Pitching patterns

In 2008, 58.3% of the Yankees’ pitches were fastballs. That was the eighth lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 61.2% of the Yankees’ pitches have been fastballs. That’s the fourteenth highest percentage in baseball.

In 2008, 13.8% of the Yankees’ pitchers were sliders. That was the ninth lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 9.7% of the Yankees’ pitches have been sliders. That’s the third lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2008, 10.2% of the Yankees’ pitches were cutters. That was the second highest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 8.9% of the Yankees’ pitches have been cutters. That’s the fifth highest percentage in baseball.

In 2008, 10.8% of the Yankees’ pitches were curveballs. That was the fifth highest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 12.0% of the Yankees’ pitches have been curveballs. That’s the fifth highest percentage in baseball.

In 2008, 6.4% of the Yankees’ pitches were changeups. That was the third lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 8.0% of the Yankees’ pitches have been changeups. That’s the fifth lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2008, 0.5% of the Yankees’ pitches were splitters. That was the tenth lowest percentage in baseball.

In 2009, 0.3% of the Yankees’ pitches have been splitters. That’s the tenth lowest percentage in baseball.

There are no particularly extreme shifts to note, here, although there are some noticeable differences when you compare the pitches thrown in 2008 to the pitches thrown in 2009. The most significant change pertains to fastball usage. There are more fastballs being thrown this season, of course, as the Yankees added flamethrowers like CC, A.J. and Joba to their regular rotation while subtracting guys like Mussina, Ponson, Rasner and Kennedy. In fact, the average velocity for our starters in 2008 was 89.5 mph, the third lowest for any AL team (only the Twins and A’s had lower numbers). This year, the Yankees’ starters average 92.5 mph on their fastballs—third highest in all of baseball.

Outside of the big increase in fastball usage (a result of better velocity), the Yankees are throwing fewer sliders, cutters and splitters while throwing a few more curveballs and changeups. Still, though, the shifts in repertoire have been fairly subtle.

(all data was provided via Fangraphs)