When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Santana throws a fastball 58.8% of the time, against 26% when he is ahead.
80 pitches behind in the count, 96 ahead.
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.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Santana's changeup moves 17.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
51 thrown, averaging 87.6 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Santana's slider leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 82.8 off his changeup.
118 and 51 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Santana goes to the slider: 49.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.3% the rest of the time.
103 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.
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 2.15 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
316 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.8 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.
316 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Santana throws the sinker 23.8% of the time against right-handers and 1.1% against left-handers.
143 pitches to right-handers, 174 to left-handers.
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.
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 4 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker. The slider is 37.2% of everything he throws.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
250 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,492 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
118 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.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Santana puts 50% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.7% when he is ahead.
80 located pitches behind, 96 ahead.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.1.
97 thrown, 30.6% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Santana has thrown 15 cutters this season, 4.7% of his pitches, at 90.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
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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 58.8% of the time, against 26% when he is ahead.
80 pitches behind in the count, 96 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Santana goes to the slider: 49.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.3% the rest of the time.
103 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Santana puts 50% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.7% when he is ahead.
80 located pitches behind, 96 ahead.
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
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Santana's changeup moves 17.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
51 thrown, averaging 87.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Santana's slider leaves the bat at 91.9 mph, against 82.8 off his changeup.
118 and 51 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Santana throws the sinker 23.8% of the time against right-handers and 1.1% against left-handers.
143 pitches to right-handers, 174 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Santana works with 4 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker. The slider is 37.2% of everything he throws.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,492 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
118 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.1.
97 thrown, 30.6% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Santana has thrown 15 cutters this season, 4.7% of his pitches, at 90.6 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
317 classified pitches in 2026.
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
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 2.15 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
316 located pitches in 2026.
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.
316 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
250 tracked pitches in 2026.
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.
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