John Axford
P | Bats/Throws: R/R | 6' 5" 234LBS | Age: 41
Draft: 2005 | Rd: 42, #1259, Cincinnati Reds | Notre Dame
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2017 0 1 6.43 22 0 0 21 21 2.10
2018 4 1 5.27 50 1 0 54.2 54 1.35
2021 0 0 54.00 1 0 0 0.1 0 9.00
11 Seasons 38 34 3.90 544 1 144 525.2 589 1.42
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2017 22 0-1 6.43 21 21 2.10
2018 50 4-1 5.27 54.2 54 1.35
2021 1 0-0 54.00 0.1 0 9.00
11 Seasons 544 38-34 3.90 525.2 589 1.42
MLB Percentile Rankings
Pitch Distribution
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Statcast Statistics

Season Age Pitches Batted
Balls		 Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit
Velocity		 Max EV Launch
Angle		 Sweet
Spot %		 XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON HardHit% K% BB% ERA xERA
2015 32 1070 156 7 4.5 2.8 90.7 113.7 4.5 26.9 .224 .346 .310 .301 .354 36.5 24.8 12.8 4.20 3.72
2016 33 1194 196 13 6.6 4.5 89.7 111.3 6.3 28.6 .246 .388 .314 .318 .356 38.3 20.8 10.4 3.98 4.28
2017 34 473 69 3 4.3 2.8 86.0 107.5 6.4 33.3 .261 .410 .385 .355 .369 31.9 19.3 15.6 6.43 5.59
2018 35 916 154 8 5.2 3.4 86.4 112.7 5.3 28.6 .220 .334 .318 .286 .322 34.4 23.2 9.4 5.27 3.42
2021 38 22 3 0 0.0 0.0 93.0 99.6 9.9 66.7 .295 .335 .634 .445 .270 66.7 0.0 20.0 54.00 9.69
Player 3675 578 31 5.4 3.5 88.6 113.7 5.6 28.9 .235 .364 .324 .310 .347 36.2 22.2 11.5
MLB 6.9 4.7 88.4 122.4 12.2 33.1 .245 .406 .316 .315 .369 36.3 22.2 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Axford relies on 3 pitches.
Sinker
(68.2%) ,
Four Seamer
(18.2%) ,
Curveball
(13.6%) ,


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Pitch Tracking



Batted Ball Profile

Season GB % FB % LD % PU % Pull % Straight % Oppo % Weak % Topped % Under % Flare/Burner % Solid % Barrel % Barrel/PA
2015 56.4 18.6 21.8 3.2 26.3 41.7 32.1 2.6 41.0 18.6 24.4 4.5 4.5 2.8
2016 56.1 15.8 22.4 5.6 29.6 39.8 29.6 4.1 43.9 16.3 21.4 5.1 6.6 4.5
2017 50.7 14.5 29.0 5.8 24.6 42.0 33.3 5.8 42.0 15.9 24.6 5.8 4.3 2.8
2018 55.2 19.5 21.4 3.9 32.5 38.3 29.2 6.5 43.5 18.8 18.8 7.1 5.2 3.4
2021 33.3 0.0 66.7 0.0 33.3 33.3 33.3 0.0 33.3 33.3 33.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
Player 55.2 17.3 23.0 4.5 28.9 40.1 30.6 4.5 42.7 17.6 22.0 5.5 5.4 3.5
MLB 44.6 23.5 24.8 7.0 37.0 37.5 25.3 3.9 32.8 24.7 24.4 5.8 6.9 4.7
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Pitch Movement

