One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .393 expected average against them, against .275 on his fastballs.
201 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Birdsong's changeup moves 88.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
201 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Birdsong's curveball leaves the bat at 96.4 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
155 and 291 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Birdsong's 4-seam fastball carries 18.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
527 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Birdsong works off the plate, with only 42.6% of his pitches in the zone, 14th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 668th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.2 mph separates Birdsong's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 80.3.
527 and 155 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Birdsong throws a fastball 52% of the time, against 36.8% when he is ahead.
383 pitches behind in the count, 302 ahead.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Birdsong's fastball averages 95.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.7 past his 75th.
239 early fastballs, 48 late ones.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Birdsong goes to the changeup: 24.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 14% the rest of the time.
329 two-strike pitches in 2025.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Birdsong's curveball spins at 2,821 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
155 thrown in 2025.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.8% of the contact Birdsong gives up is hit hard, 17th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 650th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Birdsong's 4-seam fastball averages 95.5 mph, and has touched 98.6.
527 thrown, 44.1% of his pitches.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Birdsong throws 39.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.5% with the bases empty.
255 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 939 with the bases empty.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Birdsong throws a strike on the first pitch 54.7% of the time.
298 plate appearances started in 2025.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Birdsong averages 90.6 mph across his arsenal, 66th percentile in the league.
1194 pitches in 2025. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 263rd in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Birdsong lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 32.8% of his offspeed pitches.
527 of his fastballs, 201 of his offspeed pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.8% of Birdsong's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
213 of 1194 located pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Birdsong works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 44.1% of everything he throws.
1194 classified pitches in 2025.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Birdsong projects a .320 average, 69th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 243rd in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Birdsong throws the changeup 23.9% of the time against left-handers and 9.3% against right-handers.
580 pitches to right-handers, 614 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Birdsong releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 47 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1194 tracked release points, averaging 6.3 feet off the ground.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Birdsong puts 50.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.4% when he is ahead.
383 located pitches behind, 302 ahead.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Birdsong releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
1194 tracked pitches in 2025.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.5 mph off the bat against Birdsong, 38th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 38th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 484th in MLB.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Birdsong has thrown 20 slurves this season, 1.7% of his pitches, at 84.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1194 classified pitches in 2025.
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 offspeed pitches: a .393 expected average against them, against .275 on his fastballs.
201 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Birdsong lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 32.8% of his offspeed pitches.
527 of his fastballs, 201 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Birdsong's changeup moves 88.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
201 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Birdsong's 4-seam fastball carries 18.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
527 thrown, averaging 95.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Birdsong's curveball leaves the bat at 96.4 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
155 and 291 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.2 mph separates Birdsong's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 95.5 against 80.3.
527 and 155 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Birdsong's curveball spins at 2,821 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
155 thrown in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Birdsong's 4-seam fastball averages 95.5 mph, and has touched 98.6.
527 thrown, 44.1% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Birdsong works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 44.1% of everything he throws.
1194 classified pitches in 2025.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Birdsong throws the changeup 23.9% of the time against left-handers and 9.3% against right-handers.
580 pitches to right-handers, 614 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Birdsong has thrown 20 slurves this season, 1.7% of his pitches, at 84.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
1194 classified pitches in 2025.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Birdsong works off the plate, with only 42.6% of his pitches in the zone, 14th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 668th in MLB.
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 Birdsong throws a fastball 52% of the time, against 36.8% when he is ahead.
383 pitches behind in the count, 302 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Birdsong goes to the changeup: 24.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 14% the rest of the time.
329 two-strike pitches in 2025.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Birdsong throws a strike on the first pitch 54.7% of the time.
298 plate appearances started in 2025.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Birdsong puts 50.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.4% when he is ahead.
383 located pitches behind, 302 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Birdsong's fastball averages 95.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.7 past his 75th.
239 early fastballs, 48 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Birdsong releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 47 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1194 tracked release points, averaging 6.3 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Birdsong releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
1194 tracked pitches in 2025.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.8% of the contact Birdsong gives up is hit hard, 17th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 650th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Birdsong projects a .320 average, 69th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 243rd in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.5 mph off the bat against Birdsong, 38th percentile.
1194 pitches in 2025. 38th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 484th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Birdsong throws 39.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.5% with the bases empty.
255 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 939 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Birdsong averages 90.6 mph across his arsenal, 66th percentile in the league.
1194 pitches in 2025. 66th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 263rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.8% of Birdsong's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
213 of 1194 located pitches.
Giants
Career team 2024–2025