One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .478 expected average against them, against .384 on his fastballs.
66 of his breaking balls thrown.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Roark averages 84.9 mph across his arsenal, 9th percentile in the league.
152 pitches in 2021. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 734th in MLB.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Roark puts 60.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 27.3% when he is ahead.
61 located pitches behind, 33 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Roark works with 5 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 23.7% of everything he throws.
152 classified pitches in 2021.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.6 mph off the bat against Roark, 4th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 772nd in MLB.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Roark lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
152 located pitches in 2021.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
50% of the contact Roark gives up is hit hard, 7th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 746th in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.5% of Roark's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
22 of 152 located pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Roark throws the slider 29.4% of the time against right-handers and 12% against left-handers.
102 pitches to right-handers, 50 to left-handers.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Roark lands 54% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.9% of his breaking balls.
63 of his fastballs, 66 of his breaking balls.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Roark projects a .373 average, 13th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 697th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Roark releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 58 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
152 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Roark goes to the curveball: 23.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.9% the rest of the time.
46 two-strike pitches in 2021.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Roark releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
152 tracked pitches in 2021.
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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 .478 expected average against them, against .384 on his fastballs.
66 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Roark lands 54% of his fastballs in the zone and only 37.9% of his breaking balls.
63 of his fastballs, 66 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Roark averages 84.9 mph across his arsenal, 9th percentile in the league.
152 pitches in 2021. 9th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 734th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Roark puts 60.7% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 27.3% when he is ahead.
61 located pitches behind, 33 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Roark goes to the curveball: 23.9% of his two-strike pitches, against 17.9% the rest of the time.
46 two-strike pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Roark works with 5 pitches: Slider, 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball and Sinker, and a little else. The slider is 23.7% of everything he throws.
152 classified pitches in 2021.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Roark throws the slider 29.4% of the time against right-handers and 12% against left-handers.
102 pitches to right-handers, 50 to left-handers.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 92.6 mph off the bat against Roark, 4th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 4th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 772nd in MLB.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
50% of the contact Roark gives up is hit hard, 7th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 746th in MLB.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Roark projects a .373 average, 13th percentile.
152 pitches in 2021. 13th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 697th 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
Roark lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
152 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
14.5% of Roark's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
22 of 152 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Roark releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 58 degrees above horizontal and 1.0 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
152 tracked release points, averaging 5.9 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Roark releases the ball 6.2 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
152 tracked pitches in 2021.
Nationals
Career team 2013–2018