He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Alvarez puts 34.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 47.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handed hitters, 119 to left-handed hitters.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Alvarez throws a fastball 67.5% of the time, against 40.3% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 77 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Alvarez's sinker moves 117.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
136 thrown, averaging 90.8 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Alvarez throws the changeup 48.1% of the time against right-handers and 18.5% against left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handers, 119 to left-handers.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Alvarez works off the plate, with only 40.3% of his pitches in the zone, 14th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 668th in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Alvarez works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 4.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
273 located pitches in 2022.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Alvarez's sinker averages 90.8 mph, and has touched 93.3.
136 thrown, 49.8% of his pitches.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Alvarez's stuff spins at 1,916 rpm, 5th percentile in the league.
273 pitches in 2022. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 733rd in MLB.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Alvarez averages 86.5 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
273 pitches in 2022. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 635th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Alvarez projects a .380 average, 7th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 723rd in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Alvarez lands 46% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26% of his offspeed pitches.
150 of his fastballs, 96 of his offspeed pitches.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Alvarez throws a strike on the first pitch 52% of the time.
75 plate appearances started in 2022.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Alvarez throws 43.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 38% with the bases empty.
110 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 163 with the bases empty.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.9% of Alvarez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
38 of 273 located pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Alvarez is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 69th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Alvarez releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 39 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
273 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Alvarez works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 49.8% of everything he throws.
273 classified pitches in 2022.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .397 expected average against them, against .345 on his fastballs.
96 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Alvarez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
273 located pitches in 2022.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Alvarez goes to the changeup: 40.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 33% the rest of the time.
76 two-strike pitches in 2022.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 32.7% of the contact Alvarez gives up is hit hard, 85th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 114th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Alvarez's sinker carries 9.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
136 thrown, averaging 90.8 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Alvarez's sinker from his changeup, 90.8 against 81.5.
136 and 96 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Alvarez puts 34.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 47.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handed hitters, 119 to left-handed hitters.
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 Alvarez throws a fastball 67.5% of the time, against 40.3% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 77 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Alvarez throws a strike on the first pitch 52% of the time.
75 plate appearances started in 2022.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Alvarez goes to the changeup: 40.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 33% the rest of the time.
76 two-strike pitches in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Alvarez's sinker moves 117.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
136 thrown, averaging 90.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Alvarez's sinker carries 9.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
136 thrown, averaging 90.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Alvarez throws the changeup 48.1% of the time against right-handers and 18.5% against left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handers, 119 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Alvarez's sinker averages 90.8 mph, and has touched 93.3.
136 thrown, 49.8% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Alvarez works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 49.8% of everything he throws.
273 classified pitches in 2022.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Alvarez's sinker from his changeup, 90.8 against 81.5.
136 and 96 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Alvarez works off the plate, with only 40.3% of his pitches in the zone, 14th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 14th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 668th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Alvarez works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 4.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
273 located pitches in 2022.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.9% of Alvarez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
38 of 273 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Alvarez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
273 located pitches in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Alvarez's stuff spins at 1,916 rpm, 5th percentile in the league.
273 pitches in 2022. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 733rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Alvarez averages 86.5 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
273 pitches in 2022. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 635th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
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The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Alvarez projects a .380 average, 7th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 723rd in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Alvarez is weak: 85.4 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 69th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 32.7% of the contact Alvarez gives up is hit hard, 85th percentile.
273 pitches in 2022. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 114th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Alvarez lands 46% of his fastballs in the zone and only 26% of his offspeed pitches.
150 of his fastballs, 96 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .397 expected average against them, against .345 on his fastballs.
96 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Alvarez throws 43.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 38% with the bases empty.
110 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 163 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Alvarez releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 39 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
273 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
Angels
Career team 2014–2018