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How this works: Every pitch is affected by the forces of gravity, which means that every pitch drops on its way from the mound to the plate. These numbers are reported with gravity, which makes them larger and different than other pitch movement numbers you may have seen. Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren’t ‘better’ just because they have more time to move, the movement of a pitch is compared to ‘average’ movement by comparing it to other MLB pitch types within +/- 2 MPH and from within +/- 0.5 feet of extension and release.
Vertical Movement (inches) Horizontal Movement (inches)
Year Pitch Team Hand # MPH Inches of Drop vs Avg % vs Avg Inches of Break vs Avg % Break vs Avg
2021 Sinker MIL R 15 94.5 18.7 -1.2 -6 14.4 -0.2 -1
2021 Curveball MIL R 3 79.2 55.2 1.1 2 8.8 0.5 6
2021 4-Seam Fastball MIL R 4 93.8 15.5 -1.0 -7 6.6 -0.2 -3
2018 Curveball LAD R 136 79.7 57.8 3.9 7 7.1 -0.7 -8
2018 4-Seam Fastball LAD R 115 95.7 14.3 -0.4 -3 3.7 -3.2 -46
2018 Sinker LAD R 571 95.4 17.5 -1.5 -8 13.3 -0.7 -5
2018 Slider LAD R 93 91.7 26.4 -0.3 -1 4.6 1.7 61
2017 Slider OAK R 74 91.8 21.8 -2.6 -11 2.6 0.6 30
2017 Sinker OAK R 169 95.2 17.4 -0.3 -1 14.1 -0.3 -2
2017 Curveball OAK R 77 78.8 58.8 5.9 11 7.1 -0.4 -6
2017 4-Seam Fastball OAK R 151 95.1 13.9 -1.1 -8 4.4 -3.1 -41
2016 Sinker OAK R 7 95.8 19.1 -0.5 -3 12.8 -0.9 -7
2016 Slider OAK R 174 91.5 25.4 -2.0 -7 5.2 1.4 37
2016 4-Seam Fastball OAK R 880 96.3 14.4 -0.3 -2 3.8 -2.9 -43
2016 Curveball OAK R 112 79.3 60.6 5.6 10 9.5 0.2 2
2015 4-Seam Fastball COL R 685 96.8 16.0 -2.4 -18 2.4 -3.9 -61
2015 Sinker COL R 2 97.3 23.3 4.5 24 6.1 -6.7 -52
2015 Slider COL R 136 90.0 31.7 2.4 8 5.5 1.2 29
2015 Curveball COL R 181 79.1 60.2 5.0 9 5.9 -3.9 -39
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
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Run Values by Pitch Type

Year Pitch Type Team RV/100 Run Value Pitches % PA BA SLG wOBA Whiff% K% PutAway % xBA xSLG xwOBA Hard Hit %
2021 Sinker -5.3 -1 15 68.2 3 .500 .500 .533 28.6 0.0 0.0 .141 .174 .322 50.0
2021 4-Seam Fastball -11.1 0 4 18.2 1 -- -- .700 0.0 0.0 0.0 -- -- .700 --
2021 Curveball -39.4 -1 3 13.6 1 1.000 1.000 .900 0.0 0.0 0.0 .603 .656 .544 100.0
2018 Sinker -0.6 -4 571 62.3 155 .248 .387 .330 14.5 17.4 19.6 .236 .334 .296 31.5
2018 Curveball -4.6 -6 136 14.8 28 .333 .481 .373 40.4 35.7 25.6 .149 .201 .158 27.8
2018 4-Seam Fastball 0.0 0 115 12.6 25 .190 .476 .342 24.5 32.0 25.8 .187 .498 .350 46.2
2018 Slider -2.2 -2 93 10.2 23 .250 .300 .302 45.2 39.1 22.5 .250 .353 .316 63.6
2017 Sinker -1.1 -2 169 35.7 37 .303 .455 .368 13.5 18.9 14.6 .239 .344 .302 19.2
2017 4-Seam Fastball -2.5 -4 151 31.9 44 .355 .484 .464 18.3 15.9 12.5 .287 .439 .404 42.3
2017 Curveball -0.1 0 77 16.3 18 .313 .563 .369 32.4 27.8 13.5 .228 .462 .299 33.3
2017 Slider 0.8 1 74 15.6 10 .143 .143 .300 26.3 20.0 12.5 .327 .469 .445 40.0
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
! Note: To better align with other values, positive numbers (red) are good, and negative numbers (blue) are poor.
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Spin Direction

