One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Long's sinker moves 111.1 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
85 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Long's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 77.2 off his splitter.
277 and 73 of them thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Long throws a fastball 56.7% of the time, against 36.5% when he is ahead.
240 pitches behind in the count, 203 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Long's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 93.2 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.4 mph separates Long's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.2 against 76.8.
277 and 141 of them respectively.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Long averages 87.3 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
786 pitches in 2025. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 610th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Long lands 53.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 39.7% of his offspeed pitches.
362 of his fastballs, 73 of his offspeed pitches.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Long puts 57.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.4% when he is ahead.
240 located pitches behind, 203 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Long works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Curveball and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.2% of everything he throws.
786 classified pitches in 2025.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Long releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
786 tracked pitches in 2025.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Long is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 76th percentile.
786 pitches in 2025. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 190th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Long throws the slider 35.9% of the time against left-handers and 19.4% against right-handers.
485 pitches to right-handers, 301 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Long lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
786 located pitches in 2025.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Long throws a strike on the first pitch 56.1% of the time.
189 plate appearances started in 2025.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Long releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 44 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
786 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .346 expected average against them, against .312 on his offspeed pitches.
351 of his breaking balls thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Long's curveball spins at 2,595 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
141 thrown in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Long's 4-seam fastball averages 93.2 mph, and has touched 96.0.
277 thrown, 35.2% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Long has thrown 8 sweepers this season, 1% of his pitches, at 82.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
786 classified pitches in 2025.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Long's sinker moves 111.1 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
85 thrown, averaging 92.7 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Long's 4-seam fastball carries 16.1 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
277 thrown, averaging 93.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Long's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 94.5 mph, against 77.2 off his splitter.
277 and 73 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
16.4 mph separates Long's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.2 against 76.8.
277 and 141 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Long works with 5 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Curveball and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 35.2% of everything he throws.
786 classified pitches in 2025.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Long throws the slider 35.9% of the time against left-handers and 19.4% against right-handers.
485 pitches to right-handers, 301 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Long's curveball spins at 2,595 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
141 thrown in 2025.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Long's 4-seam fastball averages 93.2 mph, and has touched 96.0.
277 thrown, 35.2% of his pitches.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Long has thrown 8 sweepers this season, 1% of his pitches, at 82.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
786 classified pitches in 2025.
Show more
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 Long throws a fastball 56.7% of the time, against 36.5% when he is ahead.
240 pitches behind in the count, 203 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Long puts 57.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 40.4% when he is ahead.
240 located pitches behind, 203 ahead.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Long throws a strike on the first pitch 56.1% of the time.
189 plate appearances started in 2025.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Long averages 87.3 mph across his arsenal, 22nd percentile in the league.
786 pitches in 2025. 22nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 610th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Long lands 53.9% of his fastballs in the zone and only 39.7% of his offspeed pitches.
362 of his fastballs, 73 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .346 expected average against them, against .312 on his offspeed pitches.
351 of his breaking balls thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Long releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
786 tracked pitches in 2025.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Long releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 44 degrees above horizontal and 1.6 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
786 tracked release points, averaging 5.8 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Long is weak: 87.5 mph off the bat on average, 76th percentile.
786 pitches in 2025. 76th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2025, 190th 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
Long lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.36 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
786 located pitches in 2025.
Royals
Career team 2024–2025