The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Festa releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1102 tracked release points, averaging 5.1 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Festa's sinker leaves the bat at 91.8 mph, against 84.4 off his cutter.
66 and 66 of them thrown.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .332 expected average against them, against .238 on his breaking balls.
168 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Festa's sweeper moves 15.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
440 thrown, averaging 83.5 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Festa lives in the strike zone: 46.9% of his pitches are in it, 86th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Festa averages 87.2 mph across his arsenal, 19th percentile in the league.
320 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 435th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Festa's stuff spins at 2,541 rpm, 92nd percentile in the league.
320 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 44th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Festa projects a .278 average, 88th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 68th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Festa throws a strike on the first pitch 54.6% of the time.
291 plate appearances started in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Festa's sweeper spins at 2,697 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
440 thrown in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Festa puts 48.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
181 pitches to right-handed hitters, 139 to left-handed hitters.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Festa works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 48% of everything he throws.
1102 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Festa puts 60.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43% when he is ahead.
306 located pitches behind, 302 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Festa's 4-seam fastball carries 11.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
529 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
He lives on one side of the plate
Festa works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1102 located pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Festa lands 53% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.1% of his breaking balls.
168 of his fastballs, 152 of his breaking balls.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Festa lives up in the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.63 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1102 located pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Festa's 4-seam fastball averages 92.7 mph, and has touched 95.5.
529 thrown, 48% of his pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.7% of Festa's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
239 of 1102 located pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Festa is weak: 87.4 mph off the bat on average, 65th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 187th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Festa throws the sinker 10% of the time against right-handers and 1.2% against left-handers.
601 pitches to right-handers, 501 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.0 mph separates Festa's sinker from his sweeper, 93.4 against 83.5.
66 and 440 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Festa releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1102 tracked release points, averaging 5.1 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Festa's sinker leaves the bat at 91.8 mph, against 84.4 off his cutter.
66 and 66 of them thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Festa's sweeper spins at 2,697 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
440 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Festa works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 48% of everything he throws.
1102 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Festa's 4-seam fastball averages 92.7 mph, and has touched 95.5.
529 thrown, 48% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Festa throws the sinker 10% of the time against right-handers and 1.2% against left-handers.
601 pitches to right-handers, 501 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.0 mph separates Festa's sinker from his sweeper, 93.4 against 83.5.
66 and 440 of them respectively.
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 .332 expected average against them, against .238 on his breaking balls.
168 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Festa lands 53% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.1% of his breaking balls.
168 of his fastballs, 152 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Festa's sweeper moves 15.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
440 thrown, averaging 83.5 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Festa's 4-seam fastball carries 11.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
529 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Festa lives in the strike zone: 46.9% of his pitches are in it, 86th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 77th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Festa averages 87.2 mph across his arsenal, 19th percentile in the league.
320 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 435th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Festa's stuff spins at 2,541 rpm, 92nd percentile in the league.
320 pitches in 2026. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 44th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Festa projects a .278 average, 88th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 68th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Festa is weak: 87.4 mph off the bat on average, 65th percentile.
320 pitches in 2026. 65th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 187th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He falls behind hitters far too often
Festa throws a strike on the first pitch 54.6% of the time.
291 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Festa puts 60.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 43% when he is ahead.
306 located pitches behind, 302 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Festa puts 48.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 44.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
181 pitches to right-handed hitters, 139 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on one side of the plate
Festa works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1102 located pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Festa lives up in the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.63 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1102 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
21.7% of Festa's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
239 of 1102 located pitches.
Guardians