One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Olson's sinker moves 118.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
315 thrown, averaging 94.4 mph.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Olson works off the plate, with only 39.9% of his pitches in the zone, 5th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 743rd in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Olson's sinker leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 85.5 off his changeup.
315 and 300 of them thrown.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Olson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.93 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1159 located pitches in 2025.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Olson throws a fastball 57.7% of the time, against 35.3% when he is ahead.
324 pitches behind in the count, 317 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Olson throws the sinker 44.1% of the time against right-handers and 7.8% against left-handers.
619 pitches to right-handers, 540 to left-handers.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Olson lands 55.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 31.3% of his breaking balls.
540 of his fastballs, 319 of his breaking balls.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Olson's 4-seam fastball carries 15.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
225 thrown, averaging 94.3 mph.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Olson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 2.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1159 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Olson puts 57.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 28.4% when he is ahead.
324 located pitches behind, 317 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.3 mph off the bat against Olson, 10th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 705th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Olson's slider spins at 2,841 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
250 thrown in 2025.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.3% of Olson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
166 of 1159 located pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.7 mph separates Olson's sinker from his curveball, 94.4 against 79.7.
315 and 64 of them respectively.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Olson releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1159 tracked pitches in 2025.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Olson throws 36.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.5% with the bases empty.
194 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 965 with the bases empty.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Olson goes to the changeup: 31.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 23.4% the rest of the time.
350 two-strike pitches in 2025.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Olson works with 5 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball, and a little else. The sinker is 27.2% of everything he throws.
1159 classified pitches in 2025.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45% of the contact Olson gives up is hit hard, 25th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 583rd in MLB.
He lives on one side of the plate
Olson works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1159 located pitches in 2025.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .347 expected average against them, against .317 on his offspeed pitches.
540 of his fastballs thrown.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Olson's fastball averages 94.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.2 past his 75th.
163 early fastballs, 84 late ones.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Olson's sinker averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.8.
315 thrown, 27.2% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Olson throws a strike on the first pitch 61.4% of the time.
285 plate appearances started in 2025.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Olson's sinker moves 118.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
315 thrown, averaging 94.4 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Olson's 4-seam fastball carries 15.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
225 thrown, averaging 94.3 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Olson works off the plate, with only 39.9% of his pitches in the zone, 5th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 743rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Olson's sinker leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 85.5 off his changeup.
315 and 300 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Olson throws the sinker 44.1% of the time against right-handers and 7.8% against left-handers.
619 pitches to right-handers, 540 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Olson's slider spins at 2,841 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
250 thrown in 2025.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.7 mph separates Olson's sinker from his curveball, 94.4 against 79.7.
315 and 64 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Olson works with 5 pitches: Sinker, Changeup, Slider and 4-Seam Fastball, and a little else. The sinker is 27.2% of everything he throws.
1159 classified pitches in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Olson's sinker averages 94.4 mph, and has touched 96.8.
315 thrown, 27.2% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Olson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.93 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1159 located pitches in 2025.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.3% of Olson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
166 of 1159 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Olson works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.1 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
1159 located pitches in 2025.
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 Olson throws a fastball 57.7% of the time, against 35.3% when he is ahead.
324 pitches behind in the count, 317 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Olson puts 57.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 28.4% when he is ahead.
324 located pitches behind, 317 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Olson goes to the changeup: 31.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 23.4% the rest of the time.
350 two-strike pitches in 2025.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Olson throws a strike on the first pitch 61.4% of the time.
285 plate appearances started in 2025.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Olson lands 55.2% of his fastballs in the zone and only 31.3% of his breaking balls.
540 of his fastballs, 319 of his breaking balls.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .347 expected average against them, against .317 on his offspeed pitches.
540 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Olson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 33 degrees above horizontal and 2.5 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1159 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Olson releases the ball 5.9 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
1159 tracked pitches in 2025.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Olson's fastball averages 94.6 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 94.2 past his 75th.
163 early fastballs, 84 late ones.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 91.3 mph off the bat against Olson, 10th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 10th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 705th in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
45% of the contact Olson gives up is hit hard, 25th percentile.
1159 pitches in 2025. 25th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 583rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Olson throws 36.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 40.5% with the bases empty.
194 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 965 with the bases empty.
Tigers
Career team 2023–2025