He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Walden puts 35.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 55.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
180 pitches to right-handed hitters, 105 to left-handed hitters.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Walden's cutter averages 89.9 mph, and has touched 91.5.
113 thrown, 39.6% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Walden's sinker moves 64.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
73 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Walden lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.91 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
285 located pitches in 2020.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Walden's sinker leaves the bat at 101.5 mph, against 90.8 off his slider.
73 and 62 of them thrown.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 94.1 mph off the bat against Walden, 3rd percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 640th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Walden goes to the slider: 29.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.8% the rest of the time.
77 two-strike pitches in 2020.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
53.8% of the contact Walden gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 633rd in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Walden throws the cutter 56.2% of the time against left-handers and 30% against right-handers.
180 pitches to right-handers, 105 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Walden releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 36 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
285 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Walden lands 46.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29% of his breaking balls.
223 of his fastballs, 62 of his breaking balls.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Walden projects a .436 average, 7th percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 611th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Walden throws a fastball 80.2% of the time, against 69.8% when he is ahead.
91 pitches behind in the count, 63 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .477 expected average against them, against .430 on his fastballs.
62 of his breaking balls thrown.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.5% of Walden's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 285 located pitches.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Walden releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
285 tracked pitches in 2020.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Walden's stuff spins at 2,140 rpm, 28th percentile in the league.
285 pitches in 2020. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 472nd in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Walden works with 4 pitches: Cutter, Sinker, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The cutter is 39.6% of everything he throws.
285 classified pitches in 2020.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Walden averages 89.8 mph across his arsenal, 65th percentile in the league.
285 pitches in 2020. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 232nd in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Walden puts 50.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 38.1% when he is ahead.
91 located pitches behind, 63 ahead.
He lives on one side of the plate
Walden works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
285 located pitches in 2020.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Walden throws a strike on the first pitch 62.5% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2020.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Walden's cutter spins at 2,219 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
113 thrown in 2020.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Walden puts 35.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 55.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
180 pitches to right-handed hitters, 105 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Walden's cutter averages 89.9 mph, and has touched 91.5.
113 thrown, 39.6% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Walden's sinker leaves the bat at 101.5 mph, against 90.8 off his slider.
73 and 62 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Walden throws the cutter 56.2% of the time against left-handers and 30% against right-handers.
180 pitches to right-handers, 105 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Walden works with 4 pitches: Cutter, Sinker, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball. The cutter is 39.6% of everything he throws.
285 classified pitches in 2020.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Walden's cutter spins at 2,219 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
113 thrown in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Walden's sinker moves 64.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
73 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Walden lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.91 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
285 located pitches in 2020.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.5% of Walden's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 285 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Walden works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.7 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
285 located pitches in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 94.1 mph off the bat against Walden, 3rd percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 3rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 640th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
53.8% of the contact Walden gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 633rd in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Walden projects a .436 average, 7th percentile.
285 pitches in 2020. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 611th in MLB.
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 Walden goes to the slider: 29.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 18.8% the rest of the time.
77 two-strike pitches in 2020.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Walden throws a fastball 80.2% of the time, against 69.8% when he is ahead.
91 pitches behind in the count, 63 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Walden puts 50.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 38.1% when he is ahead.
91 located pitches behind, 63 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Walden throws a strike on the first pitch 62.5% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Walden releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 36 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
285 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Walden releases the ball 6.8 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
285 tracked pitches in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Walden lands 46.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29% of his breaking balls.
223 of his fastballs, 62 of his breaking balls.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .477 expected average against them, against .430 on his fastballs.
62 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Walden's stuff spins at 2,140 rpm, 28th percentile in the league.
285 pitches in 2020. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 472nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Walden averages 89.8 mph across his arsenal, 65th percentile in the league.
285 pitches in 2020. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 232nd in MLB.
Red Sox
Career team 2018–2020