The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
22.4 mph separates Lugo's 4-seam fastball from his slow curve, 91.6 against 69.2.
470 and 64 of them respectively.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lugo's sweeper moves 17.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
317 thrown, averaging 79.1 mph.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Lugo lives in the strike zone: 50.4% of his pitches are in it, 95th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 26th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Lugo throws a fastball 67.7% of the time, against 44.4% when he is ahead.
756 pitches behind in the count, 810 ahead.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Lugo averages 85.4 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
851 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 503rd in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lugo's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.0 mph, against 80.0 off his slow curve.
470 and 64 of them thrown.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lugo releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 29 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2858 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lugo's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
470 thrown, averaging 91.6 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .393 expected average against them, against .323 on his breaking balls.
432 of his fastballs thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lugo throws 45.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 51.8% with the bases empty.
191 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 660 with the bases empty.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Lugo's stuff spins at 2,499 rpm, 88th percentile in the league.
851 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 64th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lugo puts 64.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.6% when he is ahead.
756 located pitches behind, 810 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lugo's curveball spins at 3,200 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
417 thrown in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lugo lands 55.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.5% of his offspeed pitches.
432 of his fastballs, 74 of his offspeed pitches.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Lugo releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2686 tracked pitches in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Lugo 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.
2858 located pitches in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lugo works with 7 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter and Curveball, and a little else. The sinker is 19.5% of everything he throws.
2858 classified pitches in 2026.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Lugo projects a .361 average, 20th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 431st in MLB.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Lugo goes to the cutter: 21.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 13.6% the rest of the time.
814 two-strike pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Lugo's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 96.5.
558 thrown, 19.5% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Lugo throws a strike on the first pitch 64.6% of the time.
751 plate appearances started in 2026.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Lugo puts 52.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
259 pitches to right-handed hitters, 592 to left-handed hitters.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.8 mph off the bat against Lugo, 29th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 382nd in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Lugo throws the slider 16.6% of the time against right-handers and 5.6% against left-handers.
1005 pitches to right-handers, 1853 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Lugo has thrown 64 slow curves this season, 2.2% of his pitches, at 69.2 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2858 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
22.4 mph separates Lugo's 4-seam fastball from his slow curve, 91.6 against 69.2.
470 and 64 of them respectively.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Lugo's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 93.0 mph, against 80.0 off his slow curve.
470 and 64 of them thrown.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Lugo's curveball spins at 3,200 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
417 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Lugo works with 7 pitches: Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball, Cutter and Curveball, and a little else. The sinker is 19.5% of everything he throws.
2858 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Lugo's sinker averages 91.4 mph, and has touched 96.5.
558 thrown, 19.5% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Lugo throws the slider 16.6% of the time against right-handers and 5.6% against left-handers.
1005 pitches to right-handers, 1853 to left-handers.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Lugo has thrown 64 slow curves this season, 2.2% of his pitches, at 69.2 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
2858 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Lugo's sweeper moves 17.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
317 thrown, averaging 79.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Lugo's 4-seam fastball carries 14.8 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
470 thrown, averaging 91.6 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Lugo lives in the strike zone: 50.4% of his pitches are in it, 95th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 95th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 26th in MLB.
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 Lugo throws a fastball 67.7% of the time, against 44.4% when he is ahead.
756 pitches behind in the count, 810 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Lugo puts 64.6% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.6% when he is ahead.
756 located pitches behind, 810 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Lugo goes to the cutter: 21.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 13.6% the rest of the time.
814 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Lugo throws a strike on the first pitch 64.6% of the time.
751 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Lugo averages 85.4 mph across his arsenal, 6th percentile in the league.
851 pitches in 2026. 6th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 503rd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Lugo releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 29 degrees above horizontal and 1.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2858 tracked release points, averaging 5.4 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Lugo releases the ball 5.8 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2686 tracked pitches in 2026.
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 .393 expected average against them, against .323 on his breaking balls.
432 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Lugo lands 55.8% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.5% of his offspeed pitches.
432 of his fastballs, 74 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Lugo throws 45.6% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 51.8% with the bases empty.
191 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 660 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Lugo's stuff spins at 2,499 rpm, 88th percentile in the league.
851 pitches in 2026. 88th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 64th 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
Lugo 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.
2858 located pitches in 2026.
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 Lugo projects a .361 average, 20th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 20th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 431st in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.8 mph off the bat against Lugo, 29th percentile.
851 pitches in 2026. 29th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 382nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Lugo puts 52.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 49.7% of his pitches to left-handers.
259 pitches to right-handed hitters, 592 to left-handed hitters.
Royals