Screenshot 2025-01-09 at 3.59.11 PM.pngResults backed up these scary numbers. Opposing batters slugged .726 against them with a .455 xwOBA and smacked nine home runs. For comparison’s sake, Aaron Judge had a .701 SLG and .479 xwOBA last season. Every time King threw a fastball last March or April, it was as if Judge was in the batter’s box.L Michael King was always an afterthought. First, going to the Marlins in the 12th round of the 2016 draft out of Boston College. Then, being traded to the Yankees as a throw-in in a deal that was predominantly to acquire international bonus pool money in their pursuit of Shohei Ohtani. Later, as an ascending as a relief pitcher that couldn’t make his way back into the rotation..252 Generally, righty pitchers don’t throw many sweepers to lefty batters because they perform much better against righty hitters. Batter Whiff% .359 Just check out his pitch usage against left-handed batters from May onward.R That last piece of data intuitively makes sense given King’s adjustments after April. Lefties teed off on him early and couldn’t figure him out afterwards. Also, his sinker was devastating against righties and is one of the most difficult pitches to square-up in the league. This is a cool piece of analysis that’s come from new Bat Tracking data.As one of the best run-suppressors in the league, King was a master at limiting hard contact. After allowing 10 home runs in April alone, he surrendered just seven total the rest of the season. He was in the 99th percentile in exit velocity against, 97th percentile in hard-hit rate against, and had the lowest squared-up rate for any starting pitcher in the league after May 1st.King’s sinker became his second-most thrown pitch against lefties after May 1st and he was using it more regularly as a put-away pitch. He also threw it significantly more often against righties. Here’s Mookie Betts looking silly against one for good measure.Those three pitches along with his changeup allowed him to hit the ground running and pitch his way to a 1.88 ERA as a starter in 2023..293 .321 All of these issues could be traced back to his fastballs not maintaining their same level of effectiveness as the season before. Each were a few ticks slower and their Stuff+ each dropped below 80! That’s so bad it’s past the danger zone and in the “something might be really wrong” zone.32.2 Screenshot 2025-01-09 at 4.50.24 PM.png.348
So, what made this move for King possible? And how did he transition so smoothly?
.726
.218 Date At this point, King had two similarly sized samples across two seasons as a starter: in one, he was lights-out and in the other, he was awful.Rather, King had the gumption to start the bulk of his at-bats against lefties with them. More than trust in one’s stuff, that shows a ton of trust in one’s command.
Date
Role Call
wOBA wOBA Lastly, his most thrown pitcher overall to lefties was his changeup – another pitch whose effectiveness is closely tied to command. While that alone was not particularly crazy, King threw that changeup as often when he was behind in the count as he was ahead or had two strikes on a batter. That’s only possibly with pinpoint command and confidence.
So, King had the stuff to be a starter, excelled there in a short stint, and had that role clearly defined for him once in San Diego. All systems go, right? Right?
So, King had the stuff to be a starter, excelled there in a short stint, and had that role clearly defined for him once in San Diego. All systems go, right? Right?
All in all, he wound up as the 17th most valuable starting pitcher in the league according to FanGraphs’ Player Rater. That was ahead of George Kirby, Aaron Nola, and Luis Castillo.
Obviously, moving from the bullpen to the rotation was the key reason King broke out. In fact, he did it before it was cool – shoutout Seth Lugo for truly blazing the trail – and likely paved the way for Reynaldo López, Jordan Hicks, Clay Holmes, and possibly Jeff Hoffman to do the same.
King and his sinker are not average, though. It has plus-plus movement and he has fantastic command overall. That allowed him to be more creative and daring with that pitch than most other pitchers can afford to be. Look at the differences in where he located it in March and April versus the rest of the season.
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After May
Fewer fastballs down the middle is almost always a good thing. King was able to live there in the past when his fastball had more zip. As its stuff waned, his command became more important and helped pull that fastball from the doldrums.
King maintained his starters’ repertoire when he moved to the bullpen. He was one of just 22 relievers who threw a minimum of 50 IP to use four different pitches at least 10% of the time that season. Other current starters Lugo and Nick Martinez were also in that group.
I already told you about the wicked front-hip sinkers against lefties. Possibly more brazen than that, King’s most commonly thrown first pitch to them was his sweeper. The only way he could get away with that was throwing them back-door, and that’s exactly what he did.
With this, he no longer had any holes in his game and ran roughshod through the entire league.
Again, less pitches right down the middle is great. But more specifically, King began locating that sinker on the lefties’ front hip. Few have the ability to weaponize it in that way and he was able to force some outrageous called strikes doing so..356 King came out on the other side of those tough early months with one of the most audacious gameplans in baseball. He did things from a command perspective that most other pitchers won’t even try, let alone center their game around it.This helped to usher in what would be a dominant summer for him.Overall, the results against King’s fastballs improved dramatically from May through the rest of the season. Additionally, King wielded two plus fastballs – his four-seamer and sinker. As a reliever in 2023, they had a 104 and 111 Stuff+, respectively. After moving to the rotation, they held true at 109 and 108..300 At the end of the day, his sinker, sweeper, and changeup are all plus pitches and his command is exceptional. That should establish a safe enough floor for him to be at least a low-end SP1 with upside for more..408 SLG He was one of just 13 starting pitchers who had both an above average four-seamer and sinker by Stuff+. Of course, he only threw 38 1/3 IP as a starter and sat just under five innings per start in that first stint back in the rotation. That allowed him to maintain his velocity from the bullpen and inflate those stuff numbers some. Still, that sinker is ridiculous. To go along with the sinker, King’s sweeper has always been a true out-pitch. It darts across the zone from King’s low, cross-body release and had the fourth-most horizontal movement in baseball when he moved to the rotation. This thing is a frisbee.SLG There should also be confidence in his workload with over 170 innings pitched last season and he’ll still pitch his home games in PetCo Park, one of the best pitchers’ parks in the league.
