One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Carlton's sinker moves 131.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
74 thrown, averaging 91.2 mph.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Carlton puts 52.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handed hitters, 113 to left-handed hitters.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Carlton's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.3 mph, against 82.5 off his slider.
159 and 62 of them thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Carlton releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 26 degrees above horizontal and 2.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
330 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Carlton lives in the strike zone: 49.7% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
330 pitches in 2023. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 78th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Carlton goes to the 4-seam fastball: 55.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 44.7% the rest of the time.
102 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Carlton lands 56.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.5% of his breaking balls.
233 of his fastballs, 62 of his breaking balls.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Carlton throws the sinker 30.9% of the time against right-handers and 6.2% against left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handers, 113 to left-handers.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Carlton's 4-seam fastball carries 13.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
159 thrown, averaging 92.3 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Carlton throws a fastball 79.5% of the time, against 65.5% when he is ahead.
78 pitches behind in the count, 113 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Carlton works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 48.2% of everything he throws.
330 classified pitches in 2023.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .374 expected average against them, against .319 on his fastballs.
62 of his breaking balls thrown.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Carlton throws a strike on the first pitch 66.3% of the time.
86 plate appearances started in 2023.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Carlton's stuff spins at 2,115 rpm, 24th percentile in the league.
330 pitches in 2023. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 587th in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Carlton throws 47.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 50.6% with the bases empty.
87 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 243 with the bases empty.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Carlton's 4-seam fastball averages 92.3 mph, and has touched 94.4.
159 thrown, 48.2% of his pitches.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Carlton releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
330 tracked pitches in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Carlton puts 64.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 50.4% when he is ahead.
78 located pitches behind, 113 ahead.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.5% of Carlton's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
71 of 330 located pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Carlton is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 66th percentile.
330 pitches in 2023. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 263rd in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Carlton's slider spins at 2,418 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
62 thrown in 2023.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.7 mph separates Carlton's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.3 against 82.6.
159 and 62 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Carlton's sinker moves 131.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
74 thrown, averaging 91.2 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Carlton's 4-seam fastball carries 13.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
159 thrown, averaging 92.3 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Carlton puts 52.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handed hitters, 113 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Carlton's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.3 mph, against 82.5 off his slider.
159 and 62 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Carlton throws the sinker 30.9% of the time against right-handers and 6.2% against left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handers, 113 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Carlton works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 48.2% of everything he throws.
330 classified pitches in 2023.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Carlton's 4-seam fastball averages 92.3 mph, and has touched 94.4.
159 thrown, 48.2% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Carlton's slider spins at 2,418 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
62 thrown in 2023.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.7 mph separates Carlton's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.3 against 82.6.
159 and 62 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Carlton releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 26 degrees above horizontal and 2.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
330 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Carlton releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
330 tracked pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Carlton lives in the strike zone: 49.7% of his pitches are in it, 90th percentile.
330 pitches in 2023. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 78th 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 Carlton goes to the 4-seam fastball: 55.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 44.7% the rest of the time.
102 two-strike pitches in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Carlton throws a fastball 79.5% of the time, against 65.5% when he is ahead.
78 pitches behind in the count, 113 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Carlton throws a strike on the first pitch 66.3% of the time.
86 plate appearances started in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Carlton puts 64.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 50.4% when he is ahead.
78 located pitches behind, 113 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Carlton lands 56.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.5% of his breaking balls.
233 of his fastballs, 62 of his breaking balls.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .374 expected average against them, against .319 on his fastballs.
62 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Carlton's stuff spins at 2,115 rpm, 24th percentile in the league.
330 pitches in 2023. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 587th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Carlton throws 47.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 50.6% with the bases empty.
87 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 243 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.5% of Carlton's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
71 of 330 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Carlton is weak: 87.7 mph off the bat on average, 66th percentile.
330 pitches in 2023. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 263rd in MLB.
Tigers
Career team 2021–2022