He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Tuivailala puts 44.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 32.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
212 pitches to right-handed hitters, 173 to left-handed hitters.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Tuivailala throws a fastball 78.9% of the time, against 40.8% when he is ahead.
109 pitches behind in the count, 103 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Tuivailala's sinker moves 116.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
109 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 83.2 off his sinker.
129 and 109 of them thrown.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Tuivailala works off the plate, with only 39% of his pitches in the zone, 12th percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 665th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Tuivailala releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 31 degrees above horizontal and 1.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
385 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball carries 14.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 93.5 mph.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.6 mph separates Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.5 against 78.8.
129 and 69 of them respectively.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Tuivailala projects a .316 average, 91st percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 66th in MLB.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Tuivailala releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
385 tracked pitches in 2019.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Tuivailala goes to the curveball: 23.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 15.4% the rest of the time.
113 two-strike pitches in 2019.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Tuivailala lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.28 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
385 located pitches in 2019.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Tuivailala throws the slider 29.2% of the time against right-handers and 9.2% against left-handers.
212 pitches to right-handers, 173 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Tuivailala works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 33.5% of everything he throws.
385 classified pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Tuivailala puts 46.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.1% when he is ahead.
109 located pitches behind, 103 ahead.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Tuivailala's stuff spins at 2,145 rpm, 28th percentile in the league.
385 pitches in 2019. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 538th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .334 expected average against them, against .302 on his fastballs.
147 of his breaking balls thrown.
He lives on one side of the plate
Tuivailala works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
385 located pitches in 2019.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Tuivailala lands 42.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.3% of his breaking balls.
238 of his fastballs, 147 of his breaking balls.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.9% of Tuivailala's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
69 of 385 located pitches.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Tuivailala is weak: 88.3 mph off the bat on average, 67th percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 252nd in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Tuivailala throws a strike on the first pitch 61.7% of the time.
94 plate appearances started in 2019.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Tuivailala's curveball spins at 2,275 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
69 thrown in 2019.
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The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
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He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Tuivailala puts 44.3% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 32.4% of his pitches to left-handers.
212 pitches to right-handed hitters, 173 to left-handed hitters.
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 Tuivailala throws a fastball 78.9% of the time, against 40.8% when he is ahead.
109 pitches behind in the count, 103 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Tuivailala goes to the curveball: 23.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 15.4% the rest of the time.
113 two-strike pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Tuivailala puts 46.8% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.1% when he is ahead.
109 located pitches behind, 103 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Tuivailala throws a strike on the first pitch 61.7% of the time.
94 plate appearances started in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Tuivailala's sinker moves 116.6 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
109 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball carries 14.7 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
129 thrown, averaging 93.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 95.5 mph, against 83.2 off his sinker.
129 and 109 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.6 mph separates Tuivailala's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 93.5 against 78.8.
129 and 69 of them respectively.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Tuivailala throws the slider 29.2% of the time against right-handers and 9.2% against left-handers.
212 pitches to right-handers, 173 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Tuivailala works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker, Slider and Curveball. The 4-seam fastball is 33.5% of everything he throws.
385 classified pitches in 2019.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Tuivailala's curveball spins at 2,275 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
69 thrown in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Tuivailala works off the plate, with only 39% of his pitches in the zone, 12th percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 665th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Tuivailala releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 31 degrees above horizontal and 1.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
385 tracked release points, averaging 5.5 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Tuivailala releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
385 tracked pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Tuivailala projects a .316 average, 91st percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 66th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Tuivailala is weak: 88.3 mph off the bat on average, 67th percentile.
385 pitches in 2019. 67th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 252nd 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
Tuivailala lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.28 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
385 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on one side of the plate
Tuivailala works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 1.8 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
385 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.9% of Tuivailala's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
69 of 385 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Tuivailala's stuff spins at 2,145 rpm, 28th percentile in the league.
385 pitches in 2019. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 538th 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 .334 expected average against them, against .302 on his fastballs.
147 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Tuivailala lands 42.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 33.3% of his breaking balls.
238 of his fastballs, 147 of his breaking balls.
Cardinals
Career team 2014–2018