When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Covey throws a fastball 83.3% of the time, against 48.6% when he is ahead.
203 pitches behind in the count, 214 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Covey's sinker moves 97.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
303 thrown, averaging 95.1 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Covey throws 32.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.1% with the bases empty.
161 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 574 with the bases empty.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Covey throws the cutter 54.1% of the time against left-handers and 4.7% against right-handers.
406 pitches to right-handers, 329 to left-handers.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .370 expected average against them, against .285 on his breaking balls.
501 of his fastballs thrown.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Covey's sinker leaves the bat at 88.7 mph, against 82.0 off his slider.
303 and 159 of them thrown.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Covey averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
735 pitches in 2023. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 113th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Covey lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.17 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
735 located pitches in 2023.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Covey goes to the slider: 30.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.9% the rest of the time.
216 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Covey works off the plate, with only 42.4% of his pitches in the zone, 22nd percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 604th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Covey puts 40.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
406 pitches to right-handed hitters, 329 to left-handed hitters.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Covey's sinker averages 95.1 mph, and has touched 97.3.
303 thrown, 41.2% of his pitches.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Covey's stuff spins at 2,102 rpm, 22nd percentile in the league.
735 pitches in 2023. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 605th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Covey throws a strike on the first pitch 66.1% of the time.
189 plate appearances started in 2023.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Covey releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
735 tracked pitches in 2023.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Covey is weak: 86.9 mph off the bat on average, 77th percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 177th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Covey puts 54.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.5% when he is ahead.
203 located pitches behind, 214 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Covey works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Cutter, Slider and Splitter. The sinker is 41.2% of everything he throws.
735 classified pitches in 2023.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Covey lands 46.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.4% of his breaking balls.
501 of his fastballs, 189 of his breaking balls.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Covey's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
127 of 735 located pitches.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Covey projects a .349 average, 26th percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 570th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Covey's sinker carries 9.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
303 thrown, averaging 95.1 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Covey releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
735 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Covey has thrown 30 sweepers this season, 4.1% of his pitches, at 84.8 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
735 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Covey's slider spins at 2,230 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
159 thrown in 2023.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
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When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Covey throws a fastball 83.3% of the time, against 48.6% when he is ahead.
203 pitches behind in the count, 214 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Covey goes to the slider: 30.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.9% the rest of the time.
216 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Covey throws a strike on the first pitch 66.1% of the time.
189 plate appearances started in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Covey puts 54.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.5% when he is ahead.
203 located pitches behind, 214 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Covey's sinker moves 97.9 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
303 thrown, averaging 95.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Covey's sinker carries 9.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
303 thrown, averaging 95.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Covey throws 32.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.1% with the bases empty.
161 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 574 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Covey throws the cutter 54.1% of the time against left-handers and 4.7% against right-handers.
406 pitches to right-handers, 329 to left-handers.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Covey's sinker leaves the bat at 88.7 mph, against 82.0 off his slider.
303 and 159 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Covey's sinker averages 95.1 mph, and has touched 97.3.
303 thrown, 41.2% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Covey works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Cutter, Slider and Splitter. The sinker is 41.2% of everything he throws.
735 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Covey has thrown 30 sweepers this season, 4.1% of his pitches, at 84.8 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
735 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Covey's slider spins at 2,230 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
159 thrown in 2023.
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 .370 expected average against them, against .285 on his breaking balls.
501 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Covey lands 46.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.4% of his breaking balls.
501 of his fastballs, 189 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Covey averages 91.9 mph across his arsenal, 86th percentile in the league.
735 pitches in 2023. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 113th 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
Covey lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.17 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
735 located pitches in 2023.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Covey's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
127 of 735 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Covey works off the plate, with only 42.4% of his pitches in the zone, 22nd percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 604th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Covey puts 40.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
406 pitches to right-handed hitters, 329 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Covey's stuff spins at 2,102 rpm, 22nd percentile in the league.
735 pitches in 2023. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 605th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Covey releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
735 tracked pitches in 2023.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Covey releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
735 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
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Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Covey is weak: 86.9 mph off the bat on average, 77th percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 177th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Covey projects a .349 average, 26th percentile.
735 pitches in 2023. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 570th in MLB.
Phillies
Career team 2023