Sabermetrics site projects Diamondbacks, Dodgers to finish atop NL West
Jul 10, 2013, 12:23 AM | Updated: 1:12 am
FanGraphs.com is a top-notch baseball statistics website that features exclusive sabermetric calculations, which set it apart from similar sites, like ESPN, Baseball-Reference, Baseball Prospectus and others.
In May, the site released a new feature: current and projected divisional and league standings.
Its projection for the remainder of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ season may be different than what you’d expect.
Though the Diamondbacks boasted a .538 winning percentage entering play on Tuesday, FanGraphs — through the combined use of two popular advanced forecasting sysytems (ZiPS and Steamer) — predicts the team will play below-.500 baseball for the rest of the season, finishing with a record of 83-79.
Fantastically, the site projects an identical end-of-season record for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The teams’ predicted win totals are the lowest of all projected division winners. In fact, FanGraphs projects the Cincinnati Reds to finish third in the NL Central with 87 wins and the Washington Nationals to finish second in the NL East with 84.
The Diamondbacks’ run differential projection on the site is +13, while the Dodgers are currently drawing a -2 such forecast. Their current run differentials stand at +16 and -26, respectively.
It’s worth noting that the FanGraphs standings update daily.