Baseball Prospectus - Statistical Tools

Statistical Tools

Baseball Prospectus writers use a wide variety of sabermetric tools. Among the major tools that they are credited with inventing are:

• Value over replacement player (VORP) – a measurement of the number of runs contributed by a player over the expected level of performance the average team can obtain if it needs to replace a starting player at minimal cost.
• Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP) – a measure of the impact of a particular start by a pitcher on his arm, based on pitch count.
• Equivalent average (EqA) – a combination of various hitting numbers designed to express a player's overall offensive contribution.
• Peripheral ERA (PERA) – a pitcher's expected ERA based on park-adjusted hits, walks, strikeouts, and home runs allowed.
• PECOTA – a system of player projection based on similarity to previous player seasons.
• Equivalent Baserunning Runs (EqBRR) – a statistic indicating a player's rate of run production resulting from his baserunning.

Voros McCracken's pathbreaking article on Defense Independent Pitching Statistics also first appeared on the BP website.