Year Pitch Type Pitches MPH Active Spin % Total Movement (In.) Spin-Based Observed Deviation
2021 Sinker 15 94.5 91 18.7 1:00 1:45 -45
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! Note: This table is showing data from the PITCHER perspective.
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Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2009 33 134 2 2 -2 -1 1
2010 232 958 10 11 -3 -3 15
2011 332 1,352 11 16 -4 -4 19
2012 308 1,397 8 9 -9 -8 -1
2013 309 1,272 9 2 -11 -5 -4
2014 240 1,031 2 13 -10 -5 0
2015 246 1,056 6 6 -9 -2 0
2016 288 1,192 5 6 -11 -5 -5
2017 109 471 -2 4 -5 -3 -5
2018 232 916 -1 4 -9 -5 -12
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Plate Discipline

Season Pitches Zone % Zone Swing % Zone Contact % Chase % Chase Contact % Edge % 1st Pitch Strike % Swing % Whiff % Meatball % Meatball Swing %
2015 1,070 48.9 69.0 80.6 19.9 54.1 41.6 51.6 43.9 25.5 7.8 81.9
2016 1,194 47.8 66.4 79.9 24.9 58.7 41.7 50.9 44.7 25.5 8.6 74.8
2017 473 44.2 58.4 86.1 25.8 69.1 43.3 59.6 40.2 20.0 6.1 72.4
2018 916 49.0 61.9 85.3 23.6 59.1 40.6 60.1 42.4 21.6 8.8 66.7
2021 22 45.5 70.0 100.0 25.0 33.3 40.9 80.0 45.5 20.0 0.0 --
Player 3,675 47.9 65.1 82.2 23.3 59.1 41.6 54.7 43.3 23.9 8.1 74.3
MLB 48.6 66.9 82.0 28.4 58.0 42.6 60.9 47.1 24.8 7.3 76.1
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Percentile Rankings

Year xwOBA /
xERA 		xBA xSLG xISO xOBP Brl Brl% EV Hard
Hit% 		K% BB% Whiff% Chase
Rate 		FB
Velo 		FB
Spin 		CB
Spin 		Extension
2015 59 74 75 71 24 79 64 1 18 77 1 72 1 94 63 54 90
2016 40 53 56 61 26 55 36 19 19 50 17 70 10 91 47 20 82
2017 81 46 13 83
2018 74 73 83 86 58 83 72 90 59 56 31 29 9 86 12 7 84
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Expected Home Runs

Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2016 23.6 6 7.9 -2 1 8 2 33.3
2017 22.8 3 3.3 0 1 2 2 66.7
2018 24.0 6 5.5 1 3 7 1 16.7
Player 23.7 15 16.7 -2 5 17 5 33.3

Expected Home Runs by Park

Year HR
2016 6 10 5 9 7 7 8 10 6 6 7 7 8 7 9 9 5 7 7 8 9 4 11 11 10 9 7 9 10 8 6
2017 3 3 4 4 4 3 4 3 3 2 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 4 4 3 3 4 4 3 2 4 4 4 3 3
2018 6 8 4 5 6 5 8 5 6 3 5 8 6 4 5 6 4 5 5 8 5 7 9 7 3 3 6 5 5 6 4
Player 15 21 13 18 17 15 20 18 15 11 15 19 17 14 17 18 11 14 16 20 17 14 24 22 16 14 17 18 19 17 13
! Note: This tells how many of this player's home runs would have been out of other stadiums. This accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects. For these purposes, the 2020 Blue Jays home field was still Rogers Centre, not Sahlen Field.
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Year to Year Changes

