He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Scherzer puts 50% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
106 pitches to right-handed hitters, 237 to left-handed hitters.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .368 expected average against them, against .233 on his offspeed pitches.
167 of his fastballs thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Scherzer releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
343 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Scherzer's curveball leaves the bat at 96.2 mph, against 85.5 off his slider.
48 and 77 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Scherzer's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
162 thrown, averaging 93.0 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Scherzer throws a fastball 58.4% of the time, against 36.5% when he is ahead.
101 pitches behind in the count, 104 ahead.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.8 mph separates Scherzer's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.0 against 76.2.
162 and 48 of them respectively.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Scherzer goes to the slider: 32.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.4% the rest of the time.
113 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Scherzer lands 53.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his offspeed pitches.
167 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Scherzer lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
343 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Scherzer's changeup moves 13.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
51 thrown, averaging 84.2 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Scherzer averages 87.8 mph across his arsenal, 23rd percentile in the league.
343 pitches in 2026. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 412th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Scherzer throws the slider 36.8% of the time against right-handers and 16% against left-handers.
106 pitches to right-handers, 237 to left-handers.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Scherzer puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.4% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 104 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Scherzer's curveball spins at 2,689 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
48 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Scherzer works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 47.2% of everything he throws.
343 classified pitches in 2026.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Scherzer releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
243 tracked pitches in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.1 mph off the bat against Scherzer, 39th percentile.
343 pitches in 2026. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 326th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Scherzer throws a strike on the first pitch 61.4% of the time.
83 plate appearances started in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Scherzer's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.1.
162 thrown, 47.2% of his pitches.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Scherzer puts 50% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 39.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
106 pitches to right-handed hitters, 237 to left-handed hitters.
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 .368 expected average against them, against .233 on his offspeed pitches.
167 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Scherzer lands 53.3% of his fastballs in the zone and only 27.5% of his offspeed pitches.
167 of his fastballs, 51 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Scherzer releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 23 degrees above horizontal and 2.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
343 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Scherzer releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
243 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 Scherzer's curveball leaves the bat at 96.2 mph, against 85.5 off his slider.
48 and 77 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.8 mph separates Scherzer's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.0 against 76.2.
162 and 48 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Scherzer throws the slider 36.8% of the time against right-handers and 16% against left-handers.
106 pitches to right-handers, 237 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Scherzer's curveball spins at 2,689 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
48 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Scherzer works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 47.2% of everything he throws.
343 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Scherzer's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.1.
162 thrown, 47.2% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Scherzer's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
162 thrown, averaging 93.0 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Scherzer's changeup moves 13.6 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
51 thrown, averaging 84.2 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 Scherzer throws a fastball 58.4% of the time, against 36.5% when he is ahead.
101 pitches behind in the count, 104 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Scherzer goes to the slider: 32.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.4% the rest of the time.
113 two-strike pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Scherzer puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.4% when he is ahead.
101 located pitches behind, 104 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Scherzer throws a strike on the first pitch 61.4% of the time.
83 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Scherzer lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.21 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
343 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Scherzer averages 87.8 mph across his arsenal, 23rd percentile in the league.
343 pitches in 2026. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 412th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.1 mph off the bat against Scherzer, 39th percentile.
343 pitches in 2026. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 326th in MLB.
Blue Jays