His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Buchholz's cutter averages 84.4 mph, and has touched 88.4.
272 thrown, 28.2% of his pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .408 expected average against them, against .288 on his offspeed pitches.
168 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Buchholz's sinker moves 101.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
194 thrown, averaging 89.2 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Buchholz averages 83.0 mph across his arsenal, 4th percentile in the league.
963 pitches in 2019. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 719th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Buchholz's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 82.9 off his changeup.
139 and 190 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Buchholz's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
139 thrown, averaging 89.7 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Buchholz goes to the changeup: 26.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 17% the rest of the time.
273 two-strike pitches in 2019.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Buchholz is weak: 86.9 mph off the bat on average, 88th percentile.
963 pitches in 2019. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 94th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.6 mph separates Buchholz's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 89.7 against 75.1.
139 and 168 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Buchholz lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.27 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
963 located pitches in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Buchholz works with 5 pitches: Cutter, Sinker, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The cutter is 28.2% of everything he throws.
963 classified pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Buchholz puts 54.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.6% when he is ahead.
259 located pitches behind, 285 ahead.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Buchholz's fastball averages 87.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 86.9 past his 75th.
184 early fastballs, 61 late ones.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.8% of Buchholz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
162 of 963 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Buchholz's curveball spins at 2,707 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
168 thrown in 2019.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Buchholz throws a fastball 69.5% of the time, against 60.7% when he is ahead.
259 pitches behind in the count, 285 ahead.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Buchholz's stuff spins at 2,155 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
963 pitches in 2019. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 521st in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Buchholz releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
963 tracked pitches in 2019.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Buchholz lands 46.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.9% of his offspeed pitches.
605 of his fastballs, 190 of his offspeed pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Buchholz throws a strike on the first pitch 62.7% of the time.
255 plate appearances started in 2019.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Buchholz's cutter averages 84.4 mph, and has touched 88.4.
272 thrown, 28.2% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Buchholz's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 82.9 off his changeup.
139 and 190 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.6 mph separates Buchholz's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 89.7 against 75.1.
139 and 168 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Buchholz works with 5 pitches: Cutter, Sinker, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The cutter is 28.2% of everything he throws.
963 classified pitches in 2019.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Buchholz's curveball spins at 2,707 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
168 thrown in 2019.
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 .408 expected average against them, against .288 on his offspeed pitches.
168 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Buchholz lands 46.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.9% of his offspeed pitches.
605 of his fastballs, 190 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Buchholz's sinker moves 101.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
194 thrown, averaging 89.2 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Buchholz's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
139 thrown, averaging 89.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Buchholz averages 83.0 mph across his arsenal, 4th percentile in the league.
963 pitches in 2019. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 719th in MLB.
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 Buchholz goes to the changeup: 26.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 17% the rest of the time.
273 two-strike pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Buchholz puts 54.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.6% when he is ahead.
259 located pitches behind, 285 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Buchholz throws a fastball 69.5% of the time, against 60.7% when he is ahead.
259 pitches behind in the count, 285 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Buchholz throws a strike on the first pitch 62.7% of the time.
255 plate appearances started in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Buchholz is weak: 86.9 mph off the bat on average, 88th percentile.
963 pitches in 2019. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 94th 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
Buchholz lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.27 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
963 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.8% of Buchholz's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
162 of 963 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Buchholz's fastball averages 87.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 86.9 past his 75th.
184 early fastballs, 61 late ones.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Buchholz releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
963 tracked pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Buchholz's stuff spins at 2,155 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
963 pitches in 2019. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 521st in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2007–2016