His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Wainwright's sinker averages 86.9 mph, and has touched 89.9.
560 thrown, 31.4% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Wainwright's curveball moves 109.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
546 thrown, averaging 71.5 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Wainwright goes to the curveball: 44.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 26.3% the rest of the time.
416 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Wainwright averages 80.8 mph across his arsenal, 1st percentile in the league.
1785 pitches in 2023. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 764th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Wainwright's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 85.3 off his cutter.
178 and 404 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Wainwright's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
178 thrown, averaging 85.7 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Wainwright throws a fastball 69.5% of the time, against 51.1% when he is ahead.
577 pitches behind in the count, 415 ahead.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Wainwright puts 48.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43% of his pitches to left-handers.
917 pitches to right-handed hitters, 868 to left-handed hitters.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Wainwright projects a .370 average, 11th percentile.
1785 pitches in 2023. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 689th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Wainwright lands 46.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.1% of his offspeed pitches.
1142 of his fastballs, 89 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.4 mph separates Wainwright's sinker from his curveball, 86.9 against 71.5.
560 and 546 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Wainwright lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1785 located pitches in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Wainwright puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.1% when he is ahead.
577 located pitches behind, 415 ahead.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Wainwright's fastball averages 85.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 84.9 past his 75th.
357 early fastballs, 173 late ones.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Wainwright works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Curveball, Cutter and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 31.4% of everything he throws.
1785 classified pitches in 2023.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Wainwright throws a strike on the first pitch 55% of the time.
480 plate appearances started in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Wainwright's curveball spins at 2,647 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
546 thrown in 2023.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Wainwright's stuff spins at 2,323 rpm, 67th percentile in the league.
1785 pitches in 2023. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 254th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Wainwright throws the cutter 29.6% of the time against right-handers and 15.3% against left-handers.
917 pitches to right-handers, 868 to left-handers.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.6% of Wainwright's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
332 of 1785 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Wainwright releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1785 tracked release points, averaging 6.2 feet off the ground.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Wainwright has thrown 89 changeups this season, 5% of his pitches, at 81.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1785 classified pitches in 2023.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Wainwright's sinker averages 86.9 mph, and has touched 89.9.
560 thrown, 31.4% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Wainwright's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 85.3 off his cutter.
178 and 404 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.4 mph separates Wainwright's sinker from his curveball, 86.9 against 71.5.
560 and 546 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Wainwright works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Curveball, Cutter and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 31.4% of everything he throws.
1785 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Wainwright's curveball spins at 2,647 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
546 thrown in 2023.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Wainwright throws the cutter 29.6% of the time against right-handers and 15.3% against left-handers.
917 pitches to right-handers, 868 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Wainwright has thrown 89 changeups this season, 5% of his pitches, at 81.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1785 classified pitches in 2023.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Wainwright's curveball moves 109.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
546 thrown, averaging 71.5 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Wainwright's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
178 thrown, averaging 85.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Wainwright goes to the curveball: 44.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 26.3% the rest of the time.
416 two-strike pitches in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Wainwright throws a fastball 69.5% of the time, against 51.1% when he is ahead.
577 pitches behind in the count, 415 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Wainwright puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.1% when he is ahead.
577 located pitches behind, 415 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Wainwright throws a strike on the first pitch 55% of the time.
480 plate appearances started in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Wainwright averages 80.8 mph across his arsenal, 1st percentile in the league.
1785 pitches in 2023. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 764th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Wainwright puts 48.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43% of his pitches to left-handers.
917 pitches to right-handed hitters, 868 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Wainwright projects a .370 average, 11th percentile.
1785 pitches in 2023. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 689th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Wainwright lands 46.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.1% of his offspeed pitches.
1142 of his fastballs, 89 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Wainwright lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1785 located pitches in 2023.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.6% of Wainwright's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
332 of 1785 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Wainwright's fastball averages 85.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 84.9 past his 75th.
357 early fastballs, 173 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Wainwright releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1785 tracked release points, averaging 6.2 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Wainwright's stuff spins at 2,323 rpm, 67th percentile in the league.
1785 pitches in 2023. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 254th in MLB.
Cardinals
Career team 2005–2023