Sean Sullivan and I published extensive work on analyzing pitch sequencing in MLB. Using the difflib package in Python, we generated sequence
similarity ratios that would compare a pitch sequence from one at bat to another. We then tested this metric’s reliability, as well as its
correlation to other key pitching metrics, such as FIP and SIERA. This article contains our intial research on the topic along with a few scouting
applications: Pitch Sequencing in MLB. We also published a deeper look at the topic, analyzing sequencing specifically through different counts here: Pitch Sequencing Through The Count.
This research received a strong public reception, and our work was presented at Saberseminar, a baseball analytics conference, in 2023. On our behalf,
Sean presented the following slide deck, which summarizes our research: 2023 Saberseminar Pitch Sequencing.