One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Richards's changeup moves 101.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
248 thrown, averaging 90.0 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Richards's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.9 mph, against 86.9 off his changeup.
178 and 248 of them thrown.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .383 expected average against them, against .292 on his offspeed pitches.
181 of his fastballs thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Richards goes to the slider: 47.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.5% the rest of the time.
217 two-strike pitches in 2022.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Richards lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.08 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
715 located pitches in 2022.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Richards throws the slider 57% of the time against right-handers and 11% against left-handers.
416 pitches to right-handers, 299 to left-handers.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Richards throws 48.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.9% with the bases empty.
104 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 611 with the bases empty.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Richards throws a fastball 38.3% of the time, against 18.6% when he is ahead.
196 pitches behind in the count, 221 ahead.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Richards releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 2.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
715 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Richards lands 54.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.1% of his offspeed pitches.
181 of his fastballs, 248 of his offspeed pitches.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Richards works off the plate, with only 42% of his pitches in the zone, 25th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 584th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Richards works with 3 pitches: Slider, Changeup and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 37.8% of everything he throws.
715 classified pitches in 2022.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Richards releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
715 tracked pitches in 2022.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Richards averages 90.3 mph across his arsenal, 68th percentile in the league.
715 pitches in 2022. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 252nd in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Richards works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
715 located pitches in 2022.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Richards's slider spins at 2,606 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
270 thrown in 2022.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.3 mph off the bat against Richards, 29th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 549th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.6% of Richards's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
126 of 715 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Richards puts 52% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.1% when he is ahead.
196 located pitches behind, 221 ahead.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Richards's 4-seam fastball averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.6.
178 thrown, 24.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Richards's 4-seam fastball carries 8.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
178 thrown, averaging 94.4 mph.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Richards projects a .332 average, 35th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 501st in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Richards throws a strike on the first pitch 58.6% of the time.
186 plate appearances started in 2022.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
5.8 mph separates Richards's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 94.4 against 88.6.
178 and 270 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Richards has thrown 16 curveballs this season, 2.2% of his pitches, at 76.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
715 classified pitches in 2022.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Richards's changeup moves 101.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
248 thrown, averaging 90.0 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Richards's 4-seam fastball carries 8.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
178 thrown, averaging 94.4 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Richards's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.9 mph, against 86.9 off his changeup.
178 and 248 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Richards throws the slider 57% of the time against right-handers and 11% against left-handers.
416 pitches to right-handers, 299 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Richards works with 3 pitches: Slider, Changeup and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 37.8% of everything he throws.
715 classified pitches in 2022.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Richards's slider spins at 2,606 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
270 thrown in 2022.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Richards's 4-seam fastball averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.6.
178 thrown, 24.9% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
5.8 mph separates Richards's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 94.4 against 88.6.
178 and 270 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Richards has thrown 16 curveballs this season, 2.2% of his pitches, at 76.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
715 classified pitches in 2022.
Show more
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 .383 expected average against them, against .292 on his offspeed pitches.
181 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Richards lands 54.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.1% of his offspeed pitches.
181 of his fastballs, 248 of his offspeed pitches.
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 Richards goes to the slider: 47.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 33.5% the rest of the time.
217 two-strike pitches in 2022.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Richards throws a fastball 38.3% of the time, against 18.6% when he is ahead.
196 pitches behind in the count, 221 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Richards puts 52% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 42.1% when he is ahead.
196 located pitches behind, 221 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Richards throws a strike on the first pitch 58.6% of the time.
186 plate appearances started in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Richards lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.08 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
715 located pitches in 2022.
He lives on one side of the plate
Richards works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
715 located pitches in 2022.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.6% of Richards's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
126 of 715 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Richards throws 48.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.9% with the bases empty.
104 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 611 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Richards releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 34 degrees above horizontal and 2.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
715 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Richards releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
715 tracked pitches in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Richards works off the plate, with only 42% of his pitches in the zone, 25th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 584th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Richards averages 90.3 mph across his arsenal, 68th percentile in the league.
715 pitches in 2022. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 252nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.3 mph off the bat against Richards, 29th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 549th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Richards projects a .332 average, 35th percentile.
715 pitches in 2022. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 501st in MLB.
Angels
Career team 2011–2018