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By the Numbers: Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen

By the Numbers: Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Judge, Andrew McCutchen

Clayton Kershaw has allowed a whopping 17 home runs this year. That number ranks him among the top-10 worst in the league (ninth).

That’s right, the best pitcher in all the land and his 2.61 ERA is somehow hanging near an illustrious group of generous long ball providers led by the likes of Bronson Arroyo (23 home runs), Ricky Nolasco (23) and a struggling Masahiro Tanaka (21). While he hasn’t quite reached those, er, lofty figures, it’s still strange to find Kershaw dangerously close to names like Amir Garrett (19) or Jordan Zimmermann (18).

Truth be told, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion if it wasn’t for Kershaw’s most recent start in which he gave up four bombs to the New York Mets. But that also marks his fifth straight start to give up at least one home run, including three to the Chicago Cubs on May 28, giving him a total of 10 allowed in that span. Yikes, do we need to worry about Kershaw?

Luckily, we’re not quite there yet. Kershaw’s 19.1% HR/FB rate is way above his 7.7% career rate, and the rest of his peripherals remain strong. Sure, if we’re going to nitpick, compared to last year his strikeout rate is slightly down (28.8%), as is his swinging-strike rate (12.5%), but who is going to complain about those numbers? Max Scherzer had a similar home run issue at the beginning of last year, and his campaign sure worked out fine. In all likelihood, this is just a blip on the screen for Kershaw.

Let’s check out some other guys who deserve a look By The Numbers.

Aaron Judge is due to regress with a league-high .425 BABIP

Judge has stolen all the headlines in 2017, leading the league in both home runs (24) and puns off his name. His universal adoration is much deserved, but before we start punching that ticket to Cooperstown, the elephant in the room that needs addressing is his exorbitant BABIP, which when coupled with his 29.8% strikeout rate, amounts to some significant regression hurdling his way.

There’s no question that Judge has power. He’s the Statcast King, leading the league in both average exit velocity (95.9 mph) and barrels (41), and his 49.4% hard-hit rate is bested only by Miguel Sano. But his .331 batting average simply cannot and will not continue.

Last year, only five players finished with a BABIP higher than .370, with the highest being .388 for D.J. LeMahieu, a decidedly different type of hitter. Judge hit just .252 in Triple-A, and his current 68.5% contact rate ranks near the bottom of the league among qualified hitters, and more in line with someone like Khris Davis, a career .248 hitter.

Since Judge is hitting a lot of line drives and making so much hard contact, it’s possible he will maintain an above average BABIP, but he can’t keep it this high forever. It’s hardly a cause for panic because he’ll continue to hit round-trippers and pile up the counting stats in the middle of a potent Yankees lineup. Just know that deep down, he’s probably closer to a .250 hitter than not, and a correction period may loom shortly.

Andrew McCutchen leads the league in wOBA over the last 30 days (.482)

Much like in 2016, McCutchen was left for dead earlier this season, but he’s once again proving he has plenty left to offer. Over the last 30 days he’s been on fire, and in the month of June, he has an even better .506 wOBA that trails only Paul Goldschmidt. For the year, he now sits comfortably at 41 runs, 14 home runs, 43 RBIs, six stolen bases, and a .270 average.

His strikeout rate (17.7%) and isolated power (.224) are at their best marks since 2014, and his wOBA is now a respectable .356. It’s a small sample size, but he’s also obliterating left-handed pitching like he used to with a .487 wOBA, .393 ISO, and 42.9% hard-hit rate.

Given his slow start, those who invested in McCutchen on Draft Day are surely breathing a sigh of relief with this hot streak. While we shouldn’t expect a return to his late-20s peak form, nor rule out another cold streak, this is still a useful fantasy player. Hopefully, his recent play will get the Pittsburgh Pirates to move him above sixth in the order.

Lucas Duda has the same hard-hit rate as Cody Bellinger over the last 30 days (53%)

Okay, so technically over the last 30 days, Bellinger (53.6% hard-hit rate) has a slight edge on Duda (53.5%), but who’s keeping score? For obvious reasons, Duda isn’t getting the same attention as Bellinger, but despite the disparity in results, perhaps more folks should be taking notice of him. Along with Judge (53.1%), no one else has a higher hard-hit rate than this trio over this span, which is certainly some nice company for Duda to reside in.

However, while Bellinger (13 home runs) and Judge (nine) have a lot to show for it, Duda (four) hasn’t cashed in as often. But remember, across 2014-2015, Duda hit 57 long balls, so it’s not like he doesn’t have it in him to put on a fireworks show. Widely available in nearly 90% of ESPN leagues, if Duda keeps making hard contact like this, the birds better look out, because he’ll be raining baseballs in the seats sooner rather than later.

Rick Porcello is giving up the hardest contact in the league (43%)

2016’s controversial AL Cy Young winner hasn’t had the same success this season (5.05 ERA), and you need not look any further than that nasty hard-hit rate to figure out why. Although he’s never been a big strikeout pitcher, with a 27.2% career hard-hit rate entering 2017, Porcello has typically been good about limiting hard contact, but not so much this year.

His .366 BABIP may be on the unluckier side, but when you’re giving up this many hard hits, you’re bound to have more drop in against you. Furthermore, his 37.2% ground-ball rate is the lowest of his career, so it’s not like all these hard hits are staying on the grass either.

Porcello’s strikeouts and walks are what you would expect, and given his track record, one would think the hard contact will eventually subside. However, it’s worth noting that it’s stayed above 40% in every month, so there hasn’t been any real signs of improvement. His ERA estimators all peg him closer to a 4.00 ERA, though, which might be the best case scenario moving forward.

At any rate, it’s safe to say that a repeat of last year’s 3.15 ERA isn’t happening. Cherish that Cy Young, Rick.

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Kenyatta Storin is a featured writer with FantasyPros. For more from Kenyatta, check out his archive and follow him @kenyattastorin.

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