James Paxton
P | Bats/Throws: L/L | 6' 4" 212LBS | Age: 36
Draft: 2010 | Rd: 4, #132, Seattle Mariners
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2021 0 0 6.75 1 1 0 1.1 2 0.75
2023 7 5 4.50 19 19 0 96 101 1.31
2024 9 3 4.40 21 21 0 100.1 73 1.45
11 Seasons 73 41 3.77 177 177 0 951 1,005 1.25
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2021 1 0-0 6.75 1.1 2 0.75
2023 19 7-5 4.50 96 101 1.31
2024 21 9-3 4.40 100.1 73 1.45
11 Seasons 177 73-41 3.77 951 1,005 1.25
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 26 1111 212 15 7.1 5.1 90.1 116.3 8.7 27.4 .251 .421 .309 .329 .369 37.7 18.9 9.8 3.90 4.55
2016 27 1950 369 15 4.1 2.9 90.4 117.0 8.8 30.6 .247 .365 .306 .280 .344 41.2 22.9 4.7 3.79 3.26
2017 28 2268 356 10 2.8 1.8 87.2 112.2 12.3 31.7 .213 .306 .263 .256 .320 31.3 28.3 6.7 2.98 2.76
2018 29 2603 394 37 9.4 5.7 90.1 114.5 15.0 36.3 .220 .383 .287 .286 .395 42.1 32.2 6.5 3.76 3.42
2019 30 2665 390 29 7.4 4.6 89.2 113.4 17.6 35.1 .221 .379 .310 .291 .372 38.5 29.4 8.7 3.82 3.69
2020 31 356 56 6 10.7 6.7 90.7 109.2 18.4 37.5 .227 .442 .368 .315 .406 44.6 28.9 7.8 6.64 4.21
2021 32 24 2 0 0.0 0.0 66.2 81.8 14.5 0.0 .044 .046 .138 .170 .080 0.0 40.0 20.0 6.75 1.25
2023 34 1690 273 25 9.2 6.1 89.3 112.5 13.8 33.3 .229 .390 .328 .300 .360 39.9 24.6 8.0 4.50 3.77
2024 35 1708 313 25 8.0 5.7 90.5 118.1 16.0 32.6 .255 .403 .324 .334 .354 43.1 16.7 11.4 4.39 4.74
Player 14375 2365 162 6.8 4.5 89.5 118.1 13.6 32.9 .231 .375 .303 .293 .360 39.3 25.8 7.8
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

Paxton relies on 5 pitches.
Four Seamer
(55.1%) ,
Knuckle Curve
(30.3%) ,
Changeup
(6.6%) ,
Sinker
(5.0%) ,
Cutter
(3.1%) ,


