One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .402 expected average against them, against .280 on his offspeed pitches.
400 of his fastballs thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Rea throws 35.8% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.6% with the bases empty.
151 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 574 with the bases empty.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Rea's sweeper moves 16.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
46 thrown, averaging 82.6 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Rea throws the splitter 29.2% of the time against left-handers and 2% against right-handers.
256 pitches to right-handers, 469 to left-handers.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Rea's fastball averages 93.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 91.9 past his 75th.
129 early fastballs, 63 late ones.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.8 mph off the bat against Rea, 9th percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 488th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Rea's 4-seam fastball carries 14.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Rea's stuff spins at 2,022 rpm, 11th percentile in the league.
725 pitches in 2026. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 479th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Rea's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.8 against 79.8.
277 and 48 of them respectively.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Rea lands 50% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.2% of his offspeed pitches.
400 of his fastballs, 142 of his offspeed pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Rea goes to the slider: 18% of his two-strike pitches, against 9.7% the rest of the time.
228 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Rea releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
725 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Rea 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.
725 located pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Rea puts 56.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.9% when he is ahead.
180 located pitches behind, 214 ahead.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Rea's slider leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 90.0 off his sweeper.
89 and 46 of them thrown.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Rea projects a .362 average, 19th percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 437th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Rea works with 7 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter, Slider and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 38.2% of everything he throws.
725 classified pitches in 2026.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45.9% of the contact Rea gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 424th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.2% of Rea's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
125 of 725 located pitches.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Rea throws a fastball 56.7% of the time, against 50.5% when he is ahead.
180 pitches behind in the count, 214 ahead.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Rea releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
494 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Rea's sweeper spins at 2,435 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
46 thrown in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Rea throws a strike on the first pitch 62.2% of the time.
185 plate appearances started in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Rea's 4-seam fastball averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.0.
277 thrown, 38.2% of his pitches.
Show more
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 fastballs: a .402 expected average against them, against .280 on his offspeed pitches.
400 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Rea lands 50% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.2% of his offspeed pitches.
400 of his fastballs, 142 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Rea throws 35.8% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.6% with the bases empty.
151 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 574 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Rea's sweeper moves 16.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
46 thrown, averaging 82.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Rea's 4-seam fastball carries 14.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Rea throws the splitter 29.2% of the time against left-handers and 2% against right-handers.
256 pitches to right-handers, 469 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.0 mph separates Rea's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.8 against 79.8.
277 and 48 of them respectively.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Rea's slider leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 90.0 off his sweeper.
89 and 46 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Rea works with 7 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter, Slider and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 38.2% of everything he throws.
725 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Rea's sweeper spins at 2,435 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
46 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Rea's 4-seam fastball averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.0.
277 thrown, 38.2% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Rea's fastball averages 93.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 91.9 past his 75th.
129 early fastballs, 63 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Rea releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
725 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Rea releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
494 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.8 mph off the bat against Rea, 9th percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 488th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Rea projects a .362 average, 19th percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 437th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45.9% of the contact Rea gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
725 pitches in 2026. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 424th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Rea's stuff spins at 2,022 rpm, 11th percentile in the league.
725 pitches in 2026. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 479th 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 Rea goes to the slider: 18% of his two-strike pitches, against 9.7% the rest of the time.
228 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Rea puts 56.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.9% when he is ahead.
180 located pitches behind, 214 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Rea throws a fastball 56.7% of the time, against 50.5% when he is ahead.
180 pitches behind in the count, 214 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Rea throws a strike on the first pitch 62.2% of the time.
185 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Rea 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.
725 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.2% of Rea's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
125 of 725 located pitches.
Cubs