobledelman]

The secret behind Ryan Helsley's dramatic falloff

A quick thread on the one, simple number that is holding the Cardinals' closer back 🧵

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

IYKYK

[Alex Fast @AlexFast8]

Wonder if the Orioles prioritize anything for their bullpen arms….

Oh.

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Last season, Jordan Walker hit his 11th barrel on July 18th, on his 116th batted ball event, good for a 9.5% Barrel%

Yesterday, he hit his 11th barrel of 2026. It was April 13th. And his 26.2% Barrel% ranks in the 99th percentile

[Wake Forest Baseball Analytics @Wake_Analytics]

Want to work for the Wake Forest Baseball team? We are inviting all current or incoming undergraduate and graduate students to apply for our Baseball Analytics team!

You can fill out the application by scanning this QR Code or visiting the link posted below. Go Deacs! 🎩

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

When Jordan Walker was a top prospect, we envisioned him being a player like this. It took a few years but something has clearly clicked

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Here are the distributions of Jordan Walker’s launch angles on batted balls above 100 MPH, split by season

So far this year, his median LA on such BBE is 22°

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Here’s a fun fact

The two hardest-hit balls in Jordan Walker’s career with launch angles above just 5° have both come in the last week

2B on 3/29: 114.9 MPH, 13° LA
HR on 4/4: 113.7 MPH, 22° LA

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

The pitch that JJ Wetherholt hit out yesterday had a plate side of -1.07 ft, which is nearly 5 inches from the edge of the strike zone. He hit it 425 feet.

He’s the first LHH to go 425+ on a pitch at least a foot from the center of the plate since… Nolan Gorman in July of 2023

[MLB @MLB]

JJ WETHERHOLT 😤

He leaves the yard in his Major League debut!

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Dustin May is throwing a curveball now, which he hasn’t used since 2019. Also touched 99.3 three times, which he hasn’t done since May 2023

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

@enosarris @pitchprofiler There was also barely any change in the model I used to be fair

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

The secret behind Ryan Helsley's dramatic falloff

A quick thread on the one, simple number that is holding the Cardinals' closer back 🧵

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

@enosarris It’s admittedly a not great model and I haven’t touched it since, just trying to hammer home the point that he’s increasing his slot while IVB decreases

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Matt Svanson's K%, Whiff%, and wOBA are all significantly better this year in the MLB vs in AAA.

His velocity increase is a big part of that, and he's not slowing down:

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

@jonmberra Yeah around that, maybe the 110-112 range

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Wetherholt’s EVs aren’t elite, but one of his best skills is driving the ball the other way with authority. Feel like this part of hitting is slept on nowadays

[Memphis Redbirds @memphisredbirds]

When JJ is in the lineup, it is already 1-0!

Leadoff @HueysRestaurant Homer!

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

I’m not kidding when I say Matt Svanson has the best stuff on the roster now. Sinker up to 99, cutter up to 94, sweeper looks great. Plus velocity and tunneling

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

I’ve been on the Leahy-starter train for a while. Recently, he’s been great as a bulk IP guy out of the pen:

8/6: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
8/2: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
7/26: 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
7/22: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K
7/18: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

[Jacob @jacobledelman]

Kyle Leahy is being stretched out as a starter, and I'm on board

His release and approach angles are deceptive and his sweeper is genuienly elite. 85-87 with 16" sweep and 4" IVB, playing off of a hard slutter (4" IVB/-5" HB at 90). Changeup will need usage increase as starter.