When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Watson throws a fastball 84.6% of the time, against 34.4% when he is ahead.
104 pitches behind in the count, 128 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Watson's sinker moves 16.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
83 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Watson's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.7 mph, against 80.3 off his curveball.
85 and 70 of them thrown.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Watson goes to the sweeper: 32.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.3% the rest of the time.
120 two-strike pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Watson's cutter averages 90.7 mph, and has touched 92.9.
92 thrown, 21.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Watson's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
85 thrown, averaging 94.0 mph.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Watson puts 43.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
248 pitches to right-handed hitters, 173 to left-handed hitters.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Watson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.17 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
421 located pitches in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Watson releases the ball 7.1 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
322 tracked pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Watson works with 5 pitches: Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Sweeper, and a little else. The cutter is 21.9% of everything he throws.
421 classified pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Watson projects a .368 average, 15th percentile.
421 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 457th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .387 expected average against them, against .336 on his breaking balls.
260 of his fastballs thrown.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Watson throws a strike on the first pitch 66.7% of the time.
114 plate appearances started in 2026.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Watson works off the plate, with only 41.1% of his pitches in the zone, 30th percentile.
421 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 375th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Watson lands 47.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 32.2% of his breaking balls.
260 of his fastballs, 152 of his breaking balls.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Watson throws the sweeper 27.8% of the time against right-handers and 7.5% against left-handers.
248 pitches to right-handers, 173 to left-handers.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Watson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 41 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
421 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Watson puts 56.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.5% when he is ahead.
104 located pitches behind, 128 ahead.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Watson's stuff spins at 2,169 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
421 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 370th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.4 mph separates Watson's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 94.0 against 82.5.
85 and 70 of them respectively.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.3% of Watson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
77 of 421 located pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Watson has thrown 9 splitters this season, 2.1% of his pitches, at 89.0 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
421 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Watson's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,233 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
85 thrown in 2026.
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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 Watson throws a fastball 84.6% of the time, against 34.4% when he is ahead.
104 pitches behind in the count, 128 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Watson goes to the sweeper: 32.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 14.3% the rest of the time.
120 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Watson throws a strike on the first pitch 66.7% of the time.
114 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Watson puts 56.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 37.5% when he is ahead.
104 located pitches behind, 128 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Watson's sinker moves 16.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
83 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Watson's 4-seam fastball carries 16.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
85 thrown, averaging 94.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Watson's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 92.7 mph, against 80.3 off his curveball.
85 and 70 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Watson's cutter averages 90.7 mph, and has touched 92.9.
92 thrown, 21.9% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Watson works with 5 pitches: Cutter, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Sweeper, and a little else. The cutter is 21.9% of everything he throws.
421 classified pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Watson throws the sweeper 27.8% of the time against right-handers and 7.5% against left-handers.
248 pitches to right-handers, 173 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.4 mph separates Watson's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 94.0 against 82.5.
85 and 70 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Watson has thrown 9 splitters this season, 2.1% of his pitches, at 89.0 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
421 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Watson's 4-seam fastball spins at 2,233 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
85 thrown in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Watson puts 43.5% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 37.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
248 pitches to right-handed hitters, 173 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Watson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.17 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
421 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
18.3% of Watson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
77 of 421 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Watson releases the ball 7.1 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
322 tracked pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Watson releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 41 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
421 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Watson projects a .368 average, 15th percentile.
421 pitches in 2026. 15th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 457th in MLB.
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 .387 expected average against them, against .336 on his breaking balls.
260 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Watson lands 47.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 32.2% of his breaking balls.
260 of his fastballs, 152 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Watson works off the plate, with only 41.1% of his pitches in the zone, 30th percentile.
421 pitches in 2026. 30th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 375th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Watson's stuff spins at 2,169 rpm, 31st percentile in the league.
421 pitches in 2026. 31st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 370th in MLB.
Angels