He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Locke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.97 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
570 located pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Locke's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 90.9 mph.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Locke's sinker averages 90.7 mph, and has touched 93.4.
195 thrown, 34.2% of his pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .439 expected average against them, against .355 on his fastballs.
136 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Locke's stuff spins at 1,802 rpm, 2nd percentile in the league.
571 pitches in 2017. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 692nd in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Locke puts 42.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
422 pitches to right-handed hitters, 149 to left-handed hitters.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Locke averages 86.2 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
571 pitches in 2017. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 580th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Locke releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
570 tracked pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Locke's sinker moves 14.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
195 thrown, averaging 90.7 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Locke works off the plate, with only 41.1% of his pitches in the zone, 21st percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 557th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Locke throws a fastball 64.8% of the time, against 52.5% when he is ahead.
142 pitches behind in the count, 160 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.6 mph off the bat against Locke, 15th percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 597th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Locke works with 4 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Knuckle Curve. The sinker is 34.2% of everything he throws.
570 classified pitches in 2017.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Locke lands 45.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.8% of his breaking balls.
337 of his fastballs, 97 of his breaking balls.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Locke projects a .395 average, 16th percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 589th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Locke puts 52.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.6% when he is ahead.
142 located pitches behind, 160 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.0 mph separates Locke's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 90.9 against 77.9.
142 and 97 of them respectively.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.1% of Locke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
92 of 570 located pitches.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Locke's fastball averages 91.1 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 90.4 past his 75th.
122 early fastballs, 35 late ones.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Locke goes to the changeup: 27.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.4% the rest of the time.
164 two-strike pitches in 2017.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Locke throws the changeup 27.3% of the time against right-handers and 14.2% against left-handers.
422 pitches to right-handers, 148 to left-handers.
He lives on one side of the plate
Locke works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
570 located pitches in 2017.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Locke releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
570 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Locke's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.6 mph, against 88.5 off his sinker.
142 and 195 of them thrown.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Locke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.97 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
570 located pitches in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.1% of Locke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
92 of 570 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Locke works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
570 located pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Locke's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 90.9 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Locke's sinker moves 14.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
195 thrown, averaging 90.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Locke's sinker averages 90.7 mph, and has touched 93.4.
195 thrown, 34.2% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Locke works with 4 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Knuckle Curve. The sinker is 34.2% of everything he throws.
570 classified pitches in 2017.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.0 mph separates Locke's 4-seam fastball from his knuckle curve, 90.9 against 77.9.
142 and 97 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Locke throws the changeup 27.3% of the time against right-handers and 14.2% against left-handers.
422 pitches to right-handers, 148 to left-handers.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Locke's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.6 mph, against 88.5 off his sinker.
142 and 195 of them thrown.
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 .439 expected average against them, against .355 on his fastballs.
136 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Locke lands 45.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.8% of his breaking balls.
337 of his fastballs, 97 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Locke's stuff spins at 1,802 rpm, 2nd percentile in the league.
571 pitches in 2017. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 692nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Locke puts 42.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 36.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
422 pitches to right-handed hitters, 149 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Locke averages 86.2 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
571 pitches in 2017. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 580th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Locke releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
570 tracked pitches in 2017.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Locke's fastball averages 91.1 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 90.4 past his 75th.
122 early fastballs, 35 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Locke releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
570 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Locke works off the plate, with only 41.1% of his pitches in the zone, 21st percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 557th in MLB.
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 Locke throws a fastball 64.8% of the time, against 52.5% when he is ahead.
142 pitches behind in the count, 160 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Locke puts 52.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.6% when he is ahead.
142 located pitches behind, 160 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Locke goes to the changeup: 27.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.4% the rest of the time.
164 two-strike pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.6 mph off the bat against Locke, 15th percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 597th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Locke projects a .395 average, 16th percentile.
571 pitches in 2017. 16th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 589th in MLB.
Pirates
Career team 2011–2016