His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Johnson's 4-seam fastball averages 88.9 mph, and has touched 92.5.
282 thrown, 36.5% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Johnson's slider moves 80.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
206 thrown, averaging 77.6 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Johnson averages 81.0 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
772 pitches in 2019. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 734th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Johnson throws the slider 49.8% of the time against left-handers and 16.2% against right-handers.
531 pitches to right-handers, 241 to left-handers.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Johnson's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
282 thrown, averaging 88.9 mph.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Johnson puts 63% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 26% when he is ahead.
246 located pitches behind, 169 ahead.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Johnson's stuff spins at 2,503 rpm, 90th percentile in the league.
772 pitches in 2019. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 73rd in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Johnson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
772 located pitches in 2019.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Johnson's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 88.9 against 74.9.
282 and 267 of them respectively.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Johnson throws a strike on the first pitch 55% of the time.
191 plate appearances started in 2019.
He lives on one side of the plate
Johnson works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
772 located pitches in 2019.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Johnson projects a .339 average, 77th percentile.
772 pitches in 2019. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 170th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Johnson's curveball spins at 2,696 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
267 thrown in 2019.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Johnson works off the plate, with only 42.4% of his pitches in the zone, 34th percentile.
772 pitches in 2019. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 494th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .346 expected average against them, against .311 on his fastballs.
473 of his breaking balls thrown.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Johnson releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
772 tracked pitches in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Johnson works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 36.5% of everything he throws.
772 classified pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Johnson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
135 of 772 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Johnson releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 47 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
772 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Johnson's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.0 mph, against 87.7 off his curveball.
282 and 267 of them thrown.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Johnson has thrown 12 changeups this season, 1.6% of his pitches, at 84.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
772 classified pitches in 2019.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Johnson's 4-seam fastball averages 88.9 mph, and has touched 92.5.
282 thrown, 36.5% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Johnson throws the slider 49.8% of the time against left-handers and 16.2% against right-handers.
531 pitches to right-handers, 241 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Johnson's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 88.9 against 74.9.
282 and 267 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Johnson's curveball spins at 2,696 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
267 thrown in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Johnson works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 36.5% of everything he throws.
772 classified pitches in 2019.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Johnson's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.0 mph, against 87.7 off his curveball.
282 and 267 of them thrown.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Johnson has thrown 12 changeups this season, 1.6% of his pitches, at 84.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
772 classified pitches in 2019.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Johnson's slider moves 80.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
206 thrown, averaging 77.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Johnson's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
282 thrown, averaging 88.9 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Johnson averages 81.0 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
772 pitches in 2019. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 734th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Johnson puts 63% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 26% when he is ahead.
246 located pitches behind, 169 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Johnson throws a strike on the first pitch 55% of the time.
191 plate appearances started in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Johnson's stuff spins at 2,503 rpm, 90th percentile in the league.
772 pitches in 2019. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 73rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Johnson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
772 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on one side of the plate
Johnson works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
772 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Johnson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
135 of 772 located pitches.
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 Johnson projects a .339 average, 77th percentile.
772 pitches in 2019. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 170th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Johnson works off the plate, with only 42.4% of his pitches in the zone, 34th percentile.
772 pitches in 2019. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 494th 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 .346 expected average against them, against .311 on his fastballs.
473 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Johnson releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
772 tracked pitches in 2019.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Johnson releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 47 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
772 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
Red Sox
Career team 2015–2019