The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Watson releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 14 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
883 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Watson's changeup moves 118.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
289 thrown, averaging 85.9 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Watson's sinker leaves the bat at 91.6 mph, against 78.4 off his slider.
155 and 210 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Watson throws the changeup 51.5% of the time against right-handers and 6.5% against left-handers.
515 pitches to right-handers, 368 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Watson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.11 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
883 located pitches in 2021.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Watson projects a .284 average, 92nd percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 65th in MLB.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Watson throws a fastball 53.1% of the time, against 38.9% when he is ahead.
256 pitches behind in the count, 252 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .310 expected average against them, against .249 on his breaking balls.
379 of his fastballs thrown.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Watson is weak: 85.1 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 74th in MLB.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Watson works off the plate, with only 43% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 582nd in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Watson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
136 of 883 located pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Watson works with 4 pitches: Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Sinker. The changeup is 32.7% of everything he throws.
883 classified pitches in 2021.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 30.1% of the contact Watson gives up is hit hard, 90th percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 79th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Watson puts 41.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
515 pitches to right-handed hitters, 368 to left-handed hitters.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Watson puts 53.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 38.9% when he is ahead.
256 located pitches behind, 252 ahead.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Watson lands 50.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.9% of his offspeed pitches.
379 of his fastballs, 290 of his offspeed pitches.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Watson averages 88.0 mph across his arsenal, 35th percentile in the league.
883 pitches in 2021. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 522nd in MLB.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Watson's 4-seam fastball carries 10.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
224 thrown, averaging 92.5 mph.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Watson's stuff spins at 2,333 rpm, 69th percentile in the league.
883 pitches in 2021. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 246th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Watson's 4-seam fastball averages 92.5 mph, and has touched 98.7.
224 thrown, 25.4% of his pitches.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Watson releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
883 tracked pitches in 2021.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Watson's slider spins at 2,371 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
210 thrown in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Watson's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.5 against 83.2.
224 and 210 of them respectively.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Watson releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 14 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
883 tracked release points, averaging 5.0 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Watson releases the ball 6.1 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
883 tracked pitches in 2021.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Watson's changeup moves 118.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
289 thrown, averaging 85.9 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Watson's 4-seam fastball carries 10.0 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
224 thrown, averaging 92.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Watson's sinker leaves the bat at 91.6 mph, against 78.4 off his slider.
155 and 210 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Watson throws the changeup 51.5% of the time against right-handers and 6.5% against left-handers.
515 pitches to right-handers, 368 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Watson works with 4 pitches: Changeup, 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Sinker. The changeup is 32.7% of everything he throws.
883 classified pitches in 2021.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Watson's 4-seam fastball averages 92.5 mph, and has touched 98.7.
224 thrown, 25.4% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Watson's slider spins at 2,371 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
210 thrown in 2021.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
9.4 mph separates Watson's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 92.5 against 83.2.
224 and 210 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Watson lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.11 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
883 located pitches in 2021.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
15.4% of Watson's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
136 of 883 located pitches.
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 Watson projects a .284 average, 92nd percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 92nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 65th in MLB.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Watson is weak: 85.1 mph off the bat on average, 91st percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 91st percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 74th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 30.1% of the contact Watson gives up is hit hard, 90th percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 90th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 79th 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 Watson throws a fastball 53.1% of the time, against 38.9% when he is ahead.
256 pitches behind in the count, 252 ahead.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Watson puts 53.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 38.9% when he is ahead.
256 located pitches behind, 252 ahead.
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 .310 expected average against them, against .249 on his breaking balls.
379 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Watson lands 50.4% of his fastballs in the zone and only 36.9% of his offspeed pitches.
379 of his fastballs, 290 of his offspeed pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Watson works off the plate, with only 43% of his pitches in the zone, 28th percentile.
883 pitches in 2021. 28th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 582nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Watson puts 41.6% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 45.1% of his pitches to left-handers.
515 pitches to right-handed hitters, 368 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Watson averages 88.0 mph across his arsenal, 35th percentile in the league.
883 pitches in 2021. 35th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 522nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Watson's stuff spins at 2,333 rpm, 69th percentile in the league.
883 pitches in 2021. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2021, 246th in MLB.
Pirates
Career team 2011–2017