There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Mikolas's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.7 mph, against 83.3 off his slider.
163 and 122 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Mikolas's curveball carries 16.1 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 76.3 mph.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Mikolas lands 56.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29.7% of his offspeed pitches.
305 of his fastballs, 64 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.7 mph separates Mikolas's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.0 against 76.3.
163 and 96 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Mikolas lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.10 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
624 located pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Mikolas puts 66% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 36.7% when he is ahead.
147 located pitches behind, 199 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Mikolas's sinker moves 15.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Mikolas throws a fastball 59.2% of the time, against 41.7% when he is ahead.
147 pitches behind in the count, 199 ahead.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Mikolas averages 87.7 mph across his arsenal, 23rd percentile in the league.
624 pitches in 2026. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 414th in MLB.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Mikolas throws 39.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.8% with the bases empty.
124 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 500 with the bases empty.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Mikolas puts 46.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
276 pitches to right-handed hitters, 348 to left-handed hitters.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Mikolas works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 26.1% of everything he throws.
624 classified pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Mikolas throws a strike on the first pitch 66.9% of the time.
163 plate appearances started in 2026.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45.9% of the contact Mikolas gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
624 pitches in 2026. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 422nd in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Mikolas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
624 located pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Mikolas throws the sinker 32.2% of the time against right-handers and 15.2% against left-handers.
276 pitches to right-handers, 348 to left-handers.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17% of Mikolas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
106 of 624 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Mikolas releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
624 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Mikolas's curveball spins at 2,540 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
96 thrown in 2026.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Mikolas's stuff spins at 2,183 rpm, 34th percentile in the league.
624 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 354th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Mikolas releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
443 tracked pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Mikolas's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.4.
163 thrown, 26.1% of his pitches.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Mikolas's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.7 mph, against 83.3 off his slider.
163 and 122 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.7 mph separates Mikolas's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.0 against 76.3.
163 and 96 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Mikolas works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 26.1% of everything he throws.
624 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Mikolas throws the sinker 32.2% of the time against right-handers and 15.2% against left-handers.
276 pitches to right-handers, 348 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Mikolas's curveball spins at 2,540 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
96 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Mikolas's 4-seam fastball averages 93.0 mph, and has touched 95.4.
163 thrown, 26.1% 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
Mikolas's curveball carries 16.1 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
96 thrown, averaging 76.3 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Mikolas's sinker moves 15.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
142 thrown, averaging 92.4 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Mikolas lands 56.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 29.7% of his offspeed pitches.
305 of his fastballs, 64 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Mikolas lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.10 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
624 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Mikolas works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.4 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
624 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17% of Mikolas's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
106 of 624 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Mikolas puts 66% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 36.7% when he is ahead.
147 located pitches behind, 199 ahead.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Mikolas throws a fastball 59.2% of the time, against 41.7% when he is ahead.
147 pitches behind in the count, 199 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Mikolas throws a strike on the first pitch 66.9% of the time.
163 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Mikolas averages 87.7 mph across his arsenal, 23rd percentile in the league.
624 pitches in 2026. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 414th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Mikolas throws 39.5% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.8% with the bases empty.
124 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 500 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Mikolas puts 46.4% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 41.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
276 pitches to right-handed hitters, 348 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45.9% of the contact Mikolas gives up is hit hard, 21st percentile.
624 pitches in 2026. 21st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 422nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Mikolas releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 53 degrees above horizontal and 1.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
624 tracked release points, averaging 6.4 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Mikolas releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
443 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Mikolas's stuff spins at 2,183 rpm, 34th percentile in the league.
624 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 354th in MLB.
Cardinals
Career team 2018–2025