Another deep run in the NCAA Tournament is over for the No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns (26-4) after falling to the No. 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers (28-4) in the Elite Eight on Sunday at Gregory Gymnasium in a 3-1 defeat.
Texas was consistently out of system for the entire match and struggled to consistently match Wisconsin in any area of the game even though the Horns held a statistical edge in several categories. The biggest issue was the subpar performance from junior outside hitter Torrey Stafford, who hit .132 with nine kills and four attacking errors — the Longhorns needed more from their star, outshone on her home court by Badgers standout Mimi Colyer notching a match-high 23 kills on a .309 hitting percentage.
The young Texas team struggled to find answers across the board as head coach Jerritt Elliott tried to find sparks from his bench, a failed effort.
In the first set, both teams came out swinging and stayed neck to neck attacking the net at 5-5. True freshman outside hitter Abby Vander Wal aided the Longhorns with four kills during the set, alongside fellow true freshman outside hitter Cari Spears landing three kills in the first set. Texas was able to gain a small lead as Wisconsin continued to capitalize on attacks and force errors to gain a 23-17 lead. Longhorn middle blocker Nya Bunton snagged a two kills for Texas as the match closed out with Wisconsin taking the opening set, 25-22, despite the Longhorns saving five set points.
In the second set, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 4-2 lead with Colyer snagging early kills. The Longhorns cut the lead to 11-10 by forcing attacking errors, but the Badgers stayed steady, maintaining their lead with outside hitter Grace Egan swinging strong at the net to extending the lead to 18-13. The Longhorns stayed in the match with the leadership of senior outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein tagging four late kills, but the Badges closed the second set, 25-21, having never trailed in it.
All gas in the intense third set with both teams pumping attack after attack with the Longhorns taking a 8-7 lead. While both teams stayed on each others heel’s by countering each other’s attacks until Longhorn setter Rella Binney served back-to-back aces to put Texas up 15-12. The Longhorns stood strong at the net, forcing Badger errors to close the third set, 25-20, to prolong the match, albeit only briefly.
In the fourth set, the Longhorns use the momentum from the third set and go on a 4-0 run with kills from Vander Wal and Spears. The Badgers did not lay down as they were able to for errors and counter attack with the aid of outside hitter Una Vajagic to go on a 12-4 run, putting Wisconsin up, 12-8. The Longhorns managed a 4-0 run while libero Ramsey Gary landed an ace bring the match to 18-15, but the Badgers eventually closed the fourth and final set by forcing seven Longhorn errors to end the match, 25-19.
Penn State women’s volleyball got itself a setter from the portal.
The Nittany Lions earned the commitment from Florida setter Alexis Stucky.
Stucky was teammates with now-Penn State right-side hitter Kennedy Martin during her first two seasons with the Gators. This past season, Stucky showed that she was a great setter with or without Martin. She had a career-high 56 assists against Missouri and had over 300 kills this season.
The two are back to being teammates, and the blue and white have a new setter.
Stucky will join incoming freshman Danielle Whitmire as the two setters on the team.
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AUSTIN, Texas (WKOW) – Wisconsin volleyball is celebrating a thrilling victory after defeating top-seeded Texas in the NCAA regional finals. The Badgers, led by coach Kelly Sheffield, will advance to the Final Four.
Sheffield’s team triumphed in four sets, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, marking their sixth Final Four appearance under his leadership, and seventh overall in program history. This victory is Wisconsin’s first Elite Eight win at an opponent’s home venue.
The Badgers’ win comes after a previous loss to Texas on Aug. 31.
Wisconsin will face Kentucky in the national semifinals on Dec. 18, with Pittsburgh and Texas A&M also in the Final Four. The Final Four takes place in Kansas City.
MADISON (WKOW) – The Badger volleyball team is still dancing after upsetting the University of Texas in Austin for the Elite Eight of the NCAA volleyball tournament. The Final Four will take place in Kansas City, MO.
NCAA scheduling shows the Badgers will take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the second game of the day Thursday at the T Mobile center. Match #1 with Texas A&M and Pittsburgh is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. on the 18th.
The Championship is Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
With Thursday’s matches, the NCAA will open a “Fan Zone” from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the Fan Zone reopening for Sunday’s Championship. Attendees will experience engaging sponsor displays, autograph sessions, photo opportunities and other interactives. Wisconsin also has open practice on Wednesday starting just before 3 p.m.
MIAC Men’s Basketball Offensive Player of the Week Jake Schmitt Gustavus Adolphus College Jr. | Guard Plymouth, Minn. / Wayzata
Jake Schmitt led the Gusties to a 95-80 win over Saint John’s on 12/10 with 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting while going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. Schmitt also had three steals, three assists, and three rebounds in the win.
MIAC Men’s Basketball Defensive Player of the Week Sam Koelling Carleton College Jr. | Forward Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline
Sam Koelling averaged 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, and 23.0 points per game in a 2-0 week for the Knights with wins over Macalester (12/10) and Northwestern (12/13). Koelling had a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double with four blocks in Carleton’s win over the Scots and turned in 25 points, eight rebounds, and another blocked shot against the Eagles.
CLEVELAND – The Ohio volleyball team placed seven athletes on the 2025 Volleyball All-Mid-American Conference Team, as announced by the league on Monday, Dec. 15.
Eastern Michigan, Miami, and Western Michigan led the league with eight student-athletes honored. Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, and Ohio followed behind with seven honorees each.
The Academic All-MAC honor is awarded to a student-athlete who has excelled in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests in that sport.
