This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Mears goes to the slider: 44.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.3% the rest of the time.
89 two-strike pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Mears's 4-seam fastball carries 18.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
100 thrown, averaging 94.7 mph.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Mears throws 28.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.8% with the bases empty.
76 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 192 with the bases empty.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Mears's slider leaves the bat at 95.6 mph, against 85.0 off his 4-seam fastball.
80 and 100 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Mears throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 41% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54.5% of the contact Mears gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 518th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Mears lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.16 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
268 located pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Mears throws the slider 43% of the time against right-handers and 19% against left-handers.
121 pitches to right-handers, 147 to left-handers.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Mears throws a strike on the first pitch 52.3% of the time.
65 plate appearances started in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Mears projects a .365 average, 17th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 447th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Mears works off the plate, with only 41% of his pitches in the zone, 30th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 377th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Mears lands 50% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37% of his breaking balls.
128 of his fastballs, 108 of his breaking balls.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Mears works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 37.3% of everything he throws.
268 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Mears's 4-seam fastball averages 94.7 mph, and has touched 96.3.
100 thrown, 37.3% of his pitches.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.2% of Mears's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
46 of 268 located pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Mears puts 55.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.7% when he is ahead.
77 located pitches behind, 78 ahead.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Mears puts 39.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
121 pitches to right-handed hitters, 147 to left-handed hitters.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Mears releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
268 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
He lives on one side of the plate
Mears works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
268 located pitches in 2026.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Mears averages 89.0 mph across his arsenal, 38th percentile in the league.
268 pitches in 2026. 38th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 333rd in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Mears's slider spins at 2,519 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
80 thrown in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.8 mph off the bat against Mears, 29th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 384th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.2 mph separates Mears's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 94.7 against 84.6.
100 and 80 of them respectively.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Mears releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
206 tracked pitches in 2026.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Mears goes to the slider: 44.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 22.3% the rest of the time.
89 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Mears throws a fastball 62.3% of the time, against 41% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Mears throws a strike on the first pitch 52.3% of the time.
65 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Mears puts 55.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39.7% when he is ahead.
77 located pitches behind, 78 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Mears's 4-seam fastball carries 18.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
100 thrown, averaging 94.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Mears throws 28.9% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 45.8% with the bases empty.
76 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 192 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Mears's slider leaves the bat at 95.6 mph, against 85.0 off his 4-seam fastball.
80 and 100 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Mears throws the slider 43% of the time against right-handers and 19% against left-handers.
121 pitches to right-handers, 147 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Mears works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Curveball, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 37.3% of everything he throws.
268 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Mears's 4-seam fastball averages 94.7 mph, and has touched 96.3.
100 thrown, 37.3% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Mears's slider spins at 2,519 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
80 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.2 mph separates Mears's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 94.7 against 84.6.
100 and 80 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54.5% of the contact Mears gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 518th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Mears projects a .365 average, 17th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 447th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.8 mph off the bat against Mears, 29th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 384th 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
Mears lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.16 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
268 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.2% of Mears's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
46 of 268 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Mears works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
268 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Mears works off the plate, with only 41% of his pitches in the zone, 30th percentile.
268 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 377th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Mears lands 50% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37% of his breaking balls.
128 of his fastballs, 108 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Mears puts 39.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
121 pitches to right-handed hitters, 147 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Mears releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
268 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Mears releases the ball 6.5 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
206 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Mears averages 89.0 mph across his arsenal, 38th percentile in the league.
268 pitches in 2026. 38th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 333rd in MLB.
Brewers
Career team 2024–2025