One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ponce de Leon's changeup moves 110.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
79 thrown, averaging 86.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball carries 18.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
483 thrown, averaging 93.0 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .318 expected average against them, against .227 on his offspeed pitches.
549 of his fastballs thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ponce de Leon works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 73.6% of everything he throws.
656 classified pitches in 2021.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ponce de Leon lives up in the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.82 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
656 located pitches in 2021.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Ponce de Leon averages 91.1 mph across his arsenal, 80th percentile in the league.
656 pitches in 2021. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 165th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ponce de Leon's changeup leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 86.0 off his cutter.
79 and 65 of them thrown.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Ponce de Leon projects a .288 average, 90th percentile.
656 pitches in 2021. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 81st in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ponce de Leon throws a fastball 91.3% of the time, against 77.8% when he is ahead.
195 pitches behind in the count, 167 ahead.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Ponce de Leon works off the plate, with only 43% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
656 pitches in 2021. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 579th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.5% of Ponce de Leon's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
102 of 656 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ponce de Leon releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
656 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ponce de Leon throws a strike on the first pitch 55.4% of the time.
157 plate appearances started in 2021.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ponce de Leon throws the changeup 20.3% of the time against left-handers and 5.1% against right-handers.
355 pitches to right-handers, 301 to left-handers.
He is throwing as hard in the seventh as in the first
Ponce de Leon's fastball averages 92.5 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.2 past his 75th.
399 early fastballs, 25 late ones.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ponce de Leon goes to the curveball: 7.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 2.6% the rest of the time.
198 two-strike pitches in 2021.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ponce de Leon puts 42% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
355 pitches to right-handed hitters, 301 to left-handed hitters.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ponce de Leon works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
656 located pitches in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ponce de Leon puts 52.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.1% when he is ahead.
195 located pitches behind, 167 ahead.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 97.3.
483 thrown, 73.6% of his pitches.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ponce de Leon releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
656 tracked pitches in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.9 mph separates Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball from his changeup, 93.0 against 86.1.
483 and 79 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Ponce de Leon has thrown 27 curveballs this season, 4.1% of his pitches, at 77.0 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
656 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,282 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
483 thrown in 2021.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ponce de Leon's changeup moves 110.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
79 thrown, averaging 86.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball carries 18.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
483 thrown, averaging 93.0 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 fastballs: a .318 expected average against them, against .227 on his offspeed pitches.
549 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ponce de Leon works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 73.6% of everything he throws.
656 classified pitches in 2021.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ponce de Leon's changeup leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 86.0 off his cutter.
79 and 65 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ponce de Leon throws the changeup 20.3% of the time against left-handers and 5.1% against right-handers.
355 pitches to right-handers, 301 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 97.3.
483 thrown, 73.6% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.9 mph separates Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball from his changeup, 93.0 against 86.1.
483 and 79 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Ponce de Leon has thrown 27 curveballs this season, 4.1% of his pitches, at 77.0 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
656 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ponce de Leon's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,282 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
483 thrown in 2021.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ponce de Leon lives up in the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.82 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
656 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.5% of Ponce de Leon's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
102 of 656 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ponce de Leon works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
656 located pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Ponce de Leon averages 91.1 mph across his arsenal, 80th percentile in the league.
656 pitches in 2021. 80th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 165th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Ponce de Leon projects a .288 average, 90th percentile.
656 pitches in 2021. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 81st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ponce de Leon throws a fastball 91.3% of the time, against 77.8% when he is ahead.
195 pitches behind in the count, 167 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ponce de Leon throws a strike on the first pitch 55.4% of the time.
157 plate appearances started in 2021.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ponce de Leon goes to the curveball: 7.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 2.6% the rest of the time.
198 two-strike pitches in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ponce de Leon puts 52.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.1% when he is ahead.
195 located pitches behind, 167 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Ponce de Leon works off the plate, with only 43% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
656 pitches in 2021. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 579th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ponce de Leon releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
656 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
He is throwing as hard in the seventh as in the first
Ponce de Leon's fastball averages 92.5 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.2 past his 75th.
399 early fastballs, 25 late ones.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ponce de Leon releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
656 tracked pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ponce de Leon puts 42% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
355 pitches to right-handed hitters, 301 to left-handed hitters.
Cardinals
Career team 2018–2021