This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Kennedy goes to the splitter: 48.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.8% the rest of the time.
105 two-strike pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball moves 68.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
191 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .361 expected average against them, against .262 on his offspeed pitches.
205 of his fastballs thrown.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kennedy's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 76.5 off his splitter.
191 and 105 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kennedy throws a fastball 80.9% of the time, against 42.5% when he is ahead.
94 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball carries 17.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
191 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kennedy works off the plate, with only 41.4% of his pitches in the zone, 15th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 659th in MLB.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Kennedy's stuff spins at 1,881 rpm, 3rd percentile in the league.
314 pitches in 2023. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 750th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
51.1% of the contact Kennedy gives up is hit hard, 5th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 739th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kennedy works with 2 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter. The 4-seam fastball is 60.8% of everything he throws.
314 classified pitches in 2023.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.3% of Kennedy's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
48 of 314 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kennedy puts 59.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 34.2% when he is ahead.
94 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Kennedy, 13th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 674th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kennedy releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 42 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
314 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kennedy lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
314 located pitches in 2023.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball averages 92.4 mph, and has touched 94.5.
191 thrown, 60.8% of his pitches.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kennedy throws a strike on the first pitch 54.7% of the time.
75 plate appearances started in 2023.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kennedy releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
313 tracked pitches in 2023.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kennedy throws the splitter 38% of the time against left-handers and 29.3% against right-handers.
164 pitches to right-handers, 150 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,361 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
191 thrown in 2023.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kennedy projects a .341 average, 36th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 499th in MLB.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kennedy has thrown 14 cutters this season, 4.5% of his pitches, at 84.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
314 classified pitches in 2023.
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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 Kennedy goes to the splitter: 48.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.8% the rest of the time.
105 two-strike pitches in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Kennedy throws a fastball 80.9% of the time, against 42.5% when he is ahead.
94 pitches behind in the count, 73 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Kennedy puts 59.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 34.2% when he is ahead.
94 located pitches behind, 73 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Kennedy throws a strike on the first pitch 54.7% of the time.
75 plate appearances started in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball moves 68.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
191 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball carries 17.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
191 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
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 .361 expected average against them, against .262 on his offspeed pitches.
205 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Kennedy's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 76.5 off his splitter.
191 and 105 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Kennedy works with 2 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter. The 4-seam fastball is 60.8% of everything he throws.
314 classified pitches in 2023.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball averages 92.4 mph, and has touched 94.5.
191 thrown, 60.8% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Kennedy throws the splitter 38% of the time against left-handers and 29.3% against right-handers.
164 pitches to right-handers, 150 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Kennedy's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,361 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
191 thrown in 2023.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Kennedy has thrown 14 cutters this season, 4.5% of his pitches, at 84.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
314 classified pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Kennedy works off the plate, with only 41.4% of his pitches in the zone, 15th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 659th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Kennedy's stuff spins at 1,881 rpm, 3rd percentile in the league.
314 pitches in 2023. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 750th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
51.1% of the contact Kennedy gives up is hit hard, 5th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 739th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Kennedy, 13th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 674th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Kennedy projects a .341 average, 36th percentile.
314 pitches in 2023. 36th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 499th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.3% of Kennedy's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
48 of 314 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Kennedy lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.29 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
314 located pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Kennedy releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 42 degrees above horizontal and 1.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
314 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Kennedy releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
313 tracked pitches in 2023.
Diamondbacks
Career team 2010–2022