New Tool: Pitch Shape Comps
A new tool added to the web app to show and compare pitch shapes
I will share this out on X as well, but I think it’s worth a post as well. We have a new tool available on the MLB DW Web App (link and password available in the Resource Glossary for paid subs). And it’s a good one for the pitch shape bros. And I’ve never been a pitch shape bro, but I found a certain use-case for being a pitch shape bro, so I decided to take a step in that direction.
The case was Cade Horton. I am about to write him up in the Cubs preview. And the big question that we hear about Horton is about his four-seamer. It worked in the minors, but a lot of the people who studied the shape (movement, velo, etc) of it didn’t think it would play very well in the Majors.
The best way to analyze a pitch, in my opinion, is to look at some results. Not like batting average against or how hard it gets hit or stuff like that where a ton of context is needed and where there’s a lot of randomness. But I like seeing the SwStr%, Strike%, Ball%, GB%, and those sorts of numbers.
But that stuff requires sample sizes to be meaningful. And I can’t deny that the shape of the pitch is useful information to have, especially for guys with lesser samples. So this will help with that.
Open up the “Pitch Movement Comps” tab on the app:
And then select a pitcher and a pitch type on the right. In this case, I chose Jacob Misiorowski. I did that for testing, because I knew that if his heater didn’t line up with the most dominant four-seamers in the game, something was wrong.
The first thing you’ll see is the shape profile:
release_speed = velo
pfx_x_in = horizontal movement in inches
pfx_z_in = vertical movement in inches
release_pos_x = the release point in the horizontal dimension (how narrow or wide it’s released)
release_pos_z = the release point in the vertical dimension (how high or low it’s released)
release_extension = how far away (in feet) from the pitcher’s mound it’s released
And then you’ll get the comps:
The guys I was hoping to see for Mis were Wheler and Logan Gilbert. And they’re both there, so I think it works pretty well.
You also have some other filters and rules you can put on to control your results.
That’s it, and you’ll see me using some of this stuff in player write-ups. It will be very useful to analyze young pitchers who are just debuting and stuff. Become a paid sub today and go check that out!