James Shields
P | Bats/Throws: R/R | 6' 3" 210LBS | Age: 42
Draft: 2000 | Rd: 16, #466, Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Hart HS (Newhall, CA)
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2016 6 19 5.85 33 33 0 181.2 135 1.60
2017 5 7 5.23 21 21 0 117 103 1.44
2018 7 16 4.53 34 33 0 204.2 154 1.31
13 Seasons 145 139 4.01 407 405 0 2,616 2,234 1.27
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2016 33 6-19 5.85 181.2 135 1.60
2017 21 5-7 5.23 117 103 1.44
2018 34 7-16 4.53 204.2 154 1.31
13 Seasons 407 145-139 4.01 2,616 2,234 1.27
MLB Percentile Rankings
Movement Profile (Induced Break)
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Statcast Statistics

Season Age Pitches Batted
Balls		 Barrels Barrel % Barrel/PA Exit
Velocity		 Max EV Launch
Angle		 LA Sweet-
Spot %		 XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON HardHit% K% BB% ERA xERA
2015 33 3336 554 31 5.6 3.6 89.1 113.6 10.9 31.2 .232 .381 .335 .308 .371 37.7 25.1 9.4 3.91 3.93
2016 34 3133 595 50 8.4 6.1 88.7 115.8 12.8 34.6 .277 .480 .377 .359 .392 33.3 16.4 10.0 5.85 5.63
2017 35 2016 357 31 8.7 6.0 87.7 112.9 15.0 35.6 .265 .487 .348 .354 .407 37.6 20.0 10.3 5.23 5.55
2018 36 3306 630 52 8.3 6.0 88.6 113.4 16.6 35.9 .262 .465 .326 .350 .388 35.6 17.7 9.0 4.53 5.33
Player 11791 2136 164 7.7 5.3 88.6 115.8 13.8 34.3 .258 .449 .346 .341 .388 35.8 19.8 9.6
MLB 7.0 4.8 88.5 122.4 12.3 33.2 .245 .405 .316 .315 .368 36.5 22.2 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Shields relies on 6 pitches.
Four Seamer
(25.6%) ,
Cutter
(23.2%) ,
Knuckle Curve
(19.1%) ,
Changeup
(17.6%) ,
Sinker
(11.1%) ,
Eephus
(3.5%) ,


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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 46.6 21.5 26.7 5.2 41.0 35.9 22.9 3.1 34.8 24.0 26.5 4.0 5.6 3.6
2016 41.7 25.2 27.2 5.9 39.2 36.1 24.0 2.9 31.9 26.2 23.7 5.9 8.4 6.1
2017 39.8 30.8 23.2 6.2 39.2 39.8 20.7 4.5 25.8 26.9 26.6 6.4 8.7 6.0
2018 36.8 27.8 26.5 8.9 44.6 34.3 20.6 2.5 26.7 30.6 24.0 6.8 8.3 6.0
Player 41.2 25.9 26.2 6.6 41.2 36.1 22.2 3.1 30.1 27.1 25.0 5.8 7.7 5.3
MLB 44.4 23.8 24.7 7.1 37.2 37.5 25.2 3.9 32.6 24.8 24.4 5.9 7.0 4.8
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Pitch Movement

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How this works: This section shows two different ways to evaluate pitch movement. On the left, “Total Movement” shows the real-world movement of a pitch, including the forces of gravity, which affects every pitch thrown. Since gravity requires time, and slower pitches aren't 'better' just because they have more time to move, a pitch's movement is compared to other pitches of the same pitch type, within +/- 2 MPH and +/- 0.5 feet of extension/release. On the right, Induced Movement (or IVB) is reported without gravity, and attempts to isolate movement created by the pitcher's ability to spin and manipulate the ball.
Total Movement (in inches, w/ gravity)Induced Movement (in inches, w/o gravity)
YearPitchTeamHand#MPHVertical
Drop		vs.
Comparable		Horizontal
Break		vs.
Comparable		Vertical
Break		vs. AvgHorizontal
Break		vs. Avg
2018 4-Seam Fastball CWS R 845 89.5 20.4 -1.9 8.0ARM 1.2 13.1 -2.6 8.0ARM 0.8
2018 Sinker CWS R 366 89.0 29.8 3.1 13.9ARM -0.7 4.3 5.0 13.9ARM -0.8
2018 Cutter CWS R 765 86.4 29.3 -0.7 4.5GLV 1.8 6.9 -1.4 4.5GLV 1.9
2018 Curveball CWS R 629 78.2 49.5 -5.0 6.3GLV -3.2 -4.9 -4.7 6.3GLV -2.9
2018 Changeup CWS R 581 83.4 32.4 0.5 14.5ARM 0.9 6.3 0.4 14.5ARM 1.2
2017 Curveball CWS R 402 78.1 49.2 -2.8 5.0GLV -4.1 -4.6 -3.4 5.0GLV -3.6
2017 4-Seam Fastball CWS R 529 90.2 17.5 -0.8 8.4ARM 0.7 15.5 -1.6 8.4ARM 0.3
2017 Cutter CWS R 509 85.9 30.0 -1.0 2.8GLV 0.9 6.6 -2.7 2.8GLV 0.5
2017 Sinker CWS R 259 89.8 23.5 -0.4 12.8ARM -2.1 9.6 1.2 12.8ARM -2.6
2017 Changeup CWS R 219 82.6 32.8 0.9 16.0ARM 2.5 6.6 1.9 16.0ARM 2.4
! Note: Years are in reverse order.

