He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Avila puts 32.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
108 pitches to right-handed hitters, 197 to left-handed hitters.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Avila throws a fastball 73.3% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
101 pitches behind in the count, 77 ahead.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Avila's sinker leaves the bat at 92.5 mph, against 80.6 off his slider.
96 and 79 of them thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Avila lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.01 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
305 located pitches in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Avila goes to the slider: 39.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 20.3% the rest of the time.
88 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Avila's 4-seam fastball carries 15.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
78 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Avila's sinker averages 96.4 mph, and has touched 99.4.
96 thrown, 31.5% of his pitches.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Avila averages 92.3 mph across his arsenal, 84th percentile in the league.
305 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 86th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Avila throws a strike on the first pitch 50% of the time.
70 plate appearances started in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Avila lands 47.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29% of his breaking balls.
174 of his fastballs, 107 of his breaking balls.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Avila's stuff spins at 2,480 rpm, 87th percentile in the league.
305 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 71st in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Avila throws the slider 41.7% of the time against right-handers and 17.3% against left-handers.
108 pitches to right-handers, 197 to left-handers.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Avila works off the plate, with only 40.3% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 409th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Avila projects a .365 average, 17th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Avila's sinker moves 12.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 96.4 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Avila releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 42 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
305 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Avila works with 5 pitches: Sinker, Slider, 4-Seam Fastball and Curveball, and a little else. The sinker is 31.5% of everything he throws.
305 classified pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .405 expected average against them, against .360 on his fastballs.
107 of his breaking balls thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Avila puts 55.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.1% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 77 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Avila's slider spins at 2,675 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
79 thrown in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.1 mph off the bat against Avila, 26th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 397th in MLB.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Avila releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
250 tracked pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18% of Avila's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
55 of 305 located pitches.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Avila puts 32.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
108 pitches to right-handed hitters, 197 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 Avila throws a fastball 73.3% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
101 pitches behind in the count, 77 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Avila goes to the slider: 39.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 20.3% the rest of the time.
88 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Avila throws a strike on the first pitch 50% of the time.
70 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Avila puts 55.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 35.1% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 77 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Avila's sinker leaves the bat at 92.5 mph, against 80.6 off his slider.
96 and 79 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Avila's sinker averages 96.4 mph, and has touched 99.4.
96 thrown, 31.5% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Avila throws the slider 41.7% of the time against right-handers and 17.3% against left-handers.
108 pitches to right-handers, 197 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Avila works with 5 pitches: Sinker, Slider, 4-Seam Fastball and Curveball, and a little else. The sinker is 31.5% of everything he throws.
305 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Avila's slider spins at 2,675 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
79 thrown in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Avila lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.01 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
305 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18% of Avila's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
55 of 305 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Avila's 4-seam fastball carries 15.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
78 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Avila's sinker moves 12.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 96.4 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Avila averages 92.3 mph across his arsenal, 84th percentile in the league.
305 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 86th 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
Avila lands 47.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29% of his breaking balls.
174 of his fastballs, 107 of his breaking balls.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .405 expected average against them, against .360 on his fastballs.
107 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Avila's stuff spins at 2,480 rpm, 87th percentile in the league.
305 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 71st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Avila works off the plate, with only 40.3% of his pitches in the zone, 24th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 24th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 409th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Avila projects a .365 average, 17th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 446th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.1 mph off the bat against Avila, 26th percentile.
305 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 397th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Avila releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 42 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
305 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Avila releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
250 tracked pitches in 2026.
Royals
Career team 2025–2026