One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Velazquez's sinker moves 127.2 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
269 thrown, averaging 91.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Velazquez's sinker leaves the bat at 91.7 mph, against 84.5 off his slider.
269 and 165 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Velazquez's 4-seam fastball carries 15.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
227 thrown, averaging 92.2 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Velazquez throws the 4-seam fastball 37.4% of the time against left-handers and 9.4% against right-handers.
499 pitches to right-handers, 481 to left-handers.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Velazquez's stuff spins at 1,920 rpm, 4th percentile in the league.
981 pitches in 2019. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 720th in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Velazquez throws 37.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.5% with the bases empty.
285 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 696 with the bases empty.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Velazquez lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29.6% of his offspeed pitches.
496 of his fastballs, 294 of his offspeed pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Velazquez goes to the 4-seam fastball: 29.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 20.5% the rest of the time.
278 two-strike pitches in 2019.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Velazquez puts 44.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
499 pitches to right-handed hitters, 482 to left-handed hitters.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Velazquez's sinker averages 91.1 mph, and has touched 93.7.
269 thrown, 27.4% of his pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Velazquez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
151 of 980 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Velazquez puts 53.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.7% when he is ahead.
303 located pitches behind, 264 ahead.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Velazquez works off the plate, with only 41.6% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
981 pitches in 2019. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 540th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Velazquez works with 4 pitches: Changeup, Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider. The changeup is 30% of everything he throws.
980 classified pitches in 2019.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .367 expected average against them, against .322 on his breaking balls.
294 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Velazquez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.35 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
980 located pitches in 2019.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Velazquez releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
980 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Velazquez averages 88.1 mph across his arsenal, 37th percentile in the league.
981 pitches in 2019. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 477th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Velazquez throws a strike on the first pitch 61.1% of the time.
247 plate appearances started in 2019.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.2 mph separates Velazquez's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.2 against 83.0.
227 and 165 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Velazquez has thrown 25 curveballs this season, 2.6% of his pitches, at 76.9 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
980 classified pitches in 2019.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Velazquez's sinker moves 127.2 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
269 thrown, averaging 91.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Velazquez's 4-seam fastball carries 15.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
227 thrown, averaging 92.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Velazquez's sinker leaves the bat at 91.7 mph, against 84.5 off his slider.
269 and 165 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Velazquez throws the 4-seam fastball 37.4% of the time against left-handers and 9.4% against right-handers.
499 pitches to right-handers, 481 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Velazquez's sinker averages 91.1 mph, and has touched 93.7.
269 thrown, 27.4% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Velazquez works with 4 pitches: Changeup, Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball and Slider. The changeup is 30% of everything he throws.
980 classified pitches in 2019.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.2 mph separates Velazquez's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.2 against 83.0.
227 and 165 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Velazquez has thrown 25 curveballs this season, 2.6% of his pitches, at 76.9 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
980 classified pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Velazquez's stuff spins at 1,920 rpm, 4th percentile in the league.
981 pitches in 2019. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 720th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Velazquez throws 37.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 43.5% with the bases empty.
285 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 696 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Velazquez lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29.6% of his offspeed pitches.
496 of his fastballs, 294 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .367 expected average against them, against .322 on his breaking balls.
294 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
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 Velazquez goes to the 4-seam fastball: 29.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 20.5% the rest of the time.
278 two-strike pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Velazquez puts 53.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.7% when he is ahead.
303 located pitches behind, 264 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Velazquez throws a strike on the first pitch 61.1% of the time.
247 plate appearances started in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Velazquez puts 44.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
499 pitches to right-handed hitters, 482 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Velazquez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
151 of 980 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Velazquez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.35 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
980 located pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Velazquez works off the plate, with only 41.6% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
981 pitches in 2019. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 540th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Velazquez releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
980 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Velazquez averages 88.1 mph across his arsenal, 37th percentile in the league.
981 pitches in 2019. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 477th in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2017–2019