This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Martinez goes to the slider: 37% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.2% the rest of the time.
351 two-strike pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Martinez's sinker moves 104.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
183 thrown, averaging 91.3 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Martinez's sinker leaves the bat at 92.3 mph, against 86.4 off his cutter.
183 and 273 of them thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Martinez releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 31 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1318 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Martinez throws a fastball 71.1% of the time, against 50.9% when he is ahead.
363 pitches behind in the count, 383 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Martinez throws the cutter 31.9% of the time against left-handers and 6.5% against right-handers.
582 pitches to right-handers, 736 to left-handers.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Martinez lives in the strike zone: 48.1% of his pitches are in it, 80th percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 158th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Martinez releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1317 tracked pitches in 2021.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Martinez's stuff spins at 2,044 rpm, 16th percentile in the league.
1318 pitches in 2021. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 673rd in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Martinez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.26 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1318 located pitches in 2021.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Martinez works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Cutter and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 27.5% of everything he throws.
1318 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Martinez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
363 thrown, averaging 93.4 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .356 expected average against them, against .315 on his offspeed pitches.
323 of his breaking balls thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Martinez throws 51% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.3% with the bases empty.
294 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1024 with the bases empty.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.8% of the contact Martinez gives up is hit hard, 27th percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 585th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Martinez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
228 of 1318 located pitches.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Martinez lands 52.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.9% of his offspeed pitches.
819 of his fastballs, 176 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.8 mph separates Martinez's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 93.4 against 82.6.
363 and 306 of them respectively.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Martinez projects a .346 average, 31st percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 556th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Martinez throws a strike on the first pitch 62.2% of the time.
362 plate appearances started in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Martinez puts 55.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 46.7% when he is ahead.
363 located pitches behind, 383 ahead.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Martinez has thrown 17 curveballs this season, 1.3% of his pitches, at 77.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1318 classified pitches in 2021.
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 Martinez goes to the slider: 37% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.2% the rest of the time.
351 two-strike pitches in 2021.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Martinez throws a fastball 71.1% of the time, against 50.9% when he is ahead.
363 pitches behind in the count, 383 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Martinez throws a strike on the first pitch 62.2% of the time.
362 plate appearances started in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Martinez puts 55.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 46.7% when he is ahead.
363 located pitches behind, 383 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Martinez's sinker moves 104.7 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
183 thrown, averaging 91.3 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Martinez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
363 thrown, averaging 93.4 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Martinez's sinker leaves the bat at 92.3 mph, against 86.4 off his cutter.
183 and 273 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Martinez throws the cutter 31.9% of the time against left-handers and 6.5% against right-handers.
582 pitches to right-handers, 736 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Martinez works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Cutter and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 27.5% of everything he throws.
1318 classified pitches in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.8 mph separates Martinez's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 93.4 against 82.6.
363 and 306 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Martinez has thrown 17 curveballs this season, 1.3% of his pitches, at 77.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1318 classified pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Martinez releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 31 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1318 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Martinez releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1317 tracked pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Martinez lives in the strike zone: 48.1% of his pitches are in it, 80th percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 158th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Martinez's stuff spins at 2,044 rpm, 16th percentile in the league.
1318 pitches in 2021. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 673rd 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
Martinez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.26 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1318 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Martinez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
228 of 1318 located pitches.
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 .356 expected average against them, against .315 on his offspeed pitches.
323 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Martinez lands 52.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.9% of his offspeed pitches.
819 of his fastballs, 176 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Martinez throws 51% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47.3% with the bases empty.
294 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1024 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
42.8% of the contact Martinez gives up is hit hard, 27th percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 585th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Martinez projects a .346 average, 31st percentile.
1318 pitches in 2021. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 556th in MLB.
Cardinals
Career team 2013–2021