Exploring the Arsenal will run prior to each game, providing you with a brief scouting report on the starting pitcher expected to oppose the Pirates. The chart below shows the horizontal and vertical movement of every pitch thrown by that particular pitcher in 2012. This chart is from the catcher’s point of view. For a general guide to pitch types for a right-handed pitcher, please check out this image created by Sons of Sam Horn. Graphs are courtesy of Brooks Baseball and The Hardball Times , unless otherwise specified.
| Pitch Types | ||
|---|---|---|
| FA: Four-Seam Fastball | FT: Two-Seam Fastball | FC: Cutter |
| CU: Curveball | SL: Slider | CH: Changeup |
| FS: Splitter | SI: Sinker |
Friday, 8:15 PM – Adam Wainwright
Wainwright’s primary weapon is a sinker, which he goes to on nearly half of his offerings. The pitch sat at 90-92 MPH prior to last season’s Tommy John surgery and has been just a tick slower since his return.This season, he has been mostly at 89-91, occasionally getting up around 93 MPH. Wainwright’s main swing-and-miss pitches are a 73-74 MPH curve and an 85-88 MPH cutter. The curve is among the best in baseball. In 2010, Wainwright’s last full season, the curve had a whiff rate of close to 40%. So far this year, it has been closer to 35%, which is still comfortably above average. The cutter has also missed a ton of bats in the past, resembling a typical slider in regard to movement and effectiveness. However, it has been a bit more hittable so far in 2012. Wainwright commands the cutter well on the inner half to left-handers, and also mixes in an occasional 83-85 MPH changeup against lefties. He has been inconsistent so far this season, but his peripheral numbers have remained pretty strong and he has been very effective in his past three starts.
