One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Wacha's 4-seam fastball carries 17.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
241 thrown, averaging 92.9 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Wacha's curveball leaves the bat at 94.9 mph, against 83.8 off his changeup.
65 and 199 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.1 mph separates Wacha's sinker from his curveball, 93.0 against 75.9.
116 and 65 of them respectively.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Wacha throws a fastball 71% of the time, against 51.9% when he is ahead.
207 pitches behind in the count, 241 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .319 expected average against them, against .243 on his offspeed pitches.
489 of his fastballs thrown.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Wacha averages 87.2 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
816 pitches in 2026. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 439th in MLB.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Wacha's stuff spins at 1,991 rpm, 7th percentile in the league.
816 pitches in 2026. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 498th in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Wacha's curveball moves 13.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
65 thrown, averaging 75.9 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Wacha lives in the strike zone: 45.2% of his pitches are in it, 75th percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 135th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Wacha throws the changeup 32.9% of the time against left-handers and 10.2% against right-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 511 to left-handers.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Wacha puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.1% when he is ahead.
207 located pitches behind, 241 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Wacha works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Cutter and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 29.5% of everything he throws.
816 classified pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Wacha lands 48.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.4% of his breaking balls.
489 of his fastballs, 128 of his breaking balls.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Wacha goes to the changeup: 29.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.3% the rest of the time.
228 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Wacha puts 43.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 46.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handed hitters, 511 to left-handed hitters.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Wacha throws 48.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.8% with the bases empty.
110 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 706 with the bases empty.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Wacha releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
654 tracked pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Wacha projects a .301 average, 73rd percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 146th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Wacha throws a strike on the first pitch 65.2% of the time.
224 plate appearances started in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Wacha lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.38 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
816 located pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Wacha releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
816 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Wacha's 4-seam fastball averages 92.9 mph, and has touched 95.6.
241 thrown, 29.5% of his pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Wacha is weak: 87.6 mph off the bat on average, 62nd percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 62nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 206th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Wacha's curveball spins at 2,310 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
65 thrown 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
Wacha's 4-seam fastball carries 17.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
241 thrown, averaging 92.9 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Wacha's curveball moves 13.1 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
65 thrown, averaging 75.9 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Wacha's curveball leaves the bat at 94.9 mph, against 83.8 off his changeup.
65 and 199 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.1 mph separates Wacha's sinker from his curveball, 93.0 against 75.9.
116 and 65 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Wacha throws the changeup 32.9% of the time against left-handers and 10.2% against right-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 511 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Wacha works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Changeup, Cutter and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 29.5% of everything he throws.
816 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Wacha's 4-seam fastball averages 92.9 mph, and has touched 95.6.
241 thrown, 29.5% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Wacha's curveball spins at 2,310 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
65 thrown in 2026.
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 Wacha throws a fastball 71% of the time, against 51.9% when he is ahead.
207 pitches behind in the count, 241 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Wacha puts 59.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.1% when he is ahead.
207 located pitches behind, 241 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Wacha goes to the changeup: 29.8% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.3% the rest of the time.
228 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Wacha throws a strike on the first pitch 65.2% of the time.
224 plate appearances started in 2026.
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 .319 expected average against them, against .243 on his offspeed pitches.
489 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Wacha lands 48.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 34.4% of his breaking balls.
489 of his fastballs, 128 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Wacha averages 87.2 mph across his arsenal, 18th percentile in the league.
816 pitches in 2026. 18th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 439th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Wacha's stuff spins at 1,991 rpm, 7th percentile in the league.
816 pitches in 2026. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 498th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Wacha lives in the strike zone: 45.2% of his pitches are in it, 75th percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 135th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Wacha puts 43.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 46.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handed hitters, 511 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Wacha throws 48.2% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.8% with the bases empty.
110 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 706 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Wacha releases the ball 6.7 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
654 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Wacha releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 45 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
816 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
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 Wacha projects a .301 average, 73rd percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 146th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Wacha is weak: 87.6 mph off the bat on average, 62nd percentile.
816 pitches in 2026. 62nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 206th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Wacha lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.38 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
816 located pitches in 2026.
Royals