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 %
2018 4-Seam Fastball 0.0 0 845 25.6 202 .284 .556 .414 12.1 5.4 9.5 .327 .688 .473 44.2
2018 Cutter -1.1 -8 765 23.1 200 .288 .469 .360 21.1 14.0 17.3 .295 .516 .388 41.7
2018 Curveball -0.7 -4 629 19.0 165 .247 .475 .312 34.0 29.7 22.3 .225 .393 .274 32.5
2018 Changeup 0.1 0 581 17.6 168 .221 .322 .294 29.2 17.9 16.5 .236 .333 .303 23.3
2018 Sinker -0.3 -1 366 11.1 90 .185 .333 .263 21.3 14.4 18.6 .268 .468 .346 34.8
2017 4-Seam Fastball -0.8 -4 529 26.2 121 .289 .588 .434 13.5 12.4 15.3 .279 .544 .414 54.9
2017 Cutter -0.6 -3 509 25.2 128 .277 .536 .399 22.8 12.5 14.7 .305 .538 .394 32.0
2017 Curveball 1.1 5 402 19.9 110 .187 .299 .222 39.9 36.4 23.3 .185 .293 .217 28.4
2017 Sinker -1.3 -3 259 12.8 64 .310 .621 .435 8.5 4.7 8.1 .386 .716 .483 43.6
2017 Changeup -2.8 -6 219 10.9 58 .296 .648 .416 31.9 20.7 19.4 .265 .557 .366 31.0
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
! Note: To better align with other values, positive numbers (red) are good, and negative numbers (blue) are poor.

Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2008 944 3,388 14 16 -8 -11 11
2009 924 3,296 -1 23 -13 -10 -1
2010 915 3,403 -9 10 -17 -10 -25
2011 999 3,675 19 28 -10 -9 27
2012 941 3,606 -4 35 -13 -13 6
2013 946 3,655 24 28 -18 -16 17
2014 1055 4,078 13 26 -22 -14 4
2015 855 3,315 1 23 -7 -15 1
2016 818 3,119 -10 20 -23 -14 -27
2017 510 2,013 7 9 -16 -11 -11
2018 871 3,302 13 15 -23 -20 -14
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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 3,336 41.2 66.0 81.5 31.6 53.7 40.9 60.6 45.8 28.8 5.2 71.3
2016 3,133 42.0 67.1 86.5 27.3 58.0 40.5 54.8 44.0 22.3 6.3 72.4
2017 2,016 47.1 67.5 81.4 23.7 59.5 39.3 57.9 44.4 24.7 7.0 76.6
2018 3,306 45.8 67.4 83.0 26.8 58.3 40.4 56.8 45.4 24.5 7.9 77.9
Player 11,791 43.7 67.0 83.2 27.8 56.8 40.4 57.5 45.0 25.2 6.6 74.8
MLB 48.7 67.0 82.0 28.5 57.8 42.6 61.0 47.2 25.0 7.3 76.3
! 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 47 63 53 41 43 8 33 20 10 79 15 87 70 32 57 73 96
2016 6 10 8 9 6 1 8 44 60 17 20 41 29 22 57 64 98
2017 12 25 9 6 18 11 6 37 12 37 20 52 12 13 66 55 96
2018 9 19 9 7 20 1 19 41 46 19 37 46 35 9 54 51 95
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Expected Home Runs

Adjusted
Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2016 22.2 40 40.1 0 16 29 17 42.5
2017 22.0 27 22.1 5 11 17 10 37.0
2018 22.5 34 32.4 2 23 19 17 50.0
Player 22.3 101 94.6 6 50 65 44 43.6
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
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Expected Home Runs by Park

