The quality start was created as a replacement for the win — a team-independent way of asking whether a starter did his job. Six innings and three earned runs is the minimum that qualifies.

The usual criticism is that the floor is low: a pitcher who hits the bare minimum every time out has a 4.50 ERA. The usual defense is that the average quality start is much better than the minimum, and that six innings has become genuinely hard in an era of shorter outings.

It is a useful durability marker and a poor quality measure. For quality, read ERA and FIP; for how much a starter actually contributed across a season, read his NUT, which scales with the innings he threw.

What is a good QS?

Quality starts are not in NUT. The bar — a 4.50 ERA start — is below what NUT would grade as average production.

Related Stats