The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ramirez releases the ball from a sidearm slot, about 17 degrees above horizontal and 2.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1408 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 feet off the ground.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ramirez throws a fastball 62% of the time, against 33% when he is ahead.
389 pitches behind in the count, 430 ahead.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sinker moves 17.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
340 thrown, averaging 96.3 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ramirez's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 87.4 mph, against 79.6 off his sweeper.
296 and 609 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ramirez's sinker averages 96.3 mph, and has touched 98.7.
340 thrown, 24.1% of his pitches.
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.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ramirez goes to the sweeper: 52.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 39.3% the rest of the time.
417 two-strike pitches 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 2.25 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1408 located pitches in 2026.
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.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
296 thrown, averaging 96.6 mph.
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 saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ramirez throws the sinker 34% of the time against right-handers and 14.6% against left-handers.
692 pitches to right-handers, 718 to left-handers.
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.
1302 tracked pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sweeper spins at 2,657 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
609 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ramirez works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball and Curveball. The sweeper is 43.2% of everything he throws.
1410 classified pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.9% of Ramirez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
252 of 1408 located pitches.
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 curveball, 96.6 against 84.3.
296 and 159 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 17 degrees above horizontal and 2.6 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
1408 tracked release points, averaging 5.2 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.
1302 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 62% of the time, against 33% when he is ahead.
389 pitches behind in the count, 430 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ramirez goes to the sweeper: 52.5% of his two-strike pitches, against 39.3% the rest of the time.
417 two-strike pitches 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 17.4 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
340 thrown, averaging 96.3 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ramirez's 4-seam fastball carries 12.6 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
296 thrown, averaging 96.6 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 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 87.4 mph, against 79.6 off his sweeper.
296 and 609 of them thrown.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ramirez's sinker averages 96.3 mph, and has touched 98.7.
340 thrown, 24.1% of his pitches.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ramirez throws the sinker 34% of the time against right-handers and 14.6% against left-handers.
692 pitches to right-handers, 718 to left-handers.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ramirez's sweeper spins at 2,657 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
609 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ramirez works with 4 pitches: Sweeper, Sinker, 4-Seam Fastball and Curveball. The sweeper is 43.2% of everything he throws.
1410 classified pitches in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
12.3 mph separates Ramirez's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 96.6 against 84.3.
296 and 159 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
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 2.25 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
1408 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.9% of Ramirez's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
252 of 1408 located pitches.
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
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