His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Harper's 4-seam fastball averages 86.5 mph, and has touched 88.8.
124 thrown, 21.9% of his pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Harper goes to the slow curve: 32.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 0% the rest of the time.
176 two-strike pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Harper's curveball moves 89.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
298 thrown, averaging 72.0 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Harper averages 75.6 mph across his arsenal, 0th percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2021. 0th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 802nd in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Harper lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.89 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
539 located pitches in 2021.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Harper's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 87.0 mph, against 78.4 off his slow curve.
124 and 57 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
18.0 mph separates Harper's 4-seam fastball from his slow curve, 86.5 against 68.6.
124 and 57 of them respectively.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Harper is weak: 82.2 mph off the bat on average, 99th percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 13th in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Harper throws a strike on the first pitch 68.7% of the time.
147 plate appearances started in 2021.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Harper lives in the strike zone: 47.7% of his pitches are in it, 77th percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 183rd in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 28.7% of the contact Harper gives up is hit hard, 93rd percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 56th in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Harper's slow curve carries 13.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
57 thrown, averaging 68.6 mph.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Harper throws a fastball 27.4% of the time, against 12.2% when he is ahead.
124 pitches behind in the count, 189 ahead.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Harper releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 60 degrees above horizontal and 1.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
539 tracked release points, averaging 6.3 feet off the ground.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Harper works with 4 pitches: Curveball, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Slow Curve. The curveball is 52.6% of everything he throws.
567 classified pitches in 2021.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Harper's stuff spins at 2,081 rpm, 23rd percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2021. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 622nd in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Harper projects a .299 average, 83rd percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 136th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .306 expected average against them, against .275 on his fastballs.
443 of his breaking balls thrown.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Harper puts 53.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.2% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 179 ahead.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Harper throws the slider 22% of the time against right-handers and 8% against left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 262 to left-handers.
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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
Harper's 4-seam fastball averages 86.5 mph, and has touched 88.8.
124 thrown, 21.9% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Harper's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 87.0 mph, against 78.4 off his slow curve.
124 and 57 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
18.0 mph separates Harper's 4-seam fastball from his slow curve, 86.5 against 68.6.
124 and 57 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Harper works with 4 pitches: Curveball, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Slow Curve. The curveball is 52.6% of everything he throws.
567 classified pitches in 2021.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Harper throws the slider 22% of the time against right-handers and 8% against left-handers.
305 pitches to right-handers, 262 to left-handers.
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 Harper goes to the slow curve: 32.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 0% the rest of the time.
176 two-strike pitches in 2021.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Harper throws a strike on the first pitch 68.7% of the time.
147 plate appearances started in 2021.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Harper throws a fastball 27.4% of the time, against 12.2% when he is ahead.
124 pitches behind in the count, 189 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Harper puts 53.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.2% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 179 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Harper's curveball moves 89.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
298 thrown, averaging 72.0 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Harper's slow curve carries 13.3 inches of drop against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
57 thrown, averaging 68.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Harper averages 75.6 mph across his arsenal, 0th percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2021. 0th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 802nd 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
Harper lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.89 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
539 located pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Harper is weak: 82.2 mph off the bat on average, 99th percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 99th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 13th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 28.7% of the contact Harper gives up is hit hard, 93rd percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 93rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 56th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Harper projects a .299 average, 83rd percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 83rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 136th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Harper lives in the strike zone: 47.7% of his pitches are in it, 77th percentile.
567 pitches in 2021. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 183rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Harper releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 60 degrees above horizontal and 1.1 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
539 tracked release points, averaging 6.3 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Harper's stuff spins at 2,081 rpm, 23rd percentile in the league.
567 pitches in 2021. 23rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 622nd 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 breaking balls: a .306 expected average against them, against .275 on his fastballs.
443 of his breaking balls thrown.
Twins
Career team 2019