His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Vargas's 4-seam fastball averages 84.2 mph, and has touched 87.7.
691 thrown, 27.6% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Vargas's changeup moves 127.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
879 thrown, averaging 78.7 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Vargas averages 80.2 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
2505 pitches in 2019. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 738th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Vargas releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 24 degrees above horizontal and 2.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
2505 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Vargas puts 37.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
1961 pitches to right-handed hitters, 544 to left-handed hitters.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Vargas lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.03 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2505 located pitches in 2019.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Vargas works off the plate, with only 39.2% of his pitches in the zone, 13th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 655th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Vargas's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
691 thrown, averaging 84.2 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Vargas goes to the changeup: 43.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 32% the rest of the time.
652 two-strike pitches in 2019.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Vargas's sinker leaves the bat at 90.4 mph, against 85.1 off his changeup.
555 and 879 of them thrown.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.7% of Vargas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
342 of 2505 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Vargas puts 52.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 29.8% when he is ahead.
790 located pitches behind, 607 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .353 expected average against them, against .299 on his breaking balls.
1246 of his fastballs thrown.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Vargas releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2505 tracked pitches in 2019.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.6 mph separates Vargas's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 84.2 against 70.6.
691 and 380 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Vargas throws a fastball 52.8% of the time, against 40.2% when he is ahead.
790 pitches behind in the count, 607 ahead.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Vargas is weak: 87.9 mph off the bat on average, 75th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 189th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Vargas works with 4 pitches: Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Knuckle Curve. The changeup is 35.1% of everything he throws.
2505 classified pitches in 2019.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Vargas projects a .344 average, 74th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 193rd in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Vargas throws the changeup 38.8% of the time against right-handers and 21.7% against left-handers.
1961 pitches to right-handers, 544 to left-handers.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Vargas's fastball averages 84.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 83.7 past his 75th.
416 early fastballs, 166 late ones.
He lives on one side of the plate
Vargas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2505 located pitches in 2019.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Vargas lands 43% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.2% of his offspeed pitches.
1246 of his fastballs, 879 of his offspeed pitches.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Vargas throws a strike on the first pitch 58.1% of the time.
647 plate appearances started in 2019.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Vargas's knuckle curve spins at 2,433 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
380 thrown in 2019.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 37.8% of the contact Vargas gives up is hit hard, 65th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 264th in MLB.
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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
Vargas's 4-seam fastball averages 84.2 mph, and has touched 87.7.
691 thrown, 27.6% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Vargas's sinker leaves the bat at 90.4 mph, against 85.1 off his changeup.
555 and 879 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.6 mph separates Vargas's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 84.2 against 70.6.
691 and 380 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Vargas works with 4 pitches: Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Knuckle Curve. The changeup is 35.1% of everything he throws.
2505 classified pitches in 2019.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Vargas throws the changeup 38.8% of the time against right-handers and 21.7% against left-handers.
1961 pitches to right-handers, 544 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Vargas's knuckle curve spins at 2,433 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
380 thrown in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Vargas's changeup moves 127.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
879 thrown, averaging 78.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Vargas's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
691 thrown, averaging 84.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Vargas averages 80.2 mph across his arsenal, 2nd percentile in the league.
2505 pitches in 2019. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 738th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Vargas releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 24 degrees above horizontal and 2.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
2505 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Vargas releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2505 tracked pitches in 2019.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Vargas's fastball averages 84.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 83.7 past his 75th.
416 early fastballs, 166 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Vargas puts 37.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
1961 pitches to right-handed hitters, 544 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
Vargas lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.03 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2505 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.7% of Vargas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
342 of 2505 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Vargas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2505 located pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Vargas works off the plate, with only 39.2% of his pitches in the zone, 13th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 655th in MLB.
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 Vargas goes to the changeup: 43.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 32% the rest of the time.
652 two-strike pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Vargas puts 52.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 29.8% when he is ahead.
790 located pitches behind, 607 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Vargas throws a fastball 52.8% of the time, against 40.2% when he is ahead.
790 pitches behind in the count, 607 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Vargas throws a strike on the first pitch 58.1% of the time.
647 plate appearances started in 2019.
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 .353 expected average against them, against .299 on his breaking balls.
1246 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Vargas lands 43% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.2% of his offspeed pitches.
1246 of his fastballs, 879 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Vargas is weak: 87.9 mph off the bat on average, 75th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 189th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Vargas projects a .344 average, 74th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 193rd in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 37.8% of the contact Vargas gives up is hit hard, 65th percentile.
2505 pitches in 2019. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 264th in MLB.
Mariners
Career team 2009–2012