One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .363 expected average against them, against .216 on his breaking balls.
305 of his fastballs thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Assad throws a fastball 85.6% of the time, against 59.6% when he is ahead.
125 pitches behind in the count, 109 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Assad throws the sinker 63% of the time against right-handers and 26.1% against left-handers.
184 pitches to right-handers, 234 to left-handers.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Assad's 4-seam fastball carries 16.3 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
55 thrown, averaging 93.1 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Assad lives in the strike zone: 48.1% of his pitches are in it, 91st percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 49th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54% of the contact Assad gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 515th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Assad's sinker moves 14.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
177 thrown, averaging 93.0 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Assad throws 52.3% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.2% with the bases empty.
128 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 290 with the bases empty.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Assad lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
418 located pitches in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Assad puts 45.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 50.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
184 pitches to right-handed hitters, 234 to left-handed hitters.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Assad's cutter leaves the bat at 96.1 mph, against 91.8 off his 4-seam fastball.
73 and 55 of them thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Assad puts 64.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44% when he is ahead.
125 located pitches behind, 109 ahead.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Assad lands 53.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.2% of his breaking balls.
305 of his fastballs, 76 of his breaking balls.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Assad's stuff spins at 2,086 rpm, 17th percentile in the league.
418 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Assad, 17th percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 447th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Assad works with 7 pitches: Sinker, Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball and Changeup, and a little else. The sinker is 42.3% of everything he throws.
418 classified pitches in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Assad goes to the changeup: 14.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 6.8% the rest of the time.
109 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
23.4% of Assad's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
98 of 418 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Assad releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 44 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
418 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
5.2 mph separates Assad's 4-seam fastball from his cutter, 93.1 against 87.9.
55 and 73 of them respectively.
He lives on one side of the plate
Assad works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
418 located pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Assad projects a .345 average, 32nd percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 366th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Assad's sinker averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.6.
177 thrown, 42.3% of his pitches.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Assad releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
315 tracked pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Assad throws a strike on the first pitch 61.1% of the time.
108 plate appearances started in 2026.
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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 .363 expected average against them, against .216 on his breaking balls.
305 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Assad lands 53.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.2% of his breaking balls.
305 of his fastballs, 76 of his breaking balls.
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 Assad throws a fastball 85.6% of the time, against 59.6% when he is ahead.
125 pitches behind in the count, 109 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Assad puts 64.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 44% when he is ahead.
125 located pitches behind, 109 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Assad goes to the changeup: 14.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 6.8% the rest of the time.
109 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Assad throws a strike on the first pitch 61.1% of the time.
108 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Assad throws the sinker 63% of the time against right-handers and 26.1% against left-handers.
184 pitches to right-handers, 234 to left-handers.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Assad's cutter leaves the bat at 96.1 mph, against 91.8 off his 4-seam fastball.
73 and 55 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Assad works with 7 pitches: Sinker, Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball and Changeup, and a little else. The sinker is 42.3% of everything he throws.
418 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
5.2 mph separates Assad's 4-seam fastball from his cutter, 93.1 against 87.9.
55 and 73 of them respectively.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Assad's sinker averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.6.
177 thrown, 42.3% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Assad's 4-seam fastball carries 16.3 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
55 thrown, averaging 93.1 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Assad's sinker moves 14.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
177 thrown, averaging 93.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Assad lives in the strike zone: 48.1% of his pitches are in it, 91st percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 49th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54% of the contact Assad gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 515th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Assad, 17th percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 447th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Assad projects a .345 average, 32nd percentile.
418 pitches in 2026. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 366th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Assad throws 52.3% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.2% with the bases empty.
128 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 290 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Assad lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
418 located pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
23.4% of Assad's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
98 of 418 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Assad works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
418 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Assad puts 45.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 50.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
184 pitches to right-handed hitters, 234 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Assad's stuff spins at 2,086 rpm, 17th percentile in the league.
418 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Assad releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 44 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
418 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Assad releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
315 tracked pitches in 2026.
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