Metric 2015 2016 +/-   2017 +/-   2018 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 96.8 96.3 -0.5 ↓ 95.1 -1.2 ↓ 95.5 0.4 ↑
Offspeed Velocity 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Breaking Velocity 83.9 86.6 2.7 ↑ 85.2 -1.4 ↓ 84.5 -0.7 ↓
Exit Velocity 90.7 89.7 -1.0 ↓ 86.0 -3.7 ↓ 86.4 0.4 ↑
Launch Angle 4.5 6.3 1.8 ↑ 6.4 0.1 ↑ 5.3 -1.1 ↓
Barrel % 4.5 6.6 2.1 ↑ 4.3 -2.3 ↓ 5.2 0.9 ↑
Hard Hit % 36.5 38.3 1.8 ↑ 31.9 -6.4 ↓ 34.4 2.5 ↑
Sweet Spot % 26.9 28.6 1.7 ↑ 33.3 4.7 ↑ 28.6 -4.7 ↓
xBA .224 .246 0.022 ↑ .261 0.015 ↑ .220 -0.041 ↓
BA .259 .258 -0.001 ↓ .310 0.052 ↑ .252 -0.058 ↓
xwOBA .301 .318 0.017 ↑ .355 0.037 ↑ .286 -0.069 ↓
wOBA .310 .314 0.004 ↑ .385 0.071 ↑ .318 -0.067 ↓
xSLG .346 .388 0.042 ↑ .410 0.022 ↑ .334 -0.076 ↓
SLG .352 .369 0.017 ↑ .460 0.091 ↑ .398 -0.062 ↓
K% 24.8 20.8 -4.0 ↓ 19.3 -1.5 ↓ 23.2 3.9 ↑
BB% 12.8 10.4 -2.4 ↓ 15.6 5.2 ↑ 9.4 -6.2 ↓
Swing % 43.9 44.7 0.8 ↑ 40.2 -4.5 ↓ 42.4 2.2 ↑
Whiff% 25.5 25.5 0.0 20.0 -5.5 ↓ 21.6 1.6 ↑
In Zone % 48.9 47.8 -1.1 ↓ 44.2 -3.6 ↓ 49.0 4.8 ↑
Out of Zone % 51.1 52.2 1.1 ↑ 55.8 3.6 ↑ 51.0 -4.8 ↓
Out of Zone Swing % 19.9 24.9 5.0 ↑ 25.8 0.9 ↑ 23.6 -2.2 ↓
First Pitch Swing % 28.8 26.3 -2.5 ↓ 23.9 -2.4 ↓ 28.3 4.4 ↑
First Pitch Strike % 51.6 50.9 -0.7 ↓ 59.6 8.7 ↑ 60.1 0.5 ↑
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 283 .313 155 6 3.9 128 45 35.2
2017 Shifts 109 .385 67 0 0.0 42 9 21.4
2018 Shifts 232 .318 147 5 3.4 85 30 35.3
2021 Shifts 5 .634 2 0 0.0 3 0 0.0
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field.
Learn more about how positioning is defined here

Pitch Tempo

Bases EmptyRunners On Base
SeasonTeamPitchesTempoFast %Slow %PitchesTempoFast %Slow %
2010 275 19.0 6.2% 3.6% 185 24.0 1.1% 9.2%
2011 371 19.3 2.4% 5.1% 230 25.0 0.0% 14.8%
2012 373 18.5 7.0% 4.8% 266 23.9 0.4% 17.7%
2013 315 19.1 11.1% 3.8% 241 25.3 0.0% 21.6%
2014 254 19.4 3.5% 4.3% 225 24.6 0.9% 18.2%
2015 274 22.9 9.5% 14.2% 213 29.6 2.8% 48.8%
2016 341 21.2 10.3% 11.7% 225 27.7 1.3% 32.4%
2017 130 20.4 1.5% 4.6% 103 25.1 0.0% 16.5%
2018 286 20.5 2.1% 4.2% 154 24.2 0.0% 9.7%
2021 3 24.0 0.0% 0.0% 7 23.8 0.0% 14.3%
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Pitch Distribution

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