His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Duke's sinker averages 89.0 mph, and has touched 91.3.
193 thrown, 49.6% of his pitches.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Duke throws a fastball 70.2% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
121 pitches behind in the count, 100 ahead.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .417 expected average against them, against .215 on his breaking balls.
219 of his fastballs thrown.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Duke's sinker moves 100.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
193 thrown, averaging 89.0 mph.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Duke puts 33.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handed hitters, 254 to left-handed hitters.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Duke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.75 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
389 located pitches in 2019.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Duke averages 84.4 mph across his arsenal, 7th percentile in the league.
408 pitches in 2019. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 696th in MLB.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Duke releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 26 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
389 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Duke goes to the curveball: 24.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 7.2% the rest of the time.
111 two-strike pitches in 2019.
He cannot find the zone often enough
Duke works off the plate, with only 39.1% of his pitches in the zone, 12th percentile.
408 pitches in 2019. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 660th in MLB.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Duke's sinker leaves the bat at 93.3 mph, against 76.9 off his slider.
193 and 123 of them thrown.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.1% of Duke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
51 of 389 located pitches.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Duke releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
389 tracked pitches in 2019.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.9 mph separates Duke's sinker from his curveball, 89.0 against 74.1.
193 and 47 of them respectively.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Duke lands 47.5% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.2% of his breaking balls.
219 of his fastballs, 170 of his breaking balls.
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.6% of the contact Duke gives up is hit hard, 17th percentile.
408 pitches in 2019. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 626th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Duke throws a strike on the first pitch 53.3% of the time.
105 plate appearances started in 2019.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Duke works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Curveball and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 49.6% of everything he throws.
389 classified pitches in 2019.
He lives on one side of the plate
Duke works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
389 located pitches in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Duke puts 47.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 100 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Duke's slider spins at 2,494 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
123 thrown in 2019.
His ball is straighter than it should be
Duke's stuff spins at 2,196 rpm, 39th percentile in the league.
408 pitches in 2019. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 460th in MLB.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Duke throws the slider 35.2% of the time against left-handers and 25.5% against right-handers.
145 pitches to right-handers, 244 to left-handers.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Duke's sinker averages 89.0 mph, and has touched 91.3.
193 thrown, 49.6% of his pitches.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Duke's sinker leaves the bat at 93.3 mph, against 76.9 off his slider.
193 and 123 of them thrown.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
14.9 mph separates Duke's sinker from his curveball, 89.0 against 74.1.
193 and 47 of them respectively.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Duke works with 4 pitches: Sinker, Slider, Curveball and 4-Seam Fastball. The sinker is 49.6% of everything he throws.
389 classified pitches in 2019.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Duke's slider spins at 2,494 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
123 thrown in 2019.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Duke throws the slider 35.2% of the time against left-handers and 25.5% against right-handers.
145 pitches to right-handers, 244 to left-handers.
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 Duke throws a fastball 70.2% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
121 pitches behind in the count, 100 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Duke goes to the curveball: 24.3% of his two-strike pitches, against 7.2% the rest of the time.
111 two-strike pitches in 2019.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Duke throws a strike on the first pitch 53.3% of the time.
105 plate appearances started in 2019.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Duke puts 47.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 32% when he is ahead.
121 located pitches behind, 100 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 .417 expected average against them, against .215 on his breaking balls.
219 of his fastballs thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Duke lands 47.5% of his fastballs in the zone and only 28.2% of his breaking balls.
219 of his fastballs, 170 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Duke's sinker moves 100.7 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
193 thrown, averaging 89.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Duke puts 33.8% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 42.2% of his pitches to left-handers.
154 pitches to right-handed hitters, 254 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Duke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 1.75 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
389 located pitches in 2019.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
13.1% of Duke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
51 of 389 located pitches.
He lives on one side of the plate
Duke works away from right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.9 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
389 located pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Duke averages 84.4 mph across his arsenal, 7th percentile in the league.
408 pitches in 2019. 7th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 696th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Duke releases the ball from a low three-quarters slot, about 26 degrees above horizontal and 2.7 feet to the first-base side of the rubber.
389 tracked release points, averaging 5.6 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Duke releases the ball 5.7 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
389 tracked pitches in 2019.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He cannot find the zone often enough
Duke works off the plate, with only 39.1% of his pitches in the zone, 12th percentile.
408 pitches in 2019. 12th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 660th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Too much of the contact against him is loud
46.6% of the contact Duke gives up is hit hard, 17th percentile.
408 pitches in 2019. 17th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 626th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball is straighter than it should be
Duke's stuff spins at 2,196 rpm, 39th percentile in the league.
408 pitches in 2019. 39th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2019, 460th in MLB.
Pirates
Career team 2005–2010