One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Liberatore's curveball carries 18.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 78.7 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Liberatore throws a fastball 61.6% of the time, against 35.7% when he is ahead.
198 pitches behind in the count, 224 ahead.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Liberatore releases the ball from over the top, about 76 degrees above horizontal and 0.5 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
763 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Liberatore's sinker leaves the bat at 94.9 mph, against 83.0 off his curveball.
70 and 97 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Liberatore goes to the slider: 37.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 19.9% the rest of the time.
224 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Liberatore throws the slider 50.5% of the time against left-handers and 16.5% against right-handers.
571 pitches to right-handers, 192 to left-handers.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Liberatore's changeup moves 15.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
121 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Liberatore throws 38.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.7% with the bases empty.
184 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 579 with the bases empty.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.9 mph separates Liberatore's sinker from his curveball, 94.5 against 78.7.
70 and 97 of them respectively.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.5 mph off the bat against Liberatore, 11th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 478th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .376 expected average against them, against .317 on his offspeed pitches.
347 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Liberatore's curveball spins at 2,931 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Liberatore puts 61.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.6% when he is ahead.
198 located pitches behind, 224 ahead.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Liberatore lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.31 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
763 located pitches in 2026.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Liberatore's fastball averages 94.5 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.6 past his 75th.
114 early fastballs, 51 late ones.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Liberatore projects a .360 average, 20th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 429th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Liberatore lands 49.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.8% of his breaking balls.
347 of his fastballs, 288 of his breaking balls.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Liberatore works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 33.7% of everything he throws.
763 classified pitches in 2026.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45% of the contact Liberatore gives up is hit hard, 26th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 396th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Liberatore's 4-seam fastball averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.8.
257 thrown, 33.7% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Liberatore throws a strike on the first pitch 62.3% of the time.
204 plate appearances started in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Liberatore releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
583 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Liberatore has thrown 20 cutters this season, 2.6% of his pitches, at 90.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
763 classified pitches in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Liberatore's curveball carries 18.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 78.7 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Liberatore's changeup moves 15.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
121 thrown, averaging 88.7 mph.
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 Liberatore throws a fastball 61.6% of the time, against 35.7% when he is ahead.
198 pitches behind in the count, 224 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Liberatore goes to the slider: 37.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 19.9% the rest of the time.
224 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Liberatore puts 61.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.6% when he is ahead.
198 located pitches behind, 224 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Liberatore throws a strike on the first pitch 62.3% of the time.
204 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Liberatore releases the ball from over the top, about 76 degrees above horizontal and 0.5 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
763 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Liberatore's fastball averages 94.5 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 93.6 past his 75th.
114 early fastballs, 51 late ones.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Liberatore releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
583 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Liberatore's sinker leaves the bat at 94.9 mph, against 83.0 off his curveball.
70 and 97 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Liberatore throws the slider 50.5% of the time against left-handers and 16.5% against right-handers.
571 pitches to right-handers, 192 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
15.9 mph separates Liberatore's sinker from his curveball, 94.5 against 78.7.
70 and 97 of them respectively.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Liberatore's curveball spins at 2,931 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Liberatore works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 33.7% of everything he throws.
763 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Liberatore's 4-seam fastball averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.8.
257 thrown, 33.7% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Liberatore has thrown 20 cutters this season, 2.6% of his pitches, at 90.4 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
763 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Liberatore throws 38.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.7% with the bases empty.
184 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 579 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.5 mph off the bat against Liberatore, 11th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 11th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 478th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Liberatore projects a .360 average, 20th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 429th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45% of the contact Liberatore gives up is hit hard, 26th percentile.
763 pitches in 2026. 26th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 396th in MLB.
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 .376 expected average against them, against .317 on his offspeed pitches.
347 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Liberatore lands 49.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.8% of his breaking balls.
347 of his fastballs, 288 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
Liberatore lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.31 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
763 located pitches in 2026.
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