His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Greinke's 4-seam fastball averages 89.5 mph, and has touched 93.3.
592 thrown, 26.7% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Greinke's sinker moves 106.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
347 thrown, averaging 89.8 mph.
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Greinke averages 84.3 mph across his arsenal, 5th percentile in the league.
2219 pitches in 2023. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 734th in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Greinke lands 53.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.9% of his offspeed pitches.
1095 of his fastballs, 367 of his offspeed pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.3 mph separates Greinke's sinker from his curveball, 89.8 against 72.5.
347 and 312 of them respectively.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Greinke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.08 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2219 located pitches in 2023.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Greinke puts 63.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.4% when he is ahead.
523 located pitches behind, 653 ahead.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Greinke's 4-seam fastball carries 15.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
592 thrown, averaging 89.5 mph.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Greinke's sinker leaves the bat at 92.9 mph, against 86.1 off his cutter.
347 and 156 of them thrown.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Greinke throws a strike on the first pitch 66.2% of the time.
595 plate appearances started in 2023.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .378 expected average against them, against .319 on his breaking balls.
1095 of his fastballs thrown.
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Greinke throws 41.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.1% with the bases empty.
384 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1835 with the bases empty.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Greinke releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2218 tracked pitches in 2023.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Greinke throws the slider 30.1% of the time against right-handers and 7.3% against left-handers.
1236 pitches to right-handers, 983 to left-handers.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Greinke goes to the slider: 25.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 18% the rest of the time.
633 two-strike pitches in 2023.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Greinke's fastball averages 89.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 88.5 past his 75th.
413 early fastballs, 68 late ones.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Greinke works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 26.7% of everything he throws.
2219 classified pitches in 2023.
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Greinke projects a .349 average, 27th percentile.
2219 pitches in 2023. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 563rd in MLB.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.4% of Greinke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
386 of 2219 located pitches.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Greinke releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2219 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Greinke throws a fastball 50.5% of the time, against 45% when he is ahead.
523 pitches behind in the count, 653 ahead.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Greinke's slider spins at 2,464 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
444 thrown in 2023.
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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
Greinke's 4-seam fastball averages 89.5 mph, and has touched 93.3.
592 thrown, 26.7% of his pitches.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
17.3 mph separates Greinke's sinker from his curveball, 89.8 against 72.5.
347 and 312 of them respectively.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Greinke's sinker leaves the bat at 92.9 mph, against 86.1 off his cutter.
347 and 156 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Greinke throws the slider 30.1% of the time against right-handers and 7.3% against left-handers.
1236 pitches to right-handers, 983 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Greinke works with 6 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider, Changeup and Sinker, and a little else. The 4-seam fastball is 26.7% of everything he throws.
2219 classified pitches in 2023.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Greinke's slider spins at 2,464 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
444 thrown in 2023.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Greinke's sinker moves 106.5 inches toward the first-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
347 thrown, averaging 89.8 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Greinke's 4-seam fastball carries 15.5 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
592 thrown, averaging 89.5 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He gets by without much velocity, and it costs him
Greinke averages 84.3 mph across his arsenal, 5th percentile in the league.
2219 pitches in 2023. 5th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 734th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Greinke lands 53.7% of his fastballs in the zone and only 25.9% of his offspeed pitches.
1095 of his fastballs, 367 of his offspeed pitches.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .378 expected average against them, against .319 on his breaking balls.
1095 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Greinke lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.08 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
2219 located pitches in 2023.
He lives on the edges rather than over the middle
17.4% of Greinke's pitches land in the middle third of the zone, well below what most pitchers give away.
386 of 2219 located pitches.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Greinke puts 63.9% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 31.4% when he is ahead.
523 located pitches behind, 653 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Greinke throws a strike on the first pitch 66.2% of the time.
595 plate appearances started in 2023.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Greinke goes to the slider: 25.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 18% the rest of the time.
633 two-strike pitches in 2023.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Greinke throws a fastball 50.5% of the time, against 45% when he is ahead.
523 pitches behind in the count, 653 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches around the zone once runners are on
Greinke throws 41.7% of his pitches in the zone with a runner in scoring position and 46.1% with the bases empty.
384 pitches with a runner in scoring position, 1835 with the bases empty.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Greinke releases the ball 6.0 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
2218 tracked pitches in 2023.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Greinke's fastball averages 89.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 88.5 past his 75th.
413 early fastballs, 68 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Greinke releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 54 degrees above horizontal and 1.3 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
2219 tracked release points, averaging 6.1 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows is the kind that finds grass
The quality of contact against Greinke projects a .349 average, 27th percentile.
2219 pitches in 2023. 27th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2023, 563rd in MLB.
Royals
Career team 2004–2023