One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Tanaka's sinker moves 114.2 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
58 thrown, averaging 91.5 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Tanaka's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.9 mph, against 85.2 off his slider.
185 and 290 of them thrown.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .398 expected average against them, against .309 on his offspeed pitches.
243 of his fastballs thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.3 mph separates Tanaka's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 92.3 against 75.0.
185 and 45 of them respectively.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Tanaka's 4-seam fastball carries 16.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
185 thrown, averaging 92.3 mph.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Tanaka puts 57.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.6% when he is ahead.
195 located pitches behind, 227 ahead.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Tanaka lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.15 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
769 located pitches in 2020.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Tanaka releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
769 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Tanaka averages 86.8 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
769 pitches in 2020. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 510th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Tanaka goes to the splitter: 31.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.9% the rest of the time.
239 two-strike pitches in 2020.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Tanaka's stuff spins at 2,087 rpm, 20th percentile in the league.
769 pitches in 2020. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 525th in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Tanaka throws 46.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.9% with the bases empty.
98 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 671 with the bases empty.
Even behind in the count he keeps hitters guessing
Behind in the count Tanaka throws a fastball 25.6% of the time, against 37.9% when he is ahead.
195 pitches behind in the count, 227 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Tanaka works with 5 pitches: Slider, Splitter, 4-Seam Fastball and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 37.7% of everything he throws.
769 classified pitches in 2020.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Tanaka releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
769 tracked pitches in 2020.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Tanaka's 4-seam fastball averages 92.3 mph, and has touched 95.1.
185 thrown, 24.1% of his pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Tanaka's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
133 of 769 located pitches.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Tanaka lands 46.6% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 35.1% of his offspeed pitches.
335 of his breaking balls, 191 of his offspeed pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Tanaka throws the splitter 31.3% of the time against left-handers and 16.7% against right-handers.
341 pitches to right-handers, 428 to left-handers.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Tanaka throws a strike on the first pitch 63.1% of the time.
198 plate appearances started in 2020.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Tanaka is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 61st percentile.
769 pitches in 2020. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 256th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Tanaka's curveball spins at 2,369 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
45 thrown in 2020.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Tanaka's sinker moves 114.2 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
58 thrown, averaging 91.5 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Tanaka's 4-seam fastball carries 16.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
185 thrown, averaging 92.3 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Tanaka's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.9 mph, against 85.2 off his slider.
185 and 290 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.3 mph separates Tanaka's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 92.3 against 75.0.
185 and 45 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Tanaka works with 5 pitches: Slider, Splitter, 4-Seam Fastball and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 37.7% of everything he throws.
769 classified pitches in 2020.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Tanaka's 4-seam fastball averages 92.3 mph, and has touched 95.1.
185 thrown, 24.1% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Tanaka throws the splitter 31.3% of the time against left-handers and 16.7% against right-handers.
341 pitches to right-handers, 428 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Tanaka's curveball spins at 2,369 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
45 thrown in 2020.
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 fastballs: a .398 expected average against them, against .309 on his offspeed pitches.
243 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Tanaka lands 46.6% of his breaking balls in the zone and only 35.1% of his offspeed pitches.
335 of his breaking balls, 191 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Tanaka puts 57.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32.6% when he is ahead.
195 located pitches behind, 227 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Tanaka goes to the splitter: 31.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.9% the rest of the time.
239 two-strike pitches in 2020.
Even behind in the count he keeps hitters guessing
Behind in the count Tanaka throws a fastball 25.6% of the time, against 37.9% when he is ahead.
195 pitches behind in the count, 227 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Tanaka throws a strike on the first pitch 63.1% of the time.
198 plate appearances started in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Tanaka lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.15 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
769 located pitches in 2020.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.3% of Tanaka's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
133 of 769 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Tanaka releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 1.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
769 tracked release points, averaging 5.3 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Tanaka releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
769 tracked pitches in 2020.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Tanaka averages 86.8 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
769 pitches in 2020. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 510th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Tanaka's stuff spins at 2,087 rpm, 20th percentile in the league.
769 pitches in 2020. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 525th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Tanaka throws 46.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 42.9% with the bases empty.
98 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 671 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Tanaka is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 61st percentile.
769 pitches in 2020. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2020, 256th in MLB.
Yankees
Career team 2014 to 2020