One of the criticisms occasionally leveled at the Baseball Prospectus staff is that we are rabid prospect hounds, to the point of being a bit excessive about it. We’ll cheerfully admit to the first part and live with the second, because sometimes the long minor-league watch pays off and provides some wonderful moments for us…
One of the most striking changes to the landscape of major-league baseball has been the disappearance of the left-handed starting pitcher. In the American League, left-handers made fewer than 20% of all starts last year, allowing teams like the A’s to take advantage by stacking their lineup with left-handed hitters. How dramatic is the decline?…