His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Samardzija's cutter averages 87.5 mph, and has touched 91.9.
65 thrown, 21.8% of his pitches.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Samardzija puts 52.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
146 pitches to right-handed hitters, 152 to left-handed hitters.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .459 expected average against them, against .253 on his breaking balls.
54 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Samardzija's sinker moves 126.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
47 thrown, averaging 91.1 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Samardzija releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 28 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
298 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Samardzija's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 77.1 off his slider.
56 and 71 of them thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Samardzija puts 65.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.2% when he is ahead.
85 located pitches behind, 78 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Samardzija's 4-seam fastball carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
56 thrown, averaging 90.3 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Samardzija lives in the strike zone: 47.7% of his pitches are in it, 84th percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 104th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Samardzija's stuff spins at 2,510 rpm, 89th percentile in the league.
298 pitches in 2020. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 71st in MLB.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Samardzija averages 86.7 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
298 pitches in 2020. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 515th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Samardzija goes to the splitter: 25.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 15.3% the rest of the time.
83 two-strike pitches in 2020.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Samardzija works with 5 pitches: Slider, Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter, and a little else. The slider is 23.8% of everything he throws.
298 classified pitches in 2020.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Samardzija throws the splitter 26.3% of the time against left-handers and 9.6% against right-handers.
146 pitches to right-handers, 152 to left-handers.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.8% of the contact Samardzija gives up is hit hard, 70th percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 196th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Samardzija's cutter spins at 2,605 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
65 thrown in 2020.
Even behind in the count he keeps hitters guessing
Behind in the count Samardzija throws a fastball 50.6% of the time, against 56.4% when he is ahead.
85 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Samardzija projects a .337 average, 61st percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 256th 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
Samardzija's cutter averages 87.5 mph, and has touched 91.9.
65 thrown, 21.8% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Samardzija's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 77.1 off his slider.
56 and 71 of them thrown.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Samardzija works with 5 pitches: Slider, Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball and Splitter, and a little else. The slider is 23.8% of everything he throws.
298 classified pitches in 2020.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Samardzija throws the splitter 26.3% of the time against left-handers and 9.6% against right-handers.
146 pitches to right-handers, 152 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Samardzija's cutter spins at 2,605 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
65 thrown in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Samardzija puts 52.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.8% of his pitches to left-handers.
146 pitches to right-handed hitters, 152 to left-handed hitters.
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 .459 expected average against them, against .253 on his breaking balls.
54 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Samardzija's sinker moves 126.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
47 thrown, averaging 91.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Samardzija's 4-seam fastball carries 15.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
56 thrown, averaging 90.3 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Samardzija releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 28 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
298 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Samardzija puts 65.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.2% when he is ahead.
85 located pitches behind, 78 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Samardzija goes to the splitter: 25.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 15.3% the rest of the time.
83 two-strike pitches in 2020.
Even behind in the count he keeps hitters guessing
Behind in the count Samardzija throws a fastball 50.6% of the time, against 56.4% when he is ahead.
85 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Samardzija lives in the strike zone: 47.7% of his pitches are in it, 84th percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 104th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Samardzija's stuff spins at 2,510 rpm, 89th percentile in the league.
298 pitches in 2020. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 71st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Samardzija averages 86.7 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
298 pitches in 2020. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 515th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.8% of the contact Samardzija gives up is hit hard, 70th percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 70th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 196th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Samardzija projects a .337 average, 61st percentile.
298 pitches in 2020. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 256th in MLB.
Cubs
Career team 2008–2014