His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Iwakuma's cutter averages 79.6 mph, and has touched 84.7.
155 thrown, 34.2% of his pitches.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Iwakuma averages 81.4 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
471 pitches in 2017. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 691st in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Iwakuma releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 24 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
453 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Iwakuma lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.85 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
453 located pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Iwakuma's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
83 thrown, averaging 85.1 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Iwakuma throws a fastball 83.1% of the time, against 64.6% when he is ahead.
136 pitches behind in the count, 130 ahead.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Iwakuma works off the plate, with only 40.2% of his pitches in the zone, 16th percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 589th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
49.4% of the contact Iwakuma gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 675th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .416 expected average against them, against .344 on his fastballs.
88 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Iwakuma puts 42.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
271 pitches to right-handed hitters, 200 to left-handed hitters.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Iwakuma's 4-seam fastball carries 14.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 85.6 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Iwakuma throws 45% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 39.4% with the bases empty.
60 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 411 with the bases empty.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Iwakuma's stuff spins at 2,006 rpm, 12th percentile in the league.
471 pitches in 2017. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 618th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.9% of Iwakuma's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
63 of 453 located pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Iwakuma works with 5 pitches: Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Sinker, and a little else. The cutter is 34.2% of everything he throws.
453 classified pitches in 2017.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Iwakuma's sinker leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 87.6 off his cutter.
83 and 155 of them thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Iwakuma puts 48.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.8% when he is ahead.
136 located pitches behind, 130 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.1 mph off the bat against Iwakuma, 22nd percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 546th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Iwakuma releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
453 tracked pitches in 2017.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Iwakuma goes to the splitter: 22.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.4% the rest of the time.
116 two-strike pitches in 2017.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Iwakuma throws the 4-seam fastball 25.5% of the time against right-handers and 16.2% against left-handers.
255 pitches to right-handers, 198 to left-handers.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Iwakuma lands 43% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.2% of his offspeed pitches.
335 of his fastballs, 88 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.0 mph separates Iwakuma's 4-seam fastball from his cutter, 85.6 against 79.6.
97 and 155 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Iwakuma's cutter averages 79.6 mph, and has touched 84.7.
155 thrown, 34.2% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Iwakuma works with 5 pitches: Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball, Splitter and Sinker, and a little else. The cutter is 34.2% of everything he throws.
453 classified pitches in 2017.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Iwakuma's sinker leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 87.6 off his cutter.
83 and 155 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Iwakuma throws the 4-seam fastball 25.5% of the time against right-handers and 16.2% against left-handers.
255 pitches to right-handers, 198 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.0 mph separates Iwakuma's 4-seam fastball from his cutter, 85.6 against 79.6.
97 and 155 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Iwakuma averages 81.4 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
471 pitches in 2017. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 691st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Iwakuma releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 24 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
453 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Iwakuma releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
453 tracked pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Iwakuma lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.85 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
453 located pitches in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.9% of Iwakuma's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
63 of 453 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Iwakuma's sinker moves 16.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
83 thrown, averaging 85.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Iwakuma's 4-seam fastball carries 14.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 85.6 mph.
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 Iwakuma throws a fastball 83.1% of the time, against 64.6% when he is ahead.
136 pitches behind in the count, 130 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Iwakuma puts 48.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.8% when he is ahead.
136 located pitches behind, 130 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Iwakuma goes to the splitter: 22.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.4% the rest of the time.
116 two-strike pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Iwakuma works off the plate, with only 40.2% of his pitches in the zone, 16th percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 589th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
49.4% of the contact Iwakuma gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 675th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.1 mph off the bat against Iwakuma, 22nd percentile.
471 pitches in 2017. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 546th 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 offspeed pitches: a .416 expected average against them, against .344 on his fastballs.
88 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Iwakuma lands 43% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.2% of his offspeed pitches.
335 of his fastballs, 88 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Iwakuma puts 42.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
271 pitches to right-handed hitters, 200 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Iwakuma throws 45% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 39.4% with the bases empty.
60 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 411 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Iwakuma's stuff spins at 2,006 rpm, 12th percentile in the league.
471 pitches in 2017. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 618th in MLB.
Mariners
Career team 2012–2017