J. P. Howell vs. Dave Smith — Career Comparison

The numbers give Dave Smith a clear advantage over J. P. Howell across the core pitching metrics. Dave Smith led in home run suppression (HR9+ 198 vs 114), run prevention (ERA+ 123 vs 97), and skill-based run prevention (DICE+ 104 vs 95). J. P. Howell held the edge in strikeout rate (K%+ 101 vs 89). Dave Smith was the better reliever — the numbers make that case clearly.