Quote:
Originally Posted by KBLover
Neither pitcher has a knuckleball, but Casteles has far lower BABIP allowed consistently, while Tatum has a splitter. Is that splitter helping Tatum keep a higher K/9 while Casteles' profile is more "extreme deceptive" and he's better at inducing bad contact when he doesn't miss bats completely?
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You can find out through the player editor in commissioner mode, if the lower BABIP is intrinsic to the pitcher (if you make a pitcher in the editor with no fastball but whatever other pitches, look at the difference between projected ERA and projected FIP, and then add a knuckleball, even an awful one, as long as there is no fastball, the projected BABIP will go way down as will the projected ERA relative to FIP. Same for anything else intrinsic).
Even without a knuckleball, the projected ERA isn't exactly the same as the projected FIP (though they're always close, sans knuckleball), so other factors may come into play to some degree.
But without a knuckleball the most likely explanation for a pitcher consistently having ERAs that beat his FIP is a good defense behind him. Other factors might include if the pitcher himself is a good defensive player at the position, or holds runners on well, though those effects will be minor.