This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Bender goes to the sweeper: 62.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 37.8% the rest of the time.
87 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Bender's sweeper moves 19.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
124 thrown, averaging 83.6 mph.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Bender's sinker averages 96.3 mph, and has touched 99.0.
86 thrown, 31.6% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Bender releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 27 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
272 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Bender lives in the strike zone: 47.8% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 57th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Bender's stuff spins at 2,598 rpm, 96th percentile in the league.
272 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 24th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Bender's sweeper spins at 2,843 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
124 thrown in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Bender releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
195 tracked pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Bender throws a fastball 40.8% of the time, against 24.7% when he is ahead.
71 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Bender throws the sweeper 56% of the time against right-handers and 32.8% against left-handers.
150 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Bender projects a .287 average, 84th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.9% of Bender's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
46 of 272 located pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Bender works with 3 pitches: Sweeper, Sinker and Slider. The sweeper is 45.6% of everything he throws.
272 classified pitches in 2026.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Bender averages 88.5 mph across his arsenal, 33rd percentile in the league.
272 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 359th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .297 expected average against them, against .264 on his fastballs.
170 of his breaking balls thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Bender 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.
272 located pitches in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Bender's sweeper leaves the bat at 90.8 mph, against 86.8 off his sinker.
124 and 86 of them thrown.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Bender puts 46.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
150 pitches to right-handed hitters, 122 to left-handed hitters.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 34.9% of the contact Bender gives up is hit hard, 71st percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 157th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Bender puts 62% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 50.7% when he is ahead.
71 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.7 mph separates Bender's sinker from his sweeper, 96.3 against 83.6.
86 and 124 of them respectively.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Bender throws a strike on the first pitch 62.9% of the time.
70 plate appearances started in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Bender, 36th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 345th in MLB.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Bender has thrown 9 changeups this season, 3.3% of his pitches, at 87.9 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
272 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
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 Bender goes to the sweeper: 62.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 37.8% the rest of the time.
87 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Bender throws a fastball 40.8% of the time, against 24.7% when he is ahead.
71 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Bender puts 62% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 50.7% when he is ahead.
71 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Bender throws a strike on the first pitch 62.9% of the time.
70 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Bender's sweeper moves 19.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
124 thrown, averaging 83.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Bender's sinker averages 96.3 mph, and has touched 99.0.
86 thrown, 31.6% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Bender's sweeper spins at 2,843 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
124 thrown in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Bender throws the sweeper 56% of the time against right-handers and 32.8% against left-handers.
150 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Bender works with 3 pitches: Sweeper, Sinker and Slider. The sweeper is 45.6% of everything he throws.
272 classified pitches in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Bender's sweeper leaves the bat at 90.8 mph, against 86.8 off his sinker.
124 and 86 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.7 mph separates Bender's sinker from his sweeper, 96.3 against 83.6.
86 and 124 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Bender has thrown 9 changeups this season, 3.3% of his pitches, at 87.9 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
272 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Bender releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 27 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
272 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Bender releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
195 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Bender lives in the strike zone: 47.8% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 57th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Bender's stuff spins at 2,598 rpm, 96th percentile in the league.
272 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 24th in MLB.
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 Bender projects a .287 average, 84th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 89th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 34.9% of the contact Bender gives up is hit hard, 71st percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 157th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Bender, 36th percentile.
272 pitches in 2026. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 345th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.9% of Bender's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
46 of 272 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Bender 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.
272 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Bender averages 88.5 mph across his arsenal, 33rd percentile in the league.
272 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 359th 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 breaking balls: a .297 expected average against them, against .264 on his fastballs.
170 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Bender puts 46.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
150 pitches to right-handed hitters, 122 to left-handed hitters.
Marlins
Career team 2021–2026