When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Armstrong throws a fastball 82.1% of the time, against 60% when he is ahead.
56 pitches behind in the count, 55 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Armstrong's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
66 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Armstrong throws the cutter 30% of the time against left-handers and 5.5% against right-handers.
110 pitches to right-handers, 90 to left-handers.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Armstrong lives in the strike zone: 46.5% of his pitches are in it, 84th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 88th in MLB.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .311 expected average against them, against .240 on his breaking balls.
137 of his fastballs thrown.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
50% of the contact Armstrong gives up is hit hard, 12th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 472nd in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Armstrong works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 33% of everything he throws.
200 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Armstrong's sweeper moves 12.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
63 thrown, averaging 84.5 mph.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Armstrong puts 58.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.8% when he is ahead.
56 located pitches behind, 55 ahead.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Armstrong, 17th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 444th in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Armstrong lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.33 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
200 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Armstrong's sweeper spins at 2,572 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
63 thrown in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Armstrong projects a .294 average, 81st percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 104th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Armstrong releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
200 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Armstrong goes to the sweeper: 34.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.1% the rest of the time.
64 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Armstrong lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 39.7% of his breaking balls.
137 of his fastballs, 63 of his breaking balls.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Armstrong releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
162 tracked pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Armstrong's 4-seam fastball averages 93.3 mph, and has touched 94.9.
66 thrown, 33% of his pitches.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Armstrong throws a strike on the first pitch 61.7% of the time.
47 plate appearances started in 2026.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Armstrong's stuff spins at 2,318 rpm, 61st percentile in the league.
200 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 212th in MLB.
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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 Armstrong throws a fastball 82.1% of the time, against 60% when he is ahead.
56 pitches behind in the count, 55 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Armstrong puts 58.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 41.8% when he is ahead.
56 located pitches behind, 55 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Armstrong goes to the sweeper: 34.4% of his two-strike pitches, against 30.1% the rest of the time.
64 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Armstrong throws a strike on the first pitch 61.7% of the time.
47 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Armstrong's 4-seam fastball carries 14.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
66 thrown, averaging 93.3 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Armstrong's sweeper moves 12.3 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
63 thrown, averaging 84.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Armstrong throws the cutter 30% of the time against left-handers and 5.5% against right-handers.
110 pitches to right-handers, 90 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Armstrong works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Sweeper, Sinker and Cutter. The 4-seam fastball is 33% of everything he throws.
200 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Armstrong's sweeper spins at 2,572 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
63 thrown in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Armstrong's 4-seam fastball averages 93.3 mph, and has touched 94.9.
66 thrown, 33% of his pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Armstrong lives in the strike zone: 46.5% of his pitches are in it, 84th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 84th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 88th 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 fastballs: a .311 expected average against them, against .240 on his breaking balls.
137 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Armstrong lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 39.7% of his breaking balls.
137 of his fastballs, 63 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
50% of the contact Armstrong gives up is hit hard, 12th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 472nd in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 90.9 mph off the bat against Armstrong, 17th percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 444th in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Armstrong projects a .294 average, 81st percentile.
200 pitches in 2026. 81st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 104th 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
Armstrong lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.33 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
200 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Armstrong releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 46 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
200 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Armstrong releases the ball 6.6 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
162 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Armstrong's stuff spins at 2,318 rpm, 61st percentile in the league.
200 pitches in 2026. 61st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 212th in MLB.
Rays
Career team 2021–2024