When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ortega throws a fastball 56.9% of the time, against 24.4% when he is ahead.
65 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .322 expected average against them, against .190 on his breaking balls.
95 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ortega's sinker moves 102.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
48 thrown, averaging 95.7 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ortega's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.6 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
47 and 84 of them thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ortega lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.07 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
240 located pitches in 2023.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Ortega projects a .233 average, 99th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 11th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ortega releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
240 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ortega's sinker averages 95.7 mph, and has touched 96.9.
48 thrown, 20% of his pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ortega goes to the slider: 43.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.8% the rest of the time.
67 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Ortega lives in the strike zone: 47.5% of his pitches are in it, 75th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 198th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ortega throws the sinker 31.9% of the time against right-handers and 8.9% against left-handers.
116 pitches to right-handers, 124 to left-handers.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ortega's 4-seam fastball carries 12.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
47 thrown, averaging 95.2 mph.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Ortega throws a strike on the first pitch 66.7% of the time.
63 plate appearances started in 2023.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ortega puts 45.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
116 pitches to right-handed hitters, 124 to left-handed hitters.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.4 mph separates Ortega's sinker from his curveball, 95.7 against 82.2.
48 and 58 of them respectively.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ortega releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
240 tracked pitches in 2023.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ortega's stuff spins at 2,365 rpm, 74th percentile in the league.
240 pitches in 2023. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 203rd in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 35% of the contact Ortega gives up is hit hard, 75th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 191st in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ortega lands 54.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 42.8% of his breaking balls.
95 of his fastballs, 145 of his breaking balls.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ortega works with 4 pitches: Slider, Curveball, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 35% of everything he throws.
240 classified pitches in 2023.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Ortega averages 88.2 mph across his arsenal, 37th percentile in the league.
240 pitches in 2023. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 491st in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Ortega is weak: 87.3 mph off the bat on average, 72nd percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 72nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 218th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ortega's curveball spins at 2,435 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
58 thrown in 2023.
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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 Ortega throws a fastball 56.9% of the time, against 24.4% when he is ahead.
65 pitches behind in the count, 78 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ortega goes to the slider: 43.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 31.8% the rest of the time.
67 two-strike pitches in 2023.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Ortega throws a strike on the first pitch 66.7% of the time.
63 plate appearances started in 2023.
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 .322 expected average against them, against .190 on his breaking balls.
95 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ortega lands 54.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 42.8% of his breaking balls.
95 of his fastballs, 145 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ortega's sinker moves 102.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
48 thrown, averaging 95.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ortega's 4-seam fastball carries 12.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
47 thrown, averaging 95.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ortega's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.6 mph, against 84.1 off his slider.
47 and 84 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ortega's sinker averages 95.7 mph, and has touched 96.9.
48 thrown, 20% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ortega throws the sinker 31.9% of the time against right-handers and 8.9% against left-handers.
116 pitches to right-handers, 124 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.4 mph separates Ortega's sinker from his curveball, 95.7 against 82.2.
48 and 58 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ortega works with 4 pitches: Slider, Curveball, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The slider is 35% of everything he throws.
240 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ortega's curveball spins at 2,435 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
58 thrown in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ortega lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.07 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
240 located pitches in 2023.
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 Ortega projects a .233 average, 99th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 11th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 35% of the contact Ortega gives up is hit hard, 75th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 191st in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Ortega is weak: 87.3 mph off the bat on average, 72nd percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 72nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 218th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ortega releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 32 degrees above horizontal and 2.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
240 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ortega releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
240 tracked pitches in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Ortega lives in the strike zone: 47.5% of his pitches are in it, 75th percentile.
240 pitches in 2023. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 198th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ortega puts 45.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
116 pitches to right-handed hitters, 124 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ortega's stuff spins at 2,365 rpm, 74th percentile in the league.
240 pitches in 2023. 74th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 203rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Ortega averages 88.2 mph across his arsenal, 37th percentile in the league.
240 pitches in 2023. 37th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 491st in MLB.
Angels
Career team 2021–2022