He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Alburquerque puts 53.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
145 pitches to right-handed hitters, 118 to left-handed hitters.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Alburquerque goes to the slider: 71.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 47.6% the rest of the time.
74 two-strike pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Alburquerque's sinker moves 35.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Alburquerque's sinker leaves the bat at 89.6 mph, against 83.6 off his slider.
81 and 143 of them thrown.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Alburquerque projects a .290 average, 98th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 98th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 17th in MLB.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Alburquerque lives in the strike zone: 47.5% of his pitches are in it, 81st percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 138th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Alburquerque works with 3 pitches: Slider, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 54.4% of everything he throws.
263 classified pitches in 2017.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.2% of the contact Alburquerque gives up is hit hard, 95th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 33rd in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Alburquerque releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
263 tracked pitches in 2017.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Alburquerque's stuff spins at 2,346 rpm, 78th percentile in the league.
263 pitches in 2017. 78th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 154th in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Alburquerque works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.3 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
263 located pitches in 2017.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Alburquerque is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 88th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 86th in MLB.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Alburquerque averages 90.4 mph across his arsenal, 69th percentile in the league.
263 pitches in 2017. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 220th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Alburquerque throws a fastball 41.2% of the time, against 31.5% when he is ahead.
68 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .309 expected average against them, against .268 on his breaking balls.
115 of his fastballs thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Alburquerque releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
263 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Alburquerque throws the slider 60% of the time against right-handers and 47.5% against left-handers.
145 pitches to right-handers, 118 to left-handers.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.1% of Alburquerque's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
45 of 263 located pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Alburquerque's sinker carries 10.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Alburquerque lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.34 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
263 located pitches in 2017.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Alburquerque lands 53% of his fastballs in the zone and only 44.8% of his breaking balls.
115 of his fastballs, 143 of his breaking balls.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Alburquerque's sinker averages 93.9 mph, and has touched 96.4.
81 thrown, 30.8% of his pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Alburquerque puts 50% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.5% when he is ahead.
68 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.2 mph separates Alburquerque's sinker from his slider, 93.9 against 87.6.
81 and 143 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Alburquerque's slider spins at 2,359 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
143 thrown in 2017.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Alburquerque puts 53.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
145 pitches to right-handed hitters, 118 to left-handed hitters.
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 Alburquerque goes to the slider: 71.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 47.6% the rest of the time.
74 two-strike pitches in 2017.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Alburquerque throws a fastball 41.2% of the time, against 31.5% when he is ahead.
68 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Alburquerque puts 50% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.5% when he is ahead.
68 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Alburquerque's sinker moves 35.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Alburquerque's sinker carries 10.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 93.9 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Alburquerque's sinker leaves the bat at 89.6 mph, against 83.6 off his slider.
81 and 143 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Alburquerque works with 3 pitches: Slider, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 54.4% of everything he throws.
263 classified pitches in 2017.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Alburquerque throws the slider 60% of the time against right-handers and 47.5% against left-handers.
145 pitches to right-handers, 118 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Alburquerque's sinker averages 93.9 mph, and has touched 96.4.
81 thrown, 30.8% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.2 mph separates Alburquerque's sinker from his slider, 93.9 against 87.6.
81 and 143 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Alburquerque's slider spins at 2,359 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
143 thrown in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Alburquerque projects a .290 average, 98th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 98th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 17th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 26.2% of the contact Alburquerque gives up is hit hard, 95th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 33rd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Alburquerque is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 88th percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 86th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Alburquerque lives in the strike zone: 47.5% of his pitches are in it, 81st percentile.
263 pitches in 2017. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 138th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Alburquerque releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
263 tracked pitches in 2017.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Alburquerque releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
263 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 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
Alburquerque's stuff spins at 2,346 rpm, 78th percentile in the league.
263 pitches in 2017. 78th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 154th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Alburquerque works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.3 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
263 located pitches in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.1% of Alburquerque's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
45 of 263 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Alburquerque lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.34 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
263 located pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Alburquerque averages 90.4 mph across his arsenal, 69th percentile in the league.
263 pitches in 2017. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 220th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .309 expected average against them, against .268 on his breaking balls.
115 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Alburquerque lands 53% of his fastballs in the zone and only 44.8% of his breaking balls.
115 of his fastballs, 143 of his breaking balls.
Tigers
Career team 2011–2015