His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kluber's cutter averages 86.1 mph, and has touched 88.9.
271 thrown, 27.2% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kluber releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 19 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
998 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kluber's sinker moves 111.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
263 thrown, averaging 88.2 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Kluber averages 84.6 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
998 pitches in 2023. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 729th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .376 expected average against them, against .280 on his breaking balls.
558 of his fastballs thrown.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kluber's sinker leaves the bat at 91.0 mph, against 85.7 off his changeup.
263 and 157 of them thrown.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kluber throws a strike on the first pitch 66.1% of the time.
257 plate appearances started in 2023.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kluber works with 4 pitches: Curveball, Cutter, Sinker and Changeup. The curveball is 28% of everything he throws.
998 classified pitches in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kluber throws a fastball 64.2% of the time, against 52% when he is ahead.
265 pitches behind in the count, 306 ahead.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kluber lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.30 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
998 located pitches in 2023.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kluber lands 50.9% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 35.7% of his offspeed pitches.
283 of his breaking balls, 157 of his offspeed pitches.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kluber throws 42.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.1% with the bases empty.
221 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 777 with the bases empty.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kluber puts 55.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.6% when he is ahead.
265 located pitches behind, 306 ahead.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kluber works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
998 located pitches in 2023.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kluber goes to the changeup: 20.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 13.6% the rest of the time.
307 two-strike pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kluber's curveball spins at 2,556 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
279 thrown in 2023.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kluber throws the sinker 33.6% of the time against right-handers and 20.3% against left-handers.
455 pitches to right-handers, 543 to left-handers.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kluber's sinker carries 8.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
263 thrown, averaging 88.2 mph.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kluber's stuff spins at 2,306 rpm, 64th percentile in the league.
998 pitches in 2023. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 277th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kluber releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
989 tracked pitches in 2023.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kluber has thrown 24 4-seam fastballs this season, 2.4% of his pitches, at 89.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
998 classified pitches in 2023.
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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
Kluber's cutter averages 86.1 mph, and has touched 88.9.
271 thrown, 27.2% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kluber's sinker leaves the bat at 91.0 mph, against 85.7 off his changeup.
263 and 157 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kluber works with 4 pitches: Curveball, Cutter, Sinker and Changeup. The curveball is 28% of everything he throws.
998 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kluber's curveball spins at 2,556 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
279 thrown in 2023.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kluber throws the sinker 33.6% of the time against right-handers and 20.3% against left-handers.
455 pitches to right-handers, 543 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kluber has thrown 24 4-seam fastballs this season, 2.4% of his pitches, at 89.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
998 classified pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kluber releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 19 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
998 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Kluber releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
989 tracked pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kluber's sinker moves 111.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
263 thrown, averaging 88.2 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kluber's sinker carries 8.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
263 thrown, averaging 88.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Kluber averages 84.6 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
998 pitches in 2023. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 729th 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 fastballs: a .376 expected average against them, against .280 on his breaking balls.
558 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Kluber lands 50.9% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 35.7% of his offspeed pitches.
283 of his breaking balls, 157 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Kluber throws a strike on the first pitch 66.1% of the time.
257 plate appearances started in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kluber throws a fastball 64.2% of the time, against 52% when he is ahead.
265 pitches behind in the count, 306 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kluber puts 55.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.6% when he is ahead.
265 located pitches behind, 306 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kluber goes to the changeup: 20.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 13.6% the rest of the time.
307 two-strike pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kluber lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.30 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
998 located pitches in 2023.
He lives on one side of the plate
Kluber works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
998 located pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Kluber throws 42.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.1% with the bases empty.
221 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 777 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Kluber's stuff spins at 2,306 rpm, 64th percentile in the league.
998 pitches in 2023. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 277th in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2012–2023