MLB salary arbitration decides a one-year pay for players near free agency. This primer explains who qualifies (including Super Two), how numbers are built from service time and comps, and what happens in a hearing. Most cases settle before a panel meets, but the framework explains winter headlines and rising salaries.
Designated for assignment isn’t chaos; it’s roster management in action. When a player hits DFA, a seven-day clock begins to trade, outright waivers, or release. This guide breaks down why teams DFA, how the window plays out, and what the move means for players, clubs, and fans reading the transaction.
FIP cleans up the noise in ERA by isolating pitcher-controlled outcomes: strikeouts, walks, hit batters, and home runs. It translates those events back onto the ERA scale, offering a clearer read on true talent and future run prevention. Read on to see when FIP outperforms ERA and why it matters.
BABIP reveals when a ball in play becomes a hit, stripping away walks and homers to show what the defense faced. Season by season, luck and skill collide, but context—line drives, spray, speed, and park effects—clarifies slumps, hot streaks, and why projections should lean on multiple indicators, not small samples.
Hard Hit Rate sits at the center of modern hitting analysis, cutting through noise to reveal true contact quality. As a single metric linking mechanics, approach, and results, it guides player evaluation, coaching, fantasy, and scouting. This guide clarifies the calculation, interpretation, consistency signals, and practical decisions behind hard contact.
Pitch spin rate opens a clear window into how a baseball moves. Learn what RPM means, how axis and seam orientation bend movement, and how to design pitches with intention instead of guesswork. This guide breaks down RPM by pitch type, plus drills to train movement while preserving command and the arm.
Barrels changed how we watch baseball. They fuse exit velocity with launch angle to flag the purest contact—the swings that produce extra-base hits. In fantasy, DFS, or scouting, barrels cut through luck and park quirks to reveal power. This guide breaks the definition, measurement, and usage from the ground up.
Launch angle is the vertical angle of contact, guiding whether hits stay infield or carry for extra bases. In this beginner-friendly guide, learn the bands (roughly 8–32 degrees), how line drives, grounders, and fly balls fit, and practical steps—drills, feedback, and game-focused tweaks to improve results without sacrificing contact.
Exit velocity has become a leading measure of power in hitting, revealing how hard the ball leaves the bat. It blends bat speed, contact quality, and timing, and predicts potential outcomes. This guide breaks down measurement methods, benchmarks for baseball and softball, and practical drills to raise peak and average velocity.
Extra innings aren’t what they used to be. The ghost runner on second starts every half-inning, turning late-game drama into a rapid, decision-filled sprint. Managers weigh risk and reward from the first pitch, while defenses and relievers adapt to outs as currency. This guide breaks down the rule and strategy.
