Thanks to the PitchFX data available at Fangraphs.com, I was able to look back at Jake Peavy‘s seven-inning gem against Kansas City and compare it to his previous start, a six run, six walk disaster against Texas.
Bad Start vs. TEX: Peavy's fastball (green), two-seam fastball (blue) and cutter (teal) are all highly erratic, some moving much less than others. Peavy also threw more curveballs (purple) and sliders (red) than in his good start against KC.
Good Start vs. KC: Peavy's pitches are much more consistent, especially the fastball, two-seam fastball and cutter. Not only are they more consistent, but they are also moving more since the cluster is located further away from the center line.
Bad Start vs. TEX: This chart depicts velocity on the vertical axis and horizontal movement on the horizontal axis. Like with the previous graphs, this shows the more erratic pitch movements throughout his outing.
Good Start vs. KC: Compared to the start against TEX, Peavy's velocity was much higher in his outing against KC. Pairing that with more and consistent horizontal movement made him much more effective.
This chart shows Peavy's fastball velocities since 2007 (green dot is average velocity). In the good start vs. KC, Peavy had his highest average velocity since his fourth-to-last start of 2009, a span of 11 starts. More importantly, Peavy's average velocities in all but two starts this season (May 3 vs. KC, Apr 22 vs. TB) were lower than any of the three with the White Sox to end last season. As you know, Peavy was great in those three outings. Throughout his career, Peavy's success has directly correlated with his velocity, so the last outing is a great sign.
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