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 home runs are what is undoing his season
Lester has given up 25 tracked home runs, 17 of them to left field, the longest 452 feet.
25 tracked home runs allowed in 2021.
Both sides hit him about the same
39.3% of the contact right-handers make against Lester is hit hard, against 29.8% of what left-handers make.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 to left-handed hitters.
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.
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 shape of the contact off him says how he gets outs
45.6% of the contact against Lester is on the ground and 30% of it is in the air.
476 tracked batted balls allowed.
He handles both hands about the same
Right-handed hitters project to a .336 average against Lester and left-handers to .299.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 to left-handed hitters.
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.
Hitters tend to hit him to one part of the field
47.7% of the balls put in play against Lester have gone to centre field.
228 of 478 located batted balls allowed.
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.
One side of the plate does most of the damage against him
Right-handed hitters average 87.6 mph off the bat against Lester and left-handers 85.8.
374 tracked batted balls from right-handers, 104 from left-handers.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
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 numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The home runs are what is undoing his season
Lester has given up 25 tracked home runs, 17 of them to left field, the longest 452 feet.
25 tracked home runs allowed in 2021.
The shape of the contact off him says how he gets outs
45.6% of the contact against Lester is on the ground and 30% of it is in the air.
476 tracked batted balls allowed.
Hitters tend to hit him to one part of the field
47.7% of the balls put in play against Lester have gone to centre field.
228 of 478 located batted balls allowed.
One side of the plate does most of the damage against him
Right-handed hitters average 87.6 mph off the bat against Lester and left-handers 85.8.
374 tracked batted balls from right-handers, 104 from left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
Both sides hit him about the same
39.3% of the contact right-handers make against Lester is hit hard, against 29.8% of what left-handers make.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 to left-handed hitters.
He handles both hands about the same
Right-handed hitters project to a .336 average against Lester and left-handers to .299.
1889 pitches to right-handed hitters, 491 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
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
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 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.
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.
Red Sox
Career team 2006–2014