When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cessa throws a fastball 52.3% of the time, against 25.2% when he is ahead.
128 pitches behind in the count, 135 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cessa's sinker moves 101.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 91.9 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Cessa throws 38% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 48.2% with the bases empty.
129 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 334 with the bases empty.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cessa lands 61.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.2% of his offspeed pitches.
186 of his fastballs, 103 of his offspeed pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cessa lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.99 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
463 located pitches in 2023.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cessa's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.6 mph, against 87.6 off his slider.
105 and 174 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cessa goes to the slider: 49% of his two-strike pitches, against 34.3% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2023.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Cessa projects a .419 average, 3rd percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 749th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Cessa releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
463 tracked pitches in 2023.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cessa averages 86.7 mph across his arsenal, 17th percentile in the league.
463 pitches in 2023. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 644th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Cessa puts 48% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
244 pitches to right-handed hitters, 219 to left-handed hitters.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cessa releases the ball from over the top, about 68 degrees above horizontal and 0.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
463 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cessa's 4-seam fastball carries 13.3 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 91.9 mph.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.1 mph off the bat against Cessa, 10th percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 695th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cessa's 4-seam fastball averages 91.9 mph, and has touched 93.4.
105 thrown, 22.7% of his pitches.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.3% of the contact Cessa gives up is hit hard, 13th percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 675th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cessa throws the sinker 25.4% of the time against right-handers and 8.7% against left-handers.
244 pitches to right-handers, 219 to left-handers.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .452 expected average against them, against .407 on his breaking balls.
103 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cessa throws a strike on the first pitch 64.6% of the time.
130 plate appearances started in 2023.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cessa works with 4 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker. The slider is 37.6% of everything he throws.
463 classified pitches in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cessa puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43.7% when he is ahead.
128 located pitches behind, 135 ahead.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.4% of Cessa's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
85 of 463 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cessa's slider spins at 2,458 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
174 thrown in 2023.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cessa's stuff spins at 2,178 rpm, 37th percentile in the league.
463 pitches in 2023. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 488th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.7 mph separates Cessa's sinker from his slider, 91.9 against 81.2.
81 and 174 of them respectively.
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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 Cessa throws a fastball 52.3% of the time, against 25.2% when he is ahead.
128 pitches behind in the count, 135 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cessa goes to the slider: 49% of his two-strike pitches, against 34.3% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cessa throws a strike on the first pitch 64.6% of the time.
130 plate appearances started in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cessa puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43.7% when he is ahead.
128 located pitches behind, 135 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cessa's sinker moves 101.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
81 thrown, averaging 91.9 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cessa's 4-seam fastball carries 13.3 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 91.9 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Cessa throws 38% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 48.2% with the bases empty.
129 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 334 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cessa lands 61.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.2% of his offspeed pitches.
186 of his fastballs, 103 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his offspeed pitches: a .452 expected average against them, against .407 on his breaking balls.
103 of his offspeed pitches thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cessa lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.99 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
463 located pitches in 2023.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.4% of Cessa's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
85 of 463 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cessa's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.6 mph, against 87.6 off his slider.
105 and 174 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cessa's 4-seam fastball averages 91.9 mph, and has touched 93.4.
105 thrown, 22.7% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cessa throws the sinker 25.4% of the time against right-handers and 8.7% against left-handers.
244 pitches to right-handers, 219 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cessa works with 4 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup and Sinker. The slider is 37.6% of everything he throws.
463 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cessa's slider spins at 2,458 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
174 thrown in 2023.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.7 mph separates Cessa's sinker from his slider, 91.9 against 81.2.
81 and 174 of them respectively.
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 Cessa projects a .419 average, 3rd percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 749th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.1 mph off the bat against Cessa, 10th percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 695th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.3% of the contact Cessa gives up is hit hard, 13th percentile.
463 pitches in 2023. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 675th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Cessa releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
463 tracked pitches in 2023.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cessa releases the ball from over the top, about 68 degrees above horizontal and 0.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
463 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cessa averages 86.7 mph across his arsenal, 17th percentile in the league.
463 pitches in 2023. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 644th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Cessa puts 48% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.5% of his pitches to left-handers.
244 pitches to right-handed hitters, 219 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Cessa's stuff spins at 2,178 rpm, 37th percentile in the league.
463 pitches in 2023. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 488th in MLB.
Yankees
Career team 2016–2021