One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Arrieta's changeup moves 119.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 87.0 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Arrieta throws a fastball 62.8% of the time, against 37.3% when he is ahead.
497 pitches behind in the count, 469 ahead.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Arrieta puts 50.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
809 pitches to right-handed hitters, 937 to left-handed hitters.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Arrieta lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1689 located pitches in 2021.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Arrieta's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 94.8.
920 thrown, 52.7% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Arrieta releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1689 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Arrieta works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Curveball and Changeup. The sinker is 52.7% of everything he throws.
1746 classified pitches in 2021.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Arrieta's fastball averages 91.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 90.5 past his 75th.
346 early fastballs, 78 late ones.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Arrieta lands 52.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.6% of his offspeed pitches.
920 of his fastballs, 142 of his offspeed pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Arrieta goes to the curveball: 22% of his two-strike pitches, against 13% the rest of the time.
464 two-strike pitches in 2021.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Arrieta projects a .360 average, 19th percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 650th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Arrieta's curveball spins at 2,690 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
269 thrown in 2021.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Arrieta's curveball carries 11.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
269 thrown, averaging 80.4 mph.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Arrieta puts 58.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.3% when he is ahead.
483 located pitches behind, 453 ahead.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Arrieta releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1689 tracked pitches in 2021.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.2 mph off the bat against Arrieta, 20th percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 644th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Arrieta's changeup leaves the bat at 92.2 mph, against 88.0 off his curveball.
142 and 269 of them thrown.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
44.3% of the contact Arrieta gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 638th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Arrieta throws the sinker 62.3% of the time against right-handers and 44.4% against left-handers.
809 pitches to right-handers, 937 to left-handers.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Arrieta throws 44.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47% with the bases empty.
483 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1263 with the bases empty.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.2% of Arrieta's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
307 of 1689 located pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.0 mph separates Arrieta's sinker from his curveball, 91.4 against 80.4.
920 and 269 of them respectively.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Arrieta throws a strike on the first pitch 58.5% of the time.
468 plate appearances started in 2021.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Arrieta's changeup moves 119.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 87.0 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Arrieta's curveball carries 11.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
269 thrown, averaging 80.4 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 Arrieta throws a fastball 62.8% of the time, against 37.3% when he is ahead.
497 pitches behind in the count, 469 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Arrieta goes to the curveball: 22% of his two-strike pitches, against 13% the rest of the time.
464 two-strike pitches in 2021.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Arrieta puts 58.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.3% when he is ahead.
483 located pitches behind, 453 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Arrieta throws a strike on the first pitch 58.5% of the time.
468 plate appearances started in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Arrieta puts 50.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
809 pitches to right-handed hitters, 937 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Arrieta lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.12 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1689 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.2% of Arrieta's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
307 of 1689 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Arrieta's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 94.8.
920 thrown, 52.7% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Arrieta works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Curveball and Changeup. The sinker is 52.7% of everything he throws.
1746 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Arrieta's curveball spins at 2,690 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
269 thrown in 2021.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Arrieta's changeup leaves the bat at 92.2 mph, against 88.0 off his curveball.
142 and 269 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Arrieta throws the sinker 62.3% of the time against right-handers and 44.4% against left-handers.
809 pitches to right-handers, 937 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.0 mph separates Arrieta's sinker from his curveball, 91.4 against 80.4.
920 and 269 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Arrieta releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1689 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Arrieta's fastball averages 91.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 90.5 past his 75th.
346 early fastballs, 78 late ones.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Arrieta releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1689 tracked pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Arrieta lands 52.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 35.6% of his offspeed pitches.
920 of his fastballs, 142 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Arrieta projects a .360 average, 19th percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 650th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.2 mph off the bat against Arrieta, 20th percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 644th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
44.3% of the contact Arrieta gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
1746 pitches in 2021. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 638th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Arrieta throws 44.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 47% with the bases empty.
483 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1263 with the bases empty.
Cubs
Career team 2013–2021