His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Helsley's 4-seam fastball averages 98.7 mph, and has touched 102.1.
97 thrown, 50.5% of his pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Helsley releases the ball from over the top, about 83 degrees above horizontal and 0.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
192 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Helsley throws a fastball 59.7% of the time, against 28.9% when he is ahead.
67 pitches behind in the count, 45 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .407 expected average against them, against .286 on his fastballs.
73 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Helsley's 4-seam fastball carries 19.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 98.7 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Helsley averages 93.5 mph across his arsenal, 93rd percentile in the league.
192 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 37th in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Helsley goes to the slider: 49% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.5% the rest of the time.
51 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Helsley lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.04 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
192 located pitches in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Helsley's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 77.4 off his slider.
97 and 68 of them thrown.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Helsley throws a strike on the first pitch 47.8% of the time.
46 plate appearances started in 2026.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54.2% of the contact Helsley gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 516th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Helsley throws the slider 58.6% of the time against right-handers and 22.1% against left-handers.
70 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Helsley works off the plate, with only 39.6% of his pitches in the zone, 19th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 437th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Helsley lands 47.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 30.1% of his breaking balls.
97 of his fastballs, 73 of his breaking balls.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Helsley works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Splitter. The 4-seam fastball is 50.5% of everything he throws.
192 classified pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Helsley puts 53.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.1% when he is ahead.
67 located pitches behind, 45 ahead.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.1% of Helsley's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
31 of 192 located pitches.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Helsley's stuff spins at 2,377 rpm, 72nd percentile in the league.
192 pitches in 2026. 72nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 150th in MLB.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Helsley's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,577 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Helsley releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
123 tracked pitches in 2026.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Helsley, 35th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 349th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.7 mph separates Helsley's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 98.7 against 88.0.
97 and 68 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Helsley's 4-seam fastball averages 98.7 mph, and has touched 102.1.
97 thrown, 50.5% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Helsley's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.6 mph, against 77.4 off his slider.
97 and 68 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Helsley throws the slider 58.6% of the time against right-handers and 22.1% against left-handers.
70 pitches to right-handers, 122 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Helsley works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Splitter. The 4-seam fastball is 50.5% of everything he throws.
192 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Helsley's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,577 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
97 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.7 mph separates Helsley's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 98.7 against 88.0.
97 and 68 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Helsley releases the ball from over the top, about 83 degrees above horizontal and 0.2 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
192 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Helsley releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
123 tracked pitches in 2026.
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 Helsley throws a fastball 59.7% of the time, against 28.9% when he is ahead.
67 pitches behind in the count, 45 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Helsley goes to the slider: 49% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.5% the rest of the time.
51 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Helsley throws a strike on the first pitch 47.8% of the time.
46 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Helsley puts 53.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.1% when he is ahead.
67 located pitches behind, 45 ahead.
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 breaking balls: a .407 expected average against them, against .286 on his fastballs.
73 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Helsley lands 47.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 30.1% of his breaking balls.
97 of his fastballs, 73 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Helsley's 4-seam fastball carries 19.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
97 thrown, averaging 98.7 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Helsley averages 93.5 mph across his arsenal, 93rd percentile in the league.
192 pitches in 2026. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 37th 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
Helsley lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.04 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
192 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
16.1% of Helsley's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
31 of 192 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
54.2% of the contact Helsley gives up is hit hard, 4th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 516th in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Helsley, 35th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 349th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Helsley works off the plate, with only 39.6% of his pitches in the zone, 19th percentile.
192 pitches in 2026. 19th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 437th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Helsley's stuff spins at 2,377 rpm, 72nd percentile in the league.
192 pitches in 2026. 72nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 150th in MLB.
Cardinals
Career team 2019–2025