The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ramirez releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 16 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
389 tracked release points, averaging 5.1 feet off the ground.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ramirez throws a fastball 64.9% of the time, against 37.7% when he is ahead.
114 pitches behind in the count, 122 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sinker moves 18.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
82 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ramirez's curveball leaves the bat at 93.2 mph, against 79.3 off his sweeper.
61 and 142 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ramirez throws the sinker 36.7% of the time against right-handers and 4.7% against left-handers.
199 pitches to right-handers, 192 to left-handers.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ramirez goes to the sweeper: 46.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 32% the rest of the time.
116 two-strike pitches in 2026.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Ramirez is weak: 82.7 mph off the bat on average, 96th percentile.
391 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 20th in MLB.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball averages 96.2 mph, and has touched 98.4.
105 thrown, 26.9% of his pitches.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 29% of the contact Ramirez gives up is hit hard, 89th percentile.
391 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 59th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ramirez's stuff spins at 2,438 rpm, 82nd percentile in the league.
391 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 99th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ramirez puts 44.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 40.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
199 pitches to right-handed hitters, 192 to left-handed hitters.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Ramirez throws 40.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.4% with the bases empty.
158 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 233 with the bases empty.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Ramirez releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
283 tracked pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ramirez throws a strike on the first pitch 54.4% of the time.
103 plate appearances started in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ramirez works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Curveball. The sweeper is 36.3% of everything he throws.
391 classified pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Ramirez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
68 of 389 located pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sweeper spins at 2,632 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
142 thrown in 2026.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ramirez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.37 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
389 located pitches in 2026.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .334 expected average against them, against .309 on his fastballs.
203 of his breaking balls thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.3 mph separates Ramirez's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 96.2 against 83.9.
105 and 142 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
Ramirez releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 16 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
389 tracked release points, averaging 5.1 feet off the ground.
He gets so far down the mound the ball arrives early
Ramirez releases the ball 6.9 feet down the mound, so the ball arrives sooner than the radar gun suggests.
283 tracked pitches in 2026.
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 Ramirez throws a fastball 64.9% of the time, against 37.7% when he is ahead.
114 pitches behind in the count, 122 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ramirez goes to the sweeper: 46.6% of his two-strike pitches, against 32% the rest of the time.
116 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Ramirez throws a strike on the first pitch 54.4% of the time.
103 plate appearances started in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sinker moves 18.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
82 thrown, averaging 96.1 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.9 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
105 thrown, averaging 96.2 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ramirez's curveball leaves the bat at 93.2 mph, against 79.3 off his sweeper.
61 and 142 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ramirez throws the sinker 36.7% of the time against right-handers and 4.7% against left-handers.
199 pitches to right-handers, 192 to left-handers.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball averages 96.2 mph, and has touched 98.4.
105 thrown, 26.9% of his pitches.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ramirez works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, 4-Seam Fastball, Sinker and Curveball. The sweeper is 36.3% of everything he throws.
391 classified pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sweeper spins at 2,632 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
142 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.3 mph separates Ramirez's 4-seam fastball from his sweeper, 96.2 against 83.9.
105 and 142 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Ramirez is weak: 82.7 mph off the bat on average, 96th percentile.
391 pitches in 2026. 96th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 20th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 29% of the contact Ramirez gives up is hit hard, 89th percentile.
391 pitches in 2026. 89th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 59th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ramirez's stuff spins at 2,438 rpm, 82nd percentile in the league.
391 pitches in 2026. 82nd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 99th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ramirez puts 44.7% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 40.6% of his pitches to left-handers.
199 pitches to right-handed hitters, 192 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Ramirez throws 40.1% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 44.4% with the bases empty.
158 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 233 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.5% of Ramirez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
68 of 389 located pitches.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ramirez lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.37 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
389 located 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 breaking balls: a .334 expected average against them, against .309 on his fastballs.
203 of his breaking balls thrown.
Pirates