He cannot find the zone often enough
Brubaker works off the plate, with only 36.6% of his pitches in the zone, 7th percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 501st in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Brubaker's sinker moves 16.2 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
166 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Brubaker throws the slider 41% of the time against right-handers and 11.9% against left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handers, 135 to left-handers.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Brubaker puts 39.2% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 32.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handed hitters, 135 to left-handed hitters.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Brubaker goes to the slider: 38.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 26.2% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Brubaker releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
285 tracked pitches in 2026.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 27.6% of the contact Brubaker gives up is hit hard, 92nd percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 46th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Brubaker lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
352 located pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Brubaker throws a fastball 61% of the time, against 45.2% when he is ahead.
100 pitches behind in the count, 104 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Brubaker works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The sinker is 47.2% of everything he throws.
352 classified pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Brubaker throws a strike on the first pitch 67.1% of the time.
85 plate appearances started in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Brubaker projects a .369 average, 15th percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 459th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Brubaker releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 40 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
352 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.5% of Brubaker's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
58 of 352 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Brubaker's slider spins at 2,578 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
105 thrown in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .399 expected average against them, against .367 on his fastballs.
133 of his breaking balls thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Brubaker puts 49% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.7% when he is ahead.
100 located pitches behind, 104 ahead.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Brubaker throws 34.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 37.5% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 251 with the bases empty.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Brubaker's sinker carries 9.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
166 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Brubaker averages 90.3 mph across his arsenal, 61st percentile in the league.
352 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 208th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Brubaker is weak: 87.0 mph off the bat on average, 71st percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 155th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Brubaker's stuff spins at 2,339 rpm, 64th percentile in the league.
352 pitches in 2026. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 195th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Brubaker's sinker averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.3.
166 thrown, 47.2% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.6 mph separates Brubaker's sinker from his slider, 93.8 against 87.2.
166 and 105 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Brubaker has thrown 17 4-seam fastballs this season, 4.8% of his pitches, at 93.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
352 classified pitches in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Brubaker works off the plate, with only 36.6% of his pitches in the zone, 7th percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 501st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Brubaker's sinker moves 16.2 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
166 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Brubaker's sinker carries 9.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
166 thrown, averaging 93.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Brubaker throws the slider 41% of the time against right-handers and 11.9% against left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handers, 135 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Brubaker works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The sinker is 47.2% of everything he throws.
352 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Brubaker's slider spins at 2,578 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
105 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Brubaker's sinker averages 93.8 mph, and has touched 96.3.
166 thrown, 47.2% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
6.6 mph separates Brubaker's sinker from his slider, 93.8 against 87.2.
166 and 105 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Brubaker has thrown 17 4-seam fastballs this season, 4.8% of his pitches, at 93.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
352 classified pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Brubaker puts 39.2% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 32.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
217 pitches to right-handed hitters, 135 to left-handed hitters.
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 Brubaker goes to the slider: 38.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 26.2% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Brubaker throws a fastball 61% of the time, against 45.2% when he is ahead.
100 pitches behind in the count, 104 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Brubaker throws a strike on the first pitch 67.1% of the time.
85 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Brubaker puts 49% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.7% when he is ahead.
100 located pitches behind, 104 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Brubaker releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
285 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Brubaker releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 40 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
352 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 27.6% of the contact Brubaker gives up is hit hard, 92nd percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 46th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Brubaker projects a .369 average, 15th percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 459th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Brubaker is weak: 87.0 mph off the bat on average, 71st percentile.
352 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 155th 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
Brubaker lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
352 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.5% of Brubaker's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
58 of 352 located pitches.
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 .399 expected average against them, against .367 on his fastballs.
133 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Brubaker throws 34.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 37.5% with the bases empty.
101 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 251 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Brubaker averages 90.3 mph across his arsenal, 61st percentile in the league.
352 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 208th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Brubaker's stuff spins at 2,339 rpm, 64th percentile in the league.
352 pitches in 2026. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 195th in MLB.
Pirates
Career team 2020–2022