His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cain's 4-seam fastball averages 89.3 mph, and has touched 92.3.
728 thrown, 35.3% of his pitches.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cain averages 84.5 mph across his arsenal, 7th percentile in the league.
2083 pitches in 2017. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 653rd in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Cain releases the ball 5.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2066 tracked pitches in 2017.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cain's 4-seam fastball carries 14.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
728 thrown, averaging 89.3 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.8 mph separates Cain's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 89.3 against 74.5.
728 and 477 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cain lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2066 located pitches in 2017.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Cain throws a fastball 62.7% of the time, against 49.7% when he is ahead.
560 pitches behind in the count, 582 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cain's sinker moves 13.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
411 thrown, averaging 89.0 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .408 expected average against them, against .350 on his breaking balls.
1139 of his fastballs thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cain releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 35 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2066 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Cain's stuff spins at 2,368 rpm, 83rd percentile in the league.
2083 pitches in 2017. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 121st in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cain's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.3 mph, against 86.0 off his curveball.
728 and 477 of them thrown.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Cain projects a .382 average, 25th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 527th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cain puts 51.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.1% when he is ahead.
561 located pitches behind, 585 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cain's curveball spins at 2,657 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
477 thrown in 2017.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cain lands 48.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.9% of his offspeed pitches.
1139 of his fastballs, 225 of his offspeed pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cain goes to the curveball: 27.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.7% the rest of the time.
544 two-strike pitches in 2017.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cain works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball, Sinker and Changeup, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.3% of everything he throws.
2063 classified pitches in 2017.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 88.8 mph off the bat against Cain, 27th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 513th in MLB.
He is throwing as hard in the seventh as in the first
Cain's fastball averages 89.0 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 89.5 past his 75th.
372 early fastballs, 148 late ones.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cain throws a strike on the first pitch 63.4% of the time.
566 plate appearances started in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.2% of Cain's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
377 of 2066 located pitches.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.5% of the contact Cain gives up is hit hard, 30th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 495th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cain throws the changeup 18.1% of the time against left-handers and 5% against right-handers.
1133 pitches to right-handers, 930 to left-handers.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Cain's 4-seam fastball averages 89.3 mph, and has touched 92.3.
728 thrown, 35.3% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.8 mph separates Cain's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 89.3 against 74.5.
728 and 477 of them respectively.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Cain's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 90.3 mph, against 86.0 off his curveball.
728 and 477 of them thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Cain's curveball spins at 2,657 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
477 thrown in 2017.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Cain works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball, Sinker and Changeup, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.3% of everything he throws.
2063 classified pitches in 2017.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Cain throws the changeup 18.1% of the time against left-handers and 5% against right-handers.
1133 pitches to right-handers, 930 to left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Cain averages 84.5 mph across his arsenal, 7th percentile in the league.
2083 pitches in 2017. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 653rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Cain releases the ball 5.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2066 tracked pitches in 2017.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Cain releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 35 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2066 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He is throwing as hard in the seventh as in the first
Cain's fastball averages 89.0 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 89.5 past his 75th.
372 early fastballs, 148 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Cain's 4-seam fastball carries 14.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
728 thrown, averaging 89.3 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Cain's sinker moves 13.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
411 thrown, averaging 89.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Cain lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2066 located pitches in 2017.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.2% of Cain's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
377 of 2066 located pitches.
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 Cain throws a fastball 62.7% of the time, against 49.7% when he is ahead.
560 pitches behind in the count, 582 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Cain puts 51.5% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.1% when he is ahead.
561 located pitches behind, 585 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Cain goes to the curveball: 27.2% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.7% the rest of the time.
544 two-strike pitches in 2017.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Cain throws a strike on the first pitch 63.4% of the time.
566 plate appearances started in 2017.
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 .408 expected average against them, against .350 on his breaking balls.
1139 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Cain lands 48.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.9% of his offspeed pitches.
1139 of his fastballs, 225 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Cain's stuff spins at 2,368 rpm, 83rd percentile in the league.
2083 pitches in 2017. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 121st 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 Cain projects a .382 average, 25th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 527th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 88.8 mph off the bat against Cain, 27th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 513th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
40.5% of the contact Cain gives up is hit hard, 30th percentile.
2083 pitches in 2017. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2017, 495th in MLB.
Giants
Career team 2005–2017