Notre Dame Baseball leads the country in this very important stat

This group has led the team to a 9-1 record early

Through ten games so far this season, the Irish baseball team has dropped just one game, a one-run loss to Delaware in their third contest of the year. Playing a huge part of their 9-1 record has been the pitching staff and after Tuesdays win over Elon, the Irish are tops in one extremely important statistic, earned run average.

The team ERA for Link Jarrett’s team is a minute 1.41, having given up just fourteen total runs so far. They are just one of eight teams to have an ERA under 2, and lead Texas by slim margin, .13, but still tops in the nation.

Although this collective effort has been impressive, it’s the starters that have shined early. Aidan Tyrell, John Michael Bertrand and Austin Temple each have ERA’s under a two, with Tyrell and Bertrand’s under a one.

The bullpen hasn’t been slacking either, eight of them having pitched two or more innings without allowing a single run. When the Irish start their ACC conference schedule, which begins this weekend against host North Carolina State, their numbers will most likely not be as impressive but early on, the whole pitching staff has shown it has the makeup to shut down any team.

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Top 5 Fantasy Baseball sleeper pitchers

Previewing the fantasy baseball landscape and highlighting the top 5 sleeper pitchers for the 2020 MLB season.

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Fantasy baseball managers will need to act quickly in the shortened 2020 MLB season. The 60-game campaign will mean smaller sample sizes of both successes and struggles will carry more weight, and fantasy owners will need to be ready to pounce on the waiver wire and cut ties sooner than usual. Below, we’ll help you get a head start on the 2020 fantasy baseball season with a look at the top-five sleeper pitchers to target in drafts.

Fantasy baseball: Top 5 sleeper pitchers

Kenta Maeda, SP, Minnesota Twins

Average Draft Position (ADP): 171

Acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers this offseason, Maeda joins Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi at the front of the Twins’ rotation. Maeda went 10-8 over 37 games (26 starts) and 153 2/3 innings last year while pitching to a 4.04 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 169 strikeouts against just 51 walks.

Maeda will benefit greatly from the change of scenery. He’ll no longer need to pitch in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field and Chase Field, and will instead get to feast on the expected cellar-dwelling Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.


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Steven Matz, SP, New York Mets

ADP: 277

Matz went 11-10 in 32 games (30 starts) while throwing a career-high 160 1/3 innings in 2019. He posted a lackluster 4.21 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, but both those figures improved greatly in the second half of the season, as did his K-BB percentage. The Mets lineup should be much stronger this season and can help provide more win opportunities with improved run support.

Andrew Heaney, SP, Los Angeles Angels

ADP: 198

Heaney was limited to 18 starts and 95 1/3 innings in 2019. He averaged more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings for the second time in his career and walked fewer than three batters per nine for the second straight year. The 29-year-old has been named the Angels’ Opening Day starter and will front a new-look rotation.


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Kyle Hendricks, SP, Chicago Cubs

ADP: 144

Hendricks hasn’t been able to replicate his breakout 2016 campaign in which he pitched to a 2.13 ERA, while going 16-8, but a regression to a 3.44 ERA in 2018 and a 3.46 ERA in 2019 are being viewed too unfavorably. He won’t steal matchups with strikeout totals, but his reliability and consistency will pay off nicely in an otherwise unpredictable season.

Ken Giles, RP, Toronto Blue Jays

ADP: 128

Giles recorded just 23 saves over 53 games last season, but pitched to a sparkling 1.87 ERA with a career-best 14.09 strikeouts per nine innings. He may still struggle to get save opportunities while backing the middling Blue Jays, but should get into games more regularly with teams expected to limit the usage of their top starters in 2020.

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Top 10 plays of the Tom Herman era

Difficult to narrow the list down, these plays are the reason UT is where they are now. Here are the top 10 plays of the Tom Herman era.

Since being hired in 2017, Tom Herman has had some program defining wins at Texas. During those games, there have been some amazing plays, helping the Longhorns secure victory.

Whether it was beating Oklahoma in 2018, winning the 2019 Sugar Bowl against Georgia, or beating Utah in this season’s Alamo Bowl, Texas has made their best plays in the biggest games.

It was difficult to narrow the list down to 10 but these plays are the reason Texas is where they are now. Game-winning kicks, clutch interceptions and even an offensive lineman scoring on a pass from Sam Ehlinger, the Longhorns have been a fun team for the past three seasons.

Here are the top 10 plays of the Tom Herman era: