The balloting for the 2021 Pitching Grade Challenge is over. While we’re waiting for the cards (and the Pitching Challenge grades!) to be released, I’m going to publicly release my ballot.
Each year of the Challenge, I unofficially fill out my own ballot before the cards are released. Call it a point of pride. Mostly, I see how I stack up against members of my league (they are a tough bunch). The ballot does not count toward the official results, of course.
Looking back the past three years, here is my success rate:
| Year | Right | Wrong | Pct. |
| 2018 PGC | 15 | 5 | 75.0% |
| 2019 PGC | 18 | 2 | 90.0% |
| 2020 PGC | 13 | 7 | 65.0% |
| 2021 PGC | ??? | ??? | ??? |
Overall, not too bad though I was a slightly disappointed in last year’s performance. I am the editor of The APBA Blog, after all.
For the record, I took this year’s Challenge on November 12th. While many ballots had come in by that time, I honestly don’t look at the whole set of grades. As they come in and they get entered into the system, they are all a blur of Ds, Cs, Bs and an occasional A.
For the record, here is my final ballot (and a few comments after)
Big Disclaimer!! These are my guesses and not APBA official grades for the 2021 baseball set!
| Pitcher | Team | W | L | IP | ERA | Tom’s vote |
| Anderson, Ian | ATL | 9 | 5 | 128 1/3 | 3.58 | B |
| Anderson, Tyler | 2 Teams | 7 | 11 | 167 | 4.53 | C |
| Bauer, Trevor | LAD | 8 | 5 | 107 2/3 | 2.59 | B |
| Cease, Dylan | CHW | 13 | 7 | 165 2/3 | 3.91 | C |
| Civale, Aaron | CLE | 12 | 5 | 124 1/3 | 3.84 | C |
| Flexen, Chris | SEA | 14 | 6 | 179 2/3 | 3.61 | C |
| Gibson, Kyle | 2 Teams | 10 | 9 | 182 | 3.71 | C |
| Gilbert, Logan | SEA | 6 | 5 | 119 1/3 | 4.68 | D |
| Giolito, Lucas | CHW | 11 | 9 | 178 2/3 | 3.53 | B |
| Happ, J.A. | 2 Teams | 10 | 8 | 152 1/3 | 5.79 | D |
| Kelly, Merrill | ARI | 7 | 11 | 158 | 4.44 | C |
| Kershaw, Clayton | LAD | 10 | 8 | 121 2/3 | 3.55 | B |
| Lester, Jon | 2 Teams | 7 | 6 | 141 1/3 | 4.71 | C |
| Lynn, Lance | CHW | 11 | 6 | 157 | 2.69 | B |
| Mahle, Tyler | CIN | 13 | 6 | 180 | 3.75 | B |
| Matz, Steven | TOR | 14 | 7 | 150 2/3 | 3.82 | C |
| Nola, Aaron | PHI | 9 | 9 | 180 2/3 | 4.63 | C |
| Peralta, Freddy | MIL | 10 | 5 | 144 1/3 | 2.81 | B |
| Ray, Robbie | TOR | 13 | 7 | 193 1/3 | 2.84 | A |
| Wood, Alex | SFG | 10 | 4 | 138 2/3 | 3.83 | C |
There were some seeming inconsistencies in my grade assignments. Trevor Bauer’s 2.59 ERA earned a B from me but Robbie Ray got my A. In my opinion, Ray’s 193+ innings will help bump his grade. Lance Lynn was admittedly a tough choice for me. I went with the B.
Some of you may have been scratching your head by my choice to put J.A. Happ into the Challenge ballot. Happ went 10-8 with a 5.79 ERA. Here’s the thing… once he changed teams (leagues actually), he was a different pitcher. His ERA with the Cardinals (who he finished the year with) was 2.77 points lower than the Twins.
| Year | Tm | Lg | W | L | W-L% | ERA | G | GS | CG | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TOT | MLB | 10 | 8 | .556 | 5.79 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 152.1 | 177 | 100 | 98 | 30 | 48 | 122 |
| 2021 | MIN | AL | 5 | 6 | .455 | 6.77 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 98.1 | 125 | 76 | 74 | 21 | 31 | 77 |
| 2021 | STL | NL | 5 | 2 | .714 | 4.00 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 54.0 | 52 | 24 | 24 | 9 | 17 | 45 |
That said, I didn’t think it was enough for Happ to earn the C. I mentioned earlier that I didn’t pay much attention to people’s votes as they came in. I did however, happen peek at votes for Happ. More on that once the Challenge is over.
There you have it. My final ballot.
For those who voted in the 2021 Pitching Grade Challenge, I wish you good luck! Stay tuned for results and the winner!!
My question on Happ is does 10 wins get you a C? It seemed to me their was some evidence (Porcello maybe) that 20 wins got you an A, and maybe some number gets you a B and C? Anyone researched this?