His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Barlow's sinker averages 89.1 mph, and has touched 91.7.
58 thrown, 18.9% of his pitches.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Barlow goes to the curveball: 58.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 28% the rest of the time.
75 two-strike pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Barlow releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 19 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
307 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Barlow averages 81.3 mph across his arsenal, 1st percentile in the league.
307 pitches in 2026. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 534th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Barlow works off the plate, with only 35.8% of his pitches in the zone, 4th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 513th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Barlow lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.81 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
307 located pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Barlow throws a fastball 46% of the time, against 12.4% when he is ahead.
87 pitches behind in the count, 89 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .308 expected average against them, against .221 on his breaking balls.
96 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Barlow's curveball moves 15.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
109 thrown, averaging 76.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Barlow's sweeper leaves the bat at 92.3 mph, against 83.4 off his sinker.
93 and 58 of them thrown.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
12.4% of Barlow's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
38 of 307 located pitches.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Barlow projects a .248 average, 94th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 94th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 33rd in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Barlow throws the sweeper 39.2% of the time against right-handers and 20.8% against left-handers.
158 pitches to right-handers, 149 to left-handers.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Barlow gives up is hit hard, 79th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 79th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 116th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.0 mph separates Barlow's sinker from his curveball, 89.1 against 76.1.
58 and 109 of them respectively.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Barlow lands 44.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 31.8% of his breaking balls.
96 of his fastballs, 211 of his breaking balls.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Barlow's stuff spins at 2,371 rpm, 71st percentile in the league.
307 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 157th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Barlow works with 4 pitches: Curveball, Sweeper, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The curveball is 35.5% of everything he throws.
307 classified pitches in 2026.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Barlow releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
242 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Barlow's curveball spins at 2,499 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
109 thrown in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Barlow puts 40.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.7% when he is ahead.
87 located pitches behind, 89 ahead.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Barlow has thrown 9 sliders this season, 2.9% of his pitches, at 82.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
307 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Barlow's sinker averages 89.1 mph, and has touched 91.7.
58 thrown, 18.9% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Barlow's sweeper leaves the bat at 92.3 mph, against 83.4 off his sinker.
93 and 58 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Barlow throws the sweeper 39.2% of the time against right-handers and 20.8% against left-handers.
158 pitches to right-handers, 149 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
13.0 mph separates Barlow's sinker from his curveball, 89.1 against 76.1.
58 and 109 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Barlow works with 4 pitches: Curveball, Sweeper, Sinker and 4-Seam Fastball. The curveball is 35.5% of everything he throws.
307 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Barlow's curveball spins at 2,499 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
109 thrown in 2026.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Barlow has thrown 9 sliders this season, 2.9% of his pitches, at 82.7 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
307 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
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 Barlow goes to the curveball: 58.7% of his two-strike pitches, against 28% the rest of the time.
75 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Barlow throws a fastball 46% of the time, against 12.4% when he is ahead.
87 pitches behind in the count, 89 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Barlow puts 40.2% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 33.7% when he is ahead.
87 located pitches behind, 89 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Barlow releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 19 degrees above horizontal and 2.4 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
307 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Barlow releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
242 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Barlow averages 81.3 mph across his arsenal, 1st percentile in the league.
307 pitches in 2026. 1st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 534th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Barlow works off the plate, with only 35.8% of his pitches in the zone, 4th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 513th 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
Barlow lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.81 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
307 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
12.4% of Barlow's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
38 of 307 located pitches.
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 .308 expected average against them, against .221 on his breaking balls.
96 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Barlow lands 44.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 31.8% of his breaking balls.
96 of his fastballs, 211 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Barlow's curveball moves 15.0 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
109 thrown, averaging 76.1 mph.
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 Barlow projects a .248 average, 94th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 94th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 33rd in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Barlow gives up is hit hard, 79th percentile.
307 pitches in 2026. 79th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 116th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Barlow's stuff spins at 2,371 rpm, 71st percentile in the league.
307 pitches in 2026. 71st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 157th in MLB.
Royals
Career team 2018–2023