One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lackey's sinker moves 20.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
356 thrown, averaging 90.7 mph.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Lackey goes to the cutter: 46.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31% the rest of the time.
816 two-strike pitches in 2017.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lackey's curveball leaves the bat at 92.4 mph, against 85.8 off his cutter.
205 and 979 of them thrown.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Lackey's fastball averages 88.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 86.7 past his 75th.
710 early fastballs, 436 late ones.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lackey throws 38.8% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.9% with the bases empty.
570 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 2202 with the bases empty.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lackey's 4-seam fastball carries 15.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
1086 thrown, averaging 91.0 mph.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Lackey's 4-seam fastball averages 91.0 mph, and has touched 94.2.
1086 thrown, 39.4% of his pitches.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Lackey averages 86.6 mph across his arsenal, 20th percentile in the league.
2772 pitches in 2017. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 560th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Lackey lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2754 located pitches in 2017.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .426 expected average against them, against .370 on his fastballs.
205 of his breaking balls thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lackey puts 54.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 34.8% when he is ahead.
710 located pitches behind, 844 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.5 mph separates Lackey's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 91.0 against 77.5.
1086 and 205 of them respectively.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Lackey throws a strike on the first pitch 65.6% of the time.
729 plate appearances started in 2017.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lackey releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 40 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2754 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lackey lands 45.4% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 31.3% of his offspeed pitches.
205 of his breaking balls, 128 of his offspeed pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.7% of Lackey's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
460 of 2754 located pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lackey works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter, Sinker and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 39.4% of everything he throws.
2754 classified pitches in 2017.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 88.6 mph off the bat against Lackey, 31st percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 485th in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Lackey works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2754 located pitches in 2017.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.3% of the contact Lackey gives up is hit hard, 31st percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 489th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Lackey releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2754 tracked pitches in 2017.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Lackey's stuff spins at 2,146 rpm, 35th percentile in the league.
2772 pitches in 2017. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 459th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Lackey projects a .376 average, 32nd percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 482nd in MLB.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Lackey has thrown 128 changeups this season, 4.6% of his pitches, at 83.5 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2754 classified pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lackey's curveball spins at 2,283 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
205 thrown in 2017.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lackey's sinker moves 20.8 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
356 thrown, averaging 90.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lackey's 4-seam fastball carries 15.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
1086 thrown, averaging 91.0 mph.
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 Lackey goes to the cutter: 46.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31% the rest of the time.
816 two-strike pitches in 2017.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lackey puts 54.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 34.8% when he is ahead.
710 located pitches behind, 844 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Lackey throws a strike on the first pitch 65.6% of the time.
729 plate appearances started in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lackey's curveball leaves the bat at 92.4 mph, against 85.8 off his cutter.
205 and 979 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Lackey's 4-seam fastball averages 91.0 mph, and has touched 94.2.
1086 thrown, 39.4% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.5 mph separates Lackey's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 91.0 against 77.5.
1086 and 205 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lackey works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter, Sinker and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 39.4% of everything he throws.
2754 classified pitches in 2017.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Lackey has thrown 128 changeups this season, 4.6% of his pitches, at 83.5 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2754 classified pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lackey's curveball spins at 2,283 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
205 thrown in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Lackey's fastball averages 88.4 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 86.7 past his 75th.
710 early fastballs, 436 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lackey releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 40 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2754 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Lackey releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2754 tracked pitches in 2017.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lackey throws 38.8% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.9% with the bases empty.
570 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 2202 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Lackey averages 86.6 mph across his arsenal, 20th percentile in the league.
2772 pitches in 2017. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 560th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Lackey lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.23 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2754 located pitches in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.7% of Lackey's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
460 of 2754 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Lackey works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
2754 located pitches in 2017.
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 breaking balls: a .426 expected average against them, against .370 on his fastballs.
205 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lackey lands 45.4% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 31.3% of his offspeed pitches.
205 of his breaking balls, 128 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 88.6 mph off the bat against Lackey, 31st percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 485th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.3% of the contact Lackey gives up is hit hard, 31st percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 489th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Lackey projects a .376 average, 32nd percentile.
2772 pitches in 2017. 32nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 482nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Lackey's stuff spins at 2,146 rpm, 35th percentile in the league.
2772 pitches in 2017. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 459th in MLB.
Angels
Career team 2002–2009