The Gausman File
Team: Toronto Blue Jays
Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
Age: 32
Birthday: 1/6/1991
Fastball Velo: 95 mph
College: LSU
Draft: 4th overall, 2012
Contract: Signed a 5-year, $110 million deal after the 2021 season
WAG: Married to Taylor North
Children: Sadie and Sutton
Record/Accomplishments:
- One MLB All-Star selection, 2021
- One All-MLB Second Team selection, 2021
Kevin Gausman and the Art of Aesthetic Pitching
I won’t pretend to know what Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman does during the offseason, but I’d wager he isn’t a painter. He already spends his summers doing just that.
Gausman bounced around the big leagues before perfecting his split-change, a secondary offering that tunnels exceptionally well with his 95-mph fastball. In turn, he offers one of the most consistent and aesthetically pleasing strike zone plots in all of baseball.
These plots, which simply color code pitches by type (fastball, slider, and split-change in this case) and then represent where the pitch is being thrown (either with a contour or a flurry of data points, show off his incredible control and his plan to get guys out.
His fastballs almost perfectly sit largely on the inside part of the plate to right-handed hitters, with his split-change directly below, keeping hitters off-balance. For extra measure, his slider, sitting almost perfectly on the low-outside corner to righties, adds to batters’ torment.
All pitchers have a plan, but few are as precise and satisfying as the ace north of the border.