Matthew Liberatore has been outstanding so far this season, but how does he compare to the other top lefties in the league?
Matthew Liberatore has maintained his breakout through the first 1⁄3 of the season. I’ve already written once about Liberatore but his fulfilling his prospect promise and becoming a front-line starting option is one of the most important developments this transition season. Also, it has contributed to making the Cardinals a potential playoff contender and adding some clarity for the roster heading into next season and beyond.
First, lets take a look at how Libby compares to the pitchers in his own rotation. He is 1st in ERA (2.92), FIP (2.29), fWAR (1.7), BB% (3.8%). He ranks 2nd in K% (22.4%) and groundball% (43.1%). Liberatore has been the best pitcher on the Cardinals but how does he compare or relate to other left handers in baseball? How does he stack up against some of the top left-handed starters in baseball like Skubal, Luzardo, Gore, and Crochet?
Matthew Liberatore amongst all 20 qualified left-handed starters in MLB he ranks 2nd in BB%, 7th in K-BB%, 4th in WHIP, 9th in ERA, and 3rd in FIP. Libby also ranks 9th in Win probability added, he’s allowed the 6th fewest barrels against him (11), 5th in barrel% at (7.1%) and Fangraphs has a tool to measure a players value in dollars based on performance throughout the season. Matthew Liberatore so far has been worth 13.7 million dollars, and is making the league minimum of 775 K, meaning he has provided an additional 13 million in terms of surplus value so far.
Not only is Matthew Liberatore amongst the top 10 left-handed starters in baseball through the first 1/3rd of the season, but he is also providing incredible surplus value to a team who chose to cut back in the offseason in search of internal clarity from a roster that will be inherited by Chaim Bloom come the end of the Cardinals baseball season. Which all of us were quick to assume would be September 29th (happy birthday to me.) But, now thanks to the play of the “Yungry Birds” we may be on the verge of something, we as Cardinals fans, haven’t experienced since 2022 and Matthew Liberatore has been a big part of that.
-Thanks for reading