Felix Hernandez
| #P | BF | Str% | nBB | Sw(ms) | K(sw) | GB/FB/LD/IF | 1B/2B/3B/HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 113 | 29 | 69.9 | 1 | 62 (6) | 7 (4) | 7 / 9 / 4 / 1 | 6 / 0 / 0 / 0 |
The overall stat line for Felix looked very good. Lots of innings, just one run (not a homer), one walk and seven strikeouts. The more detailed pitching line looks less enthusing, but still alright. Felix tossed a lot of strikes, but suffered a higher than typical contact rate and many fly balls. The Giants are a very high-contact team however, so it's important to remember not to get too wrapped up in a single game's stats.
The overall stuff is less worthy of notice though than the pitch breakdowns, specially, the average speeds.
| Pitch | # | Sp | Zone% | Ball | Called | SwStr | Foul | GB | FB | LD | IF | Bt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FA | 64 | 92.5 | 43.8 | 18 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| CH | 26 | 89.5 | 15.4 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| CU | 13 | 82 | 69.2 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| SL | 10 | 86.4 | 30 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
By Pitch f/x, here are Felix's average pitch speeds from 2011.
Fastball: 93.3
Change: 89.4
Curve: 81.7
Slider: 86.8
If there hadn't been any noise before yesterday about Felix's fastball looking at those and then looking at what Felix averaged yesterday would not have raised any questions in me. Granted that it is only one start and Pitch f/x can have some variability park to park, but everything save the fastball looks right at their 2011 levels and the fastball is only slightly down. That would not even cause a blip on my concern-o-sonar.
I am not and will not draw a conclusion out from just one start. I'm not saying Felix is back, or fixed, or anything at all. I am and will point out however that yesterday's radar gun readings would have been in line with what we saw last year.
Also, unrelated, but look how often Felix throws his changeup outside the strike zone and yet hitters swung at 58% of them. It's just an incredibly difficult pitch for batters. So much time is spent worrying about Felix's fastball, but as long as he has that changeup, I think Felix could throw zero fastballs a game and still be good.