One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Santana's changeup moves 55.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
41 thrown, averaging 87.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Santana's changeup leaves the bat at 94.4 mph, against 84.5 off his slider.
41 and 553 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Santana goes to the slider: 58.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 46.4% the rest of the time.
336 two-strike pitches in 2021.
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 2.14 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1104 located pitches in 2021.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Santana throws a fastball 54.7% of the time, against 39.9% when he is ahead.
309 pitches behind in the count, 311 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Santana works with 2 pitches: Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 50.1% of everything he throws.
1104 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 13.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
495 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Santana works off the plate, with only 42.8% of his pitches in the zone, 26th percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 596th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .365 expected average against them, against .318 on his breaking balls.
503 of his fastballs thrown.
He lives on one side of the plate
Santana works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1104 located pitches in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Santana puts 54% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.8% when he is ahead.
309 located pitches behind, 311 ahead.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43.7% of the contact Santana gives up is hit hard, 23rd percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 621st in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1104 tracked pitches in 2021.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Santana projects a .351 average, 27th percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 589th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Santana lands 49.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 38.2% of his breaking balls.
503 of his fastballs, 560 of his breaking balls.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Santana releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 55 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1104 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Santana puts 43.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
670 pitches to right-handed hitters, 434 to left-handed hitters.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.6% of Santana's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
194 of 1104 located pitches.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.5 mph off the bat against Santana, 31st percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 559th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 93.3 mph, and has touched 96.2.
495 thrown, 44.8% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,320 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
553 thrown in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.0 mph separates Santana's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 93.3 against 84.3.
495 and 553 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Santana has thrown 41 changeups this season, 3.7% of his pitches, at 87.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1104 classified pitches in 2021.
Show more
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 55.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
41 thrown, averaging 87.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Santana's 4-seam fastball carries 13.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
495 thrown, averaging 93.3 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 changeup leaves the bat at 94.4 mph, against 84.5 off his slider.
41 and 553 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Santana works with 2 pitches: Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 50.1% of everything he throws.
1104 classified pitches in 2021.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Santana's 4-seam fastball averages 93.3 mph, and has touched 96.2.
495 thrown, 44.8% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Santana's slider spins at 2,320 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
553 thrown in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.0 mph separates Santana's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 93.3 against 84.3.
495 and 553 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Santana has thrown 41 changeups this season, 3.7% of his pitches, at 87.1 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1104 classified pitches in 2021.
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 Santana goes to the slider: 58.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 46.4% the rest of the time.
336 two-strike pitches in 2021.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Santana throws a fastball 54.7% of the time, against 39.9% when he is ahead.
309 pitches behind in the count, 311 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Santana puts 54% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.8% when he is ahead.
309 located pitches behind, 311 ahead.
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 2.14 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1104 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on one side of the plate
Santana works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1104 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.6% of Santana's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
194 of 1104 located pitches.
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 42.8% of his pitches in the zone, 26th percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 596th in MLB.
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 .365 expected average against them, against .318 on his breaking balls.
503 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Santana lands 49.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 38.2% of his breaking balls.
503 of his fastballs, 560 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
43.7% of the contact Santana gives up is hit hard, 23rd percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 621st in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Santana projects a .351 average, 27th percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 589th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.5 mph off the bat against Santana, 31st percentile.
1104 pitches in 2021. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 559th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Santana releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1104 tracked pitches in 2021.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Santana releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 55 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1104 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Santana puts 43.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
670 pitches to right-handed hitters, 434 to left-handed hitters.
Angels
Career team 2005–2012