He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Whitlock throws the slider 45% of the time against right-handers and 11.6% against left-handers.
320 pitches to right-handers, 423 to left-handers.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Whitlock's changeup moves 15.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
134 thrown, averaging 84.3 mph.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Whitlock lands 52.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.5% of his offspeed pitches.
136 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Whitlock releases the ball 7.2 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
676 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Whitlock's sinker carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
416 thrown, averaging 94.9 mph.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Whitlock throws a strike on the first pitch 68.2% of the time.
198 plate appearances started in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Whitlock throws a fastball 62.7% of the time, against 45.8% when he is ahead.
142 pitches behind in the count, 288 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Whitlock works with 3 pitches: Sinker, Slider and Changeup. The sinker is 56% of everything he throws.
743 classified pitches in 2026.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Whitlock is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 86th percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Whitlock works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 3.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
743 located pitches in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Whitlock goes to the changeup: 25.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.1% the rest of the time.
255 two-strike pitches in 2026.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 30.2% of the contact Whitlock gives up is hit hard, 86th percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Whitlock's stuff spins at 2,099 rpm, 20th percentile in the league.
286 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 431st in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Whitlock puts 69% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.4% when he is ahead.
142 located pitches behind, 288 ahead.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Whitlock lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.26 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
743 located pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Whitlock's sinker averages 94.9 mph, and has touched 97.2.
416 thrown, 56% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Whitlock releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
743 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Whitlock puts 44% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 40.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
159 pitches to right-handed hitters, 127 to left-handed hitters.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .365 expected average against them, against .324 on his offspeed pitches.
99 of his breaking balls thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Whitlock throws 40.3% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.4% with the bases empty.
67 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 219 with the bases empty.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.6 mph separates Whitlock's sinker from his changeup, 94.9 against 84.3.
416 and 134 of them respectively.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Whitlock projects a .342 average, 33rd percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 358th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Whitlock's changeup spins at 2,244 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
134 thrown in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Whitlock throws the slider 45% of the time against right-handers and 11.6% against left-handers.
320 pitches to right-handers, 423 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Whitlock works with 3 pitches: Sinker, Slider and Changeup. The sinker is 56% of everything he throws.
743 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Whitlock's sinker averages 94.9 mph, and has touched 97.2.
416 thrown, 56% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.6 mph separates Whitlock's sinker from his changeup, 94.9 against 84.3.
416 and 134 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Whitlock's changeup spins at 2,244 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
134 thrown in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Whitlock's changeup moves 15.8 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
134 thrown, averaging 84.3 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Whitlock's sinker carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
416 thrown, averaging 94.9 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Whitlock lands 52.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.5% of his offspeed pitches.
136 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .365 expected average against them, against .324 on his offspeed pitches.
99 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Whitlock releases the ball 7.2 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
676 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Whitlock releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 59 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
743 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Whitlock throws a strike on the first pitch 68.2% of the time.
198 plate appearances started in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Whitlock throws a fastball 62.7% of the time, against 45.8% when he is ahead.
142 pitches behind in the count, 288 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Whitlock goes to the changeup: 25.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.1% the rest of the time.
255 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Whitlock puts 69% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44.4% when he is ahead.
142 located pitches behind, 288 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Whitlock is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 86th percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 30.2% of the contact Whitlock gives up is hit hard, 86th percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Whitlock projects a .342 average, 33rd percentile.
286 pitches in 2026. 33rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 358th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Whitlock works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 3.0 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
743 located pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Whitlock lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.26 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
743 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Whitlock's stuff spins at 2,099 rpm, 20th percentile in the league.
286 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 431st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Whitlock puts 44% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 40.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
159 pitches to right-handed hitters, 127 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Whitlock throws 40.3% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.4% with the bases empty.
67 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 219 with the bases empty.
Red Sox