This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Valdez goes to the changeup: 64.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 38.4% the rest of the time.
84 two-strike pitches in 2022.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Valdez releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 20 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
287 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Valdez's sinker moves 144.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .350 expected average against them, against .253 on his offspeed pitches.
129 of his fastballs thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Valdez throws a fastball 61% of the time, against 32.9% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 82 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Valdez throws the changeup 62.3% of the time against left-handers and 33.9% against right-handers.
165 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Valdez projects a .283 average, 87th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 104th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Valdez works with 3 pitches: Changeup, Sinker and Slider. The changeup is 46% of everything he throws.
287 classified pitches in 2022.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Valdez puts 62.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39% when he is ahead.
77 located pitches behind, 82 ahead.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 32.6% of the contact Valdez gives up is hit hard, 86th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 109th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.4% of Valdez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 287 located pitches.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Valdez releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
287 tracked pitches in 2022.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Valdez puts 46.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
165 pitches to right-handed hitters, 122 to left-handed hitters.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Valdez averages 89.9 mph across his arsenal, 64th percentile in the league.
287 pitches in 2022. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 283rd in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Valdez's sinker averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 95.8.
129 thrown, 44.9% of his pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Valdez works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
287 located pitches in 2022.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Valdez throws 47% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.6% with the bases empty.
83 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 204 with the bases empty.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Valdez lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.9% of his offspeed pitches.
129 of his fastballs, 132 of his offspeed pitches.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Valdez throws a strike on the first pitch 56.9% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2022.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Valdez 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.
287 located pitches in 2022.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Valdez is weak: 87.4 mph off the bat on average, 68th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 252nd in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Valdez's sinker spins at 2,378 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
129 thrown in 2022.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
7.1 mph separates Valdez's sinker from his changeup, 94.1 against 86.9.
129 and 132 of them respectively.
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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 Valdez goes to the changeup: 64.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 38.4% the rest of the time.
84 two-strike pitches in 2022.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Valdez throws a fastball 61% of the time, against 32.9% when he is ahead.
77 pitches behind in the count, 82 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Valdez puts 62.3% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 39% when he is ahead.
77 located pitches behind, 82 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Valdez throws a strike on the first pitch 56.9% of the time.
72 plate appearances started in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Valdez releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 20 degrees above horizontal and 2.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
287 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Valdez releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
287 tracked pitches in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Valdez's sinker moves 144.4 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 94.1 mph.
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 .350 expected average against them, against .253 on his offspeed pitches.
129 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Valdez lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 40.9% of his offspeed pitches.
129 of his fastballs, 132 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Valdez throws the changeup 62.3% of the time against left-handers and 33.9% against right-handers.
165 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Valdez works with 3 pitches: Changeup, Sinker and Slider. The changeup is 46% of everything he throws.
287 classified pitches in 2022.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Valdez's sinker averages 94.1 mph, and has touched 95.8.
129 thrown, 44.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Valdez's sinker spins at 2,378 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
129 thrown in 2022.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
7.1 mph separates Valdez's sinker from his changeup, 94.1 against 86.9.
129 and 132 of them respectively.
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 Valdez projects a .283 average, 87th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 104th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 32.6% of the contact Valdez gives up is hit hard, 86th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 86th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 109th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Valdez is weak: 87.4 mph off the bat on average, 68th percentile.
287 pitches in 2022. 68th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 252nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.4% of Valdez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
47 of 287 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Valdez works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.5 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
287 located pitches in 2022.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Valdez 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.
287 located pitches in 2022.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Valdez puts 46.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
165 pitches to right-handed hitters, 122 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Valdez averages 89.9 mph across his arsenal, 64th percentile in the league.
287 pitches in 2022. 64th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2022, 283rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Valdez throws 47% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.6% with the bases empty.
83 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 204 with the bases empty.
Red Sox
Career team 2020–2022