[SWAVcast]

I was watching pfholden's video on evaluating pitching ratings and he said that movement was the most critical rating for him, and I was all "that's crazy" but then figured I would ask the board.

For me, it's always been stuff. Missing bats and taking the ball out of play is more important than what happens when it's in play. This is why control is second for me and movement is a distant third.

I'd rather have a guy who is 80,20,60 than 40,70,50 or 80,80,20.

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Stuff
Stuff is a measure of the quality of a pitcher's pitch repertoire. Think of it as essentially how a pitcher "puts it all together." Stuff directly affects the number of strikeouts a pitcher throws. Stuff is calculated based on a combination of his individual pitch ratings and the velocity with which he throws.

Relief pitchers receive a small bonus to stuff, to reflect the fact that batters get fewer looks at their pitches and have less of a chance to adjust to them. OOTP displays that bonus in the form of increased Stuff ratings. This bonus is heavily tied into the strength of a reliever's top two pitches, since relievers have much less incentive to mix in their weaker offerings. This means that a pitcher with a strong fastball, a strong slider, and a weak changeup might make for an average starting pitcher but a great reliever. You get to decide how he provides the most useful fit for your team. You can see the change in a pitcher's Stuff rating if you change the player's position from SP to MR and back.

Movement
Movement is a measure of the movement on a pitcher's pitches. It is harder for batters to make good contact with pitches that have good movement. As a result, pitchers with high Movement ratings tend to give up fewer home runs. Movement is calculated based on factors including ground ball %.

Control
Control is a measure of a pitcher's accuracy. Pitchers with good Control ratings tend to walk fewer batters.