When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Darnell throws a fastball 65.5% of the time, against 37.5% when he is ahead.
58 pitches behind in the count, 48 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Darnell's 4-seam fastball moves 52.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.7 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Darnell throws the splitter 44.7% of the time against left-handers and 14.7% against right-handers.
109 pitches to right-handers, 76 to left-handers.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Darnell goes to the splitter: 39.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 23% the rest of the time.
46 two-strike pitches in 2025.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Darnell's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.0 mph, against 85.8 off his splitter.
97 and 50 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Darnell's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.7 mph.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Darnell's stuff spins at 1,994 rpm, 8th percentile in the league.
185 pitches in 2025. 8th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 718th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Darnell projects a .295 average, 90th percentile.
185 pitches in 2025. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 81st in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Darnell releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 63 degrees above horizontal and 0.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
185 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .317 expected average against them, against .265 on his fastballs.
50 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Darnell works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 52.4% of everything he throws.
185 classified pitches in 2025.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Darnell throws 42% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.6% with the bases empty.
69 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 116 with the bases empty.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.8% of Darnell's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
31 of 185 located pitches.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Darnell throws a strike on the first pitch 54.2% of the time.
48 plate appearances started in 2025.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Darnell releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
185 tracked pitches in 2025.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Darnell works off the plate, with only 44.9% of his pitches in the zone, 32nd percentile.
185 pitches in 2025. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 528th in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Darnell works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
185 located pitches in 2025.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Darnell puts 51.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.3% when he is ahead.
58 located pitches behind, 48 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Darnell's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,364 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Darnell's 4-seam fastball averages 93.7 mph, and has touched 96.2.
97 thrown, 52.4% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.2 mph separates Darnell's 4-seam fastball from his splitter, 93.7 against 84.5.
97 and 50 of them respectively.
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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 Darnell throws a fastball 65.5% of the time, against 37.5% when he is ahead.
58 pitches behind in the count, 48 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Darnell goes to the splitter: 39.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 23% the rest of the time.
46 two-strike pitches in 2025.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Darnell throws a strike on the first pitch 54.2% of the time.
48 plate appearances started in 2025.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Darnell puts 51.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.3% when he is ahead.
58 located pitches behind, 48 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Darnell's 4-seam fastball moves 52.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Darnell's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 93.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Darnell throws the splitter 44.7% of the time against left-handers and 14.7% against right-handers.
109 pitches to right-handers, 76 to left-handers.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Darnell's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.0 mph, against 85.8 off his splitter.
97 and 50 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Darnell works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Slider. The 4-seam fastball is 52.4% of everything he throws.
185 classified pitches in 2025.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Darnell's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,364 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Darnell's 4-seam fastball averages 93.7 mph, and has touched 96.2.
97 thrown, 52.4% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.2 mph separates Darnell's 4-seam fastball from his splitter, 93.7 against 84.5.
97 and 50 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Darnell's stuff spins at 1,994 rpm, 8th percentile in the league.
185 pitches in 2025. 8th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 718th 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 Darnell projects a .295 average, 90th percentile.
185 pitches in 2025. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 81st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Darnell releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 63 degrees above horizontal and 0.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
185 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Darnell releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
185 tracked pitches in 2025.
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 .317 expected average against them, against .265 on his fastballs.
50 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Darnell throws 42% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.6% with the bases empty.
69 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 116 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
16.8% of Darnell's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
31 of 185 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Darnell works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
185 located pitches in 2025.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Darnell works off the plate, with only 44.9% of his pitches in the zone, 32nd percentile.
185 pitches in 2025. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 528th in MLB.
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Career team 2025