This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Rondon goes to the slider: 57.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.2% the rest of the time.
152 two-strike pitches in 2018.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Rondon's changeup moves 112.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
42 thrown, averaging 90.2 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .458 expected average against them, against .357 on his fastballs.
239 of his breaking balls thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Rondon's 4-seam fastball averages 96.5 mph, and has touched 100.1.
245 thrown, 40.2% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Rondon's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
245 thrown, averaging 96.5 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Rondon averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
612 pitches in 2018. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 101st in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Rondon throws 38.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45% with the bases empty.
214 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 398 with the bases empty.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Rondon's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.5 mph, against 85.0 off his sinker.
245 and 84 of them thrown.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Rondon throws a strike on the first pitch 52% of the time.
152 plate appearances started in 2018.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Rondon lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
610 located pitches in 2018.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Rondon works off the plate, with only 42.8% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 552nd in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Rondon puts 41.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
404 pitches to right-handed hitters, 208 to left-handed hitters.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Rondon projects a .388 average, 17th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 604th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Rondon's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
94 of 610 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Rondon releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
610 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Rondon throws the changeup 18.3% of the time against left-handers and 1% against right-handers.
402 pitches to right-handers, 208 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Rondon works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Sinker and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 40.2% of everything he throws.
610 classified pitches in 2018.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Rondon throws a fastball 56.9% of the time, against 48.7% when he is ahead.
204 pitches behind in the count, 154 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.2 mph separates Rondon's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.5 against 86.3.
245 and 239 of them respectively.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.7% of the contact Rondon gives up is hit hard, 39th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 441st in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Rondon's slider spins at 2,271 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
239 thrown in 2018.
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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 Rondon goes to the slider: 57.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.2% the rest of the time.
152 two-strike pitches in 2018.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Rondon throws a strike on the first pitch 52% of the time.
152 plate appearances started in 2018.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Rondon throws a fastball 56.9% of the time, against 48.7% when he is ahead.
204 pitches behind in the count, 154 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Rondon's changeup moves 112.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
42 thrown, averaging 90.2 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Rondon's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
245 thrown, averaging 96.5 mph.
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 .458 expected average against them, against .357 on his fastballs.
239 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Rondon's 4-seam fastball averages 96.5 mph, and has touched 100.1.
245 thrown, 40.2% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Rondon's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.5 mph, against 85.0 off his sinker.
245 and 84 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Rondon throws the changeup 18.3% of the time against left-handers and 1% against right-handers.
402 pitches to right-handers, 208 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Rondon works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Sinker and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 40.2% of everything he throws.
610 classified pitches in 2018.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.2 mph separates Rondon's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 96.5 against 86.3.
245 and 239 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Rondon's slider spins at 2,271 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
239 thrown in 2018.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Rondon averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
612 pitches in 2018. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 101st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Rondon throws 38.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45% with the bases empty.
214 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 398 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Rondon lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
610 located pitches in 2018.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Rondon's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
94 of 610 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Rondon works off the plate, with only 42.8% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 552nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Rondon puts 41.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
404 pitches to right-handed hitters, 208 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 Rondon projects a .388 average, 17th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 604th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.7% of the contact Rondon gives up is hit hard, 39th percentile.
612 pitches in 2018. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2018, 441st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Rondon releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
610 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
Tigers
Career team 2013–2017