RAR for pitchers?

[Irony Of It All]

What exactly is this? In the glossary BP explains it as this...

RAR, RAR2

Runs above replacement. A fielding statistic, where a replacement player is meant to be approximately equal to the lowest-ranking player at that position, fielding wise, in the majors. Average players at different positions have different RAR values, which depend on the defensive value of the position; an average shortstop has more RAR than an average left fielder.

Yet in the future PDTs they order the pitchers according to RAR...

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/st...futurepdt.html

Is this just the number of runs that particular pitcher is expected to save from being scored over a replacement player? If so, what factors go into determining this?

[WiffleWOOD]

I'm not sure, but I'd guess it's the same as RSAA (runs saved above average), which Lee Sinins uses a lot.

"“Runs Created Above Average” (RCAA) and “Runs Saved Against Average” (RSAA) are the creation of Lee Sinins. RCAA, when applied to a team’s offense, is the difference between a team’s Runs Created* total and the total for an average team who used the same amount of outs. A negative RCAA indicates a poor team in this category. RSAA, when applied to a team’s pitching, is the amount of runs that a team’s pitchers saved versus what an average team's pitchers would have allowed. (It is the same statistic as Total Baseball's Pitching Runs, except (1) Lee and Total Baseball have different ways of park adjustments and (2) Total Baseball added a procedure to take into account the amount of decisions (W+L) the pitcher had, while RSAA does not have that.) Just like RCAA, this statistic can produce a negative result."

http://www.netshrine.com/20031220.html

i'll look into it to see, but I'd presume that RAR for pitchers is the same as RSAA. I don't know how it is applied to fielders.

[WiffleWOOD]

also from that netshrine glossary:

RAR

An estimate of the number of runs a player contributes above a "replacement level" player. "Replacement" is defined as the level of performance at which a player can easily be found at little or no cost to a team. What constitutes replacement level is a topic that is hotly debated. There are a variety of formulas and rules of thumb used to determine this level for each position (replacement level for a shortstop will be very different from replacement level for an outfielder).

One of the major values of RAR for fantasy applications is that it can be used to assemble an integrated ranking of batters and pitchers for drafting purposes.

Batters create runs; pitchers save runs. But are batters and pitchers who have comparable RAR levels truly equal in value? In fact, pitchers might be considered to have slightly higher value. Saving an additional run is more important than producing an additional run. How? A pitcher who throws a shutout is guaranteed to have his team win that game, whereas no matter how many runs a batter produces, his team is still at risk of losing given a poor pitching performance.

[Irony Of It All]

Thanks.