Justin Verlander is having a tremendous season. On Wednesday, he won his MLB best 22nd game, and the Tigers ace also leads all pitchers in innings pitched (229.0), strikeouts (232), and is the American League leader in ERA (2.44). With Verlander pitching so well, one might wonder what types and mix of pitches he uses to achieve such success.
In the forthcoming 2012 edition of The Bill James Handbook, we will be introducing a section that presents the repertoire of all pitchers in 2011. The information provided will include the frequency of each pitch thrown, as well as his average fastball velocity. As an example, here is Verlander's repertoire:
|
Pitch Repertoire
|
| Player |
Fastball Velocity
|
Fastball |
Cutter |
Curve |
Slider |
Change |
Other |
Justin Verlander
|
95 |
57% |
- |
19% |
8% |
17% |
- |
*Data through games of Thursday, 9/8/11
As you can see, Verlander has mixed his pitches pretty well. He relies a fair amount on his 95-mph fastball, but compliments it with a healthy dose of curveballs and change-ups, as well as a smattering of sliders.
What might some other interesting pitcher repertoires look like ?
|
Pitch Repertoire
|
| Player |
Fastball Velocity
|
Fastball |
Cutter |
Curve |
Slider |
Change |
Other |
Freddy Garcia
|
87 |
37% |
- |
10% |
24% |
8% |
Splitter 21% |
Tim Wakefield
|
73 |
8%
|
- |
2% |
- |
- |
Knuckleball 90% |
R.A. Dickey
|
84
|
23% |
- |
- |
- |
2% |
Knuckleball 75% |
Mariano Rivera
|
92 |
13% |
87% |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Aroldis Chapman
|
98 |
84% |
- |
- |
16% |
- |
- |
*Data through games of Thursday, 9/8/11
Freddy Garcia has experienced something of a renaissance this season. Pitching in the vaunted AL East with only a 87-mph fastball, he has survived by throwing it less than half the time and relying more heavily on his array of breaking balls and off-speed stuff.
As the only representatives of the dying breed of knuckleballers in MLB, Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey present an interesting contrast. Wakefield, with the fastball of your average high school pitcher, represents the classic knuckleballer, relying almost exclusively on his knuckleball while using his fastball and curveball only sparingly to keep hitters off balance. Dickey, on the other hand, throws a good bit harder and utilizes his fastball much more than Wakefield.
Relief pitchers, of course, do not have to develop repertoires as varied as starting pitchers because they rarely face a hitter more than once in a game. The legend of Mariano Rivera tells of a pitcher that has built a 17-year Hall-of-Fame career throwing a single pitch. While he occasionally uses a traditional fastball, we can see that he does in fact throw that cut-fastball almost as frequently as Wakefield throws his knuckleball. Aroldis Chapman throws his fastball an average of 98-mph. With that kind of velocity, there is no need to throw secondary pitches as much.
The 2012 Bill James Handbook is available for preorder at ACTASports.com and will hit shelves on November 1, 2012.