Right-hander Zach Davies posted some very noticeable splits in 2019, pitching to the tune of much better numbers in the months of April, May, and September, while struggling in June, July, and August. Using the “Baseballr” package in R, this breakdown will attempt to uncover what Davies did differently in the months he struggled in, compared to ones with success.
Velocity
The first aspects to look into were his pitch velocities, specifically his primary pitch. Davies has a pitch arsenal consisting of a Sinker, Changeup, Cutter, Curveball, and Slider.
Zach Davies is a sinker baller, and sinker ballers tend to pitch to contact and let their defense do the job, so the average velocity of 88.4mph isn’t concerning, as his pitching style isn’t to blow by hitters. It is interesting that in the three months he was successful, he actually was right on his average velocity, immediately dipped below, then added over a mile per hour in the last month of the season, when pitchers typically get tired.