Adjusted
Year HR
2016 40 44 31 47 41 36 44 39 37 32 35 47 39 34 40 41 32 40 44 43 39 33 52 44 35 38 42 52 43 44 36
2017 27 19 20 25 23 20 26 23 16 16 18 25 25 24 17 28 19 17 27 20 26 18 29 25 23 19 21 30 30 19 14
2018 34 45 28 31 32 29 32 32 27 25 30 38 39 27 29 33 28 28 37 34 35 35 40 41 25 25 31 35 43 32 27
Player 101 108 79 103 96 85 102 94 80 73 83 110 103 85 86 102 79 85 108 97 100 86 121 110 83 82 94 117 116 95 77
Note: xHR tells how many of this pitcher's home runs allowed would have been out of other stadiums. The "Adjusted" view here accounts for different wall heights, distances and environmental effects using Statcast Park Factor data.
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Year to Year Changes

Metric 2015 2016 +/-   2017 +/-   2018 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 90.0 89.7 -0.3 ↓ 88.4 -1.3 ↓ 88.2 -0.2 ↓
Offspeed Velocity 84.9 84.3 -0.6 ↓ 82.6 -1.7 ↓ 83.4 0.8 ↑
Breaking Velocity 78.7 77.6 -1.1 ↓ 76.4 -1.2 ↓ 76.7 0.3 ↑
Exit Velocity 89.1 88.7 -0.4 ↓ 87.7 -1.0 ↓ 88.6 0.9 ↑
Launch Angle 10.9 12.8 1.9 ↑ 15.0 2.2 ↑ 16.6 1.6 ↑
Barrel % 5.6 8.4 2.8 ↑ 8.7 0.3 ↑ 8.3 -0.4 ↓
Hard Hit % 37.7 33.3 -4.4 ↓ 37.6 4.3 ↑ 35.6 -2.0 ↓
LA Sweet-Spot % 31.2 34.6 3.4 ↑ 35.6 1.0 ↑ 35.9 0.3 ↑
xBA .232 .277 0.045 ↑ .265 -0.012 ↓ .262 -0.003 ↓
BA .248 .288 0.040 ↑ .253 -0.035 ↓ .245 -0.008 ↓
xwOBA .308 .359 0.051 ↑ .354 -0.005 ↓ .350 -0.004 ↓
wOBA .335 .377 0.042 ↑ .348 -0.029 ↓ .326 -0.022 ↓
xSLG .381 .480 0.099 ↑ .487 0.007 ↑ .465 -0.022 ↓
SLG .450 .527 0.077 ↑ .490 -0.037 ↓ .435 -0.055 ↓
K% 25.1 16.4 -8.7 ↓ 20.0 3.6 ↑ 17.7 -2.3 ↓
BB% 9.4 10.0 0.6 ↑ 10.3 0.3 ↑ 9.0 -1.3 ↓
Swing % 45.8 44.0 -1.8 ↓ 44.4 0.4 ↑ 45.4 1.0 ↑
Whiff% 28.8 22.3 -6.5 ↓ 24.7 2.4 ↑ 24.5 -0.2 ↓
In Zone % 41.2 42.0 0.8 ↑ 47.1 5.1 ↑ 45.8 -1.3 ↓
Out of Zone % 58.8 58.0 -0.8 ↓ 52.9 -5.1 ↓ 54.2 1.3 ↑
Out of Zone Swing % 31.6 27.3 -4.3 ↓ 23.7 -3.6 ↓ 26.8 3.1 ↑
First Pitch Swing % 30.9 27.0 -3.9 ↓ 25.6 -1.4 ↓ 27.3 1.7 ↑
First Pitch Strike % 60.6 54.8 -5.8 ↓ 57.9 3.1 ↑ 56.8 -1.1 ↓
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 806 .379 412 21 5.1 394 111 28.2
2017 Shifts 511 .349 258 41 15.9 253 94 37.2
2018 Shifts 871 .326 424 263 62.0 447 335 74.9
! 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 939 15.0 44.8% 3.7% 555 22.0 2.0% 10.8%
2011 1124 15.2 48.5% 0.9% 436 22.6 1.1% 11.0%
2012 1084 15.3 45.8% 1.8% 519 22.9 1.0% 11.6%
2013 1063 16.2 34.1% 2.3% 607 22.7 2.1% 12.0%
2014 1095 16.7 29.7% 1.3% 579 22.9 1.4% 11.9%
2015 995 18.6 20.8% 6.7% 500 25.2 4.2% 26.2%
2016 919 18.0 26.1% 5.5% 521 24.8 6.0% 22.6%
2017 649 18.2 14.9% 3.1% 313 26.0 0.0% 17.3%
2018 1033 17.7 18.6% 2.2% 492 25.9 0.2% 20.9%

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Pitch Distribution

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