His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Lester's 4-seam fastball averages 88.7 mph, and has touched 92.5.
741 thrown, 31.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lester's sinker moves 90.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
398 thrown, averaging 87.6 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lester throws 34.4% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.9% with the bases empty.
573 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1807 with the bases empty.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Lester averages 85.2 mph across his arsenal, 10th percentile in the league.
2380 pitches in 2021. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 724th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Lester works off the plate, with only 40.8% of his pitches in the zone, 11th percentile.
2380 pitches in 2021. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 713th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lester's sinker leaves the bat at 88.8 mph, against 81.7 off his curveball.
398 and 201 of them thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Lester lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.09 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2380 located pitches in 2021.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Lester puts 39.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 46% of his pitches to left-handers.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 to left-handed hitters.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lester releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 30 degrees above horizontal and 2.3 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
2380 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lester puts 56.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 30.7% when he is ahead.
728 located pitches behind, 574 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lester's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
741 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.0 mph separates Lester's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 88.7 against 72.6.
741 and 201 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Lester throws a fastball 80.4% of the time, against 63.2% when he is ahead.
728 pitches behind in the count, 574 ahead.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lester lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26.9% of his breaking balls.
1747 of his fastballs, 201 of his breaking balls.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.2% of Lester's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
361 of 2380 located pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .333 expected average against them, against .276 on his breaking balls.
1747 of his fastballs thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Lester throws the cutter 43.2% of the time against left-handers and 21% against right-handers.
1889 pitches to right-handers, 491 to left-handers.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Lester goes to the cutter: 31.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 23.5% the rest of the time.
632 two-strike pitches in 2021.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lester works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 31.1% of everything he throws.
2380 classified pitches in 2021.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Lester's stuff spins at 2,127 rpm, 29th percentile in the league.
2380 pitches in 2021. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 570th in MLB.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Lester's fastball averages 87.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 87.3 past his 75th.
529 early fastballs, 230 late ones.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Lester is weak: 87.2 mph off the bat on average, 67th percentile.
2380 pitches in 2021. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 264th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Lester throws a strike on the first pitch 56.9% of the time.
626 plate appearances started in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lester's curveball spins at 2,437 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
201 thrown in 2021.
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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
Lester's 4-seam fastball averages 88.7 mph, and has touched 92.5.
741 thrown, 31.1% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lester's sinker leaves the bat at 88.8 mph, against 81.7 off his curveball.
398 and 201 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.0 mph separates Lester's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 88.7 against 72.6.
741 and 201 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Lester throws the cutter 43.2% of the time against left-handers and 21% against right-handers.
1889 pitches to right-handers, 491 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lester works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 31.1% of everything he throws.
2380 classified pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lester's curveball spins at 2,437 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
201 thrown in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lester's sinker moves 90.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
398 thrown, averaging 87.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lester's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
741 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lester throws 34.4% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.9% with the bases empty.
573 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1807 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
Lester averages 85.2 mph across his arsenal, 10th percentile in the league.
2380 pitches in 2021. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 724th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Lester works off the plate, with only 40.8% of his pitches in the zone, 11th percentile.
2380 pitches in 2021. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 713th 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
Lester lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.09 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2380 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.2% of Lester's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
361 of 2380 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Lester puts 39.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 46% of his pitches to left-handers.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lester releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 30 degrees above horizontal and 2.3 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
2380 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Lester's fastball averages 87.9 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 87.3 past his 75th.
529 early fastballs, 230 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lester puts 56.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 30.7% when he is ahead.
728 located pitches behind, 574 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Lester throws a fastball 80.4% of the time, against 63.2% when he is ahead.
728 pitches behind in the count, 574 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Lester goes to the cutter: 31.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 23.5% the rest of the time.
632 two-strike pitches in 2021.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Lester throws a strike on the first pitch 56.9% of the time.
626 plate appearances started in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lester lands 45.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26.9% of his breaking balls.
1747 of his fastballs, 201 of his breaking balls.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .333 expected average against them, against .276 on his breaking balls.
1747 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Lester's stuff spins at 2,127 rpm, 29th percentile in the league.
2380 pitches in 2021. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 570th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Lester is weak: 87.2 mph off the bat on average, 67th percentile.
2380 pitches in 2021. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 264th in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2006–2014