He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Svanson puts 43.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 53% of his pitches to left-handers.
191 pitches to right-handed hitters, 215 to left-handed hitters.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Svanson throws a fastball 84.3% of the time, against 53.4% when he is ahead.
121 pitches behind in the count, 103 ahead.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Svanson lives in the strike zone: 48.6% of his pitches are in it, 93rd percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 41st in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Svanson's sinker moves 15.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
200 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Svanson's sinker leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 87.5 off his sweeper.
200 and 117 of them thrown.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Svanson averages 92.5 mph across his arsenal, 87th percentile in the league.
406 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 72nd in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Svanson projects a .419 average, 2nd percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 524th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Svanson's sinker averages 96.1 mph, and has touched 98.3.
200 thrown, 49.3% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Svanson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
401 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Svanson goes to the sweeper: 37.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.8% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.4 mph off the bat against Svanson, 6th percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 507th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Svanson lands 53.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.4% of his breaking balls.
289 of his fastballs, 117 of his breaking balls.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
52.9% of the contact Svanson gives up is hit hard, 6th percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 505th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Svanson throws the cutter 31.6% of the time against left-handers and 11% against right-handers.
191 pitches to right-handers, 215 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Svanson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.27 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
401 located pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Svanson works with 3 pitches: Sinker, Sweeper and Cutter. The sinker is 49.3% of everything he throws.
406 classified pitches in 2026.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Svanson throws 46.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 49.8% with the bases empty.
133 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 273 with the bases empty.
He lives on one side of the plate
Svanson works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
401 located pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.2% of Svanson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
89 of 401 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Svanson puts 56.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 49.5% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 101 ahead.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Svanson releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
293 tracked pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Svanson's sinker from his sweeper, 96.1 against 86.7.
200 and 117 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Svanson's cutter spins at 2,302 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
89 thrown in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Svanson puts 43.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 53% of his pitches to left-handers.
191 pitches to right-handed hitters, 215 to left-handed hitters.
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 Svanson throws a fastball 84.3% of the time, against 53.4% when he is ahead.
121 pitches behind in the count, 103 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Svanson goes to the sweeper: 37.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 25.8% the rest of the time.
104 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Svanson puts 56.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 49.5% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 101 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Svanson lives in the strike zone: 48.6% of his pitches are in it, 93rd percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 41st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Svanson's sinker moves 15.9 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
200 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Svanson's sinker leaves the bat at 93.8 mph, against 87.5 off his sweeper.
200 and 117 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Svanson's sinker averages 96.1 mph, and has touched 98.3.
200 thrown, 49.3% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Svanson throws the cutter 31.6% of the time against left-handers and 11% against right-handers.
191 pitches to right-handers, 215 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Svanson works with 3 pitches: Sinker, Sweeper and Cutter. The sinker is 49.3% of everything he throws.
406 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Svanson's sinker from his sweeper, 96.1 against 86.7.
200 and 117 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Svanson's cutter spins at 2,302 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
89 thrown in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Svanson averages 92.5 mph across his arsenal, 87th percentile in the league.
406 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 72nd 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 Svanson projects a .419 average, 2nd percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 2nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 524th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.4 mph off the bat against Svanson, 6th percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 507th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
52.9% of the contact Svanson gives up is hit hard, 6th percentile.
406 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 505th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Svanson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
401 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Svanson releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
293 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Svanson lands 53.1% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.4% of his breaking balls.
289 of his fastballs, 117 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Svanson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.27 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
401 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Svanson works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
401 located pitches in 2026.
He leaves too much of it over the heart of the plate
22.2% of Svanson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, the part of the plate hitters do their damage on.
89 of 401 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Svanson throws 46.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 49.8% with the bases empty.
133 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 273 with the bases empty.
Cardinals
Career team 2025–2026