One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .417 expected average against them, against .298 on his fastballs.
51 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Santana throws 32% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.6% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 216 with the bases empty.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Santana throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 36% when he is ahead.
228 pitches behind in the count, 292 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Santana's changeup moves 17.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 88.0 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Santana goes to the slider: 47.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.8% the rest of the time.
279 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Santana works off the plate, with only 39.2% of his pitches in the zone, 15th percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 14.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
256 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Santana releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
928 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Santana throws the slider 47.2% of the time against right-handers and 28.8% against left-handers.
388 pitches to right-handers, 541 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Santana lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.22 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
928 located pitches in 2026.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Santana's stuff spins at 2,438 rpm, 82nd percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 100th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Santana's sinker leaves the bat at 89.8 mph, against 85.9 off his changeup.
112 and 129 of them thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Santana lands 45.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his offspeed pitches.
148 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Santana puts 41.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
143 pitches to right-handed hitters, 174 to left-handed hitters.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Santana works with 5 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 36.5% of everything he throws.
929 classified pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
853 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,582 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
339 thrown in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Santana projects a .343 average, 33rd percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 362nd in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.6% of Santana's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
173 of 928 located pitches.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 96.5.
256 thrown, 27.6% of his pitches.
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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 offspeed pitches: a .417 expected average against them, against .298 on his fastballs.
51 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Santana lands 45.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his offspeed pitches.
148 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Santana throws 32% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.6% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 216 with the bases empty.
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 Santana throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 36% when he is ahead.
228 pitches behind in the count, 292 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Santana goes to the slider: 47.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.8% the rest of the time.
279 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Santana's changeup moves 17.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 88.0 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 14.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
256 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Santana works off the plate, with only 39.2% of his pitches in the zone, 15th percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 455th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Santana releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
928 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
853 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Santana throws the slider 47.2% of the time against right-handers and 28.8% against left-handers.
388 pitches to right-handers, 541 to left-handers.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Santana's sinker leaves the bat at 89.8 mph, against 85.9 off his changeup.
112 and 129 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Santana works with 5 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 36.5% of everything he throws.
929 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,582 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
339 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 96.5.
256 thrown, 27.6% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Santana lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.22 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
928 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.6% of Santana's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
173 of 928 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Santana's stuff spins at 2,438 rpm, 82nd percentile in the league.
317 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 100th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Santana puts 41.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
143 pitches to right-handed hitters, 174 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Santana projects a .343 average, 33rd percentile.
317 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 362nd in MLB.
Diamondbacks