Tweet
It would be really helpful to either link to Ron's recent article about using this tool on the top of Starting Pitcher Report page (http://www.baseballhq.com/members/ne...rs110701.shtml) and/or at least provide the guidelines for use as captured in this part of Ron's article:
If nothing else, at least I can now use this post as my own shortcut for remembering the cutoffs.
The better the Match-up Rating, the deeper into games the pitcher will go, the more batters he'll strike out and the lower the likelihood of a disaster outing. But even a 1.0 rating gives you even odds for a dominating start. Of course, a rating of 3.0 or better is the Holy Grail; any pitcher who scores that high is a must start. And as would be expected, very few starts merit that level. But there are plenty of 2.0-plus outings each week, and those are still pretty darn good. When I do my own planning, 2.0s are must starts as well, and anything below zero is a must sit.