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 |
Monday, 8:40 PM – Jeff Francis
Francis is the definition of a finesse left-hander, although he pretty much relies on only three pitches. He has never had much velocity, but it has gotten even worse the past couple years. His two-seam sinker has sat around 85-87 MPH this year, maxing out in the upper 80’s. Despite the mediocre velocity, Francis’ sinker is not as hittable as one would expect. His breaking ball is an extremely slow 67-69 MPH curve. He also throws a 77-78 MPH changeup with solid sink, which he leans on heavily against both righties and lefties. Francis has missed a good number of bats with his off-speed stuff in 2012, albeit in a small sample size. His curve has been very effective, with a whiff rate approaching 40% and a ground ball rate around 64%.