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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 49.5 23.1 22.6 4.7 36.3 38.7 25.0 1.9 38.7 23.1 22.2 5.7 7.1 5.1
2016 48.8 20.9 25.2 5.1 33.6 35.5 30.9 3.5 37.7 22.8 27.6 4.1 4.1 2.9
2017 45.8 20.5 25.8 7.9 34.0 32.9 33.1 3.9 34.6 25.8 27.0 5.1 2.8 1.8
2018 41.1 27.7 23.9 7.4 33.5 37.1 29.4 2.5 29.9 26.4 25.4 5.3 9.4 5.7
2019 40.3 25.4 22.6 11.8 37.9 34.6 27.4 4.4 25.6 29.0 25.4 7.4 7.4 4.6
2020 32.1 35.7 25.0 7.1 32.1 42.9 25.0 1.8 19.6 33.9 25.0 8.9 10.7 6.7
2021 50.0 0.0 0.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 100.0 50.0 50.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2023 42.9 26.0 23.4 7.7 37.7 31.1 31.1 2.9 30.8 27.5 23.8 5.9 9.2 6.1
2024 39.0 29.1 23.3 8.6 32.3 41.2 26.5 5.1 26.5 31.3 21.7 7.0 8.0 5.7
Player 43.3 24.9 23.9 7.8 34.8 35.9 29.3 3.6 31.3 26.8 25.0 5.8 6.8 4.5
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
2024 4-Seam Fastball BOS L 941 93.2 17.6 -2.4 10.5ARM 3.6 13.8 -1.8 10.5ARM 2.3
2024 Curveball BOS L 517 80.8 46.5 -5.0 1.1GLV -7.1 -4.8 -3.2 1.1GLV -6.3
2024 Changeup BOS L 112 82.6 31.1 -1.6 13.9ARM 0.2 9.0 -3.1 13.9ARM -0.2
2024 Sinker BOS L 85 92.8 22.0 -1.5 14.4ARM -0.5 9.7 -1.6 14.4ARM -0.8
2024 Cutter BOS L 53 84.0 36.1 -3.8 1.7GLV -2.9 2.6 -4.6 1.7GLV -0.4
2023 4-Seam Fastball BOS L 955 95.2 15.4 -1.4 11.9ARM 4.9 14.8 -0.5 11.9ARM 4.0
2023 Changeup BOS L 114 84.4 32.2 1.2 14.9ARM 1.0 6.2 0.1 14.9ARM 0.9
2023 Cutter BOS L 275 85.8 34.4 -3.4 0.9GLV -2.7 2.7 -4.2 0.9GLV -0.9
2023 Curveball BOS L 333 81.4 48.0 -3.1 1.8GLV -5.8 -6.7 -1.7 1.8GLV -5.9
2023 Sinker BOS L 13 95.2 20.6 -0.2 16.6ARM 1.6 9.8 -1.5 16.6ARM 1.5
! 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 %
2024 4-Seam Fastball -0.1 -1 941 55.1 260 .264 .431 .361 14.4 12.3 12.2 .269 .443 .370 46.3
2024 Curveball 0.6 3 517 30.3 106 .200 .300 .254 36.2 28.3 17.6 .228 .348 .268 45.1
2024 Changeup -1.7 -2 112 6.6 25 .250 .375 .286 32.6 24.0 14.0 .195 .241 .211 22.2
2024 Sinker -1.9 -2 85 5.0 31 .308 .423 .379 9.1 9.7 14.3 .249 .307 .317 34.8
2024 Cutter -2.0 -1 53 3.1 15 .308 .769 .480 13.0 13.3 10.5 .356 .652 .465 27.3
2023 4-Seam Fastball 0.1 1 955 56.5 243 .269 .498 .359 21.9 19.3 18.4 .264 .461 .343 44.5
2023 Curveball -0.3 -1 333 19.7 71 .227 .333 .301 36.8 32.4 20.5 .190 .279 .237 27.9
2023 Cutter -0.3 -1 275 16.3 77 .194 .433 .310 33.8 33.8 21.3 .161 .303 .260 38.1
2023 Changeup 0.0 0 114 6.7 19 .316 .421 .321 46.7 21.1 20.0 .214 .276 .212 26.7
2023 Sinker 1.8 0 13 0.8 1 .000 .000 .000 0.0 100.0 33.3 -- -- .000 --
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
! Note: To better align with other values, positive numbers (red) are good, and negative numbers (blue) are poor.

Spin Direction

Year Pitch Type Pitches MPH Active Spin % Total Movement (In.) Spin-Based Observed Deviation
2024 Changeup 110 82.6 88 16.8 9:30 10:00 -30
2024 Curveball 514 80.8 58 7.0 4:45 5:45 -60
2024 Cutter 53 84.0 14 2.7 12:15 2:15 -120
2024 4-Seam Fastball 935 93.2 96 17.2 10:30 10:45 -15
2024 Sinker 81 92.8 95 17.4 10:15 10:00 15
2023 Changeup 114 84.4 92 16.4 9:45 9:30 15
2023 Curveball 333 81.4 66 9.2 4:45 5:45 -60
2023 Cutter 273 85.8 15 2.4 12:15 1:30 -75
2023 4-Seam Fastball 943 95.2 98 18.8 10:30 10:30 0
2023 Sinker 13 95.2 97 19.6 10:30 10:00 30
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
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! Note: This table is showing data from the PITCHER perspective.
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Pitcher Arm Angle

! Note: Data is available from 2020 through the present.
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Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2013 89 367 5 4 -2 -1 6
2014 301 1,178 8 10 -5 -3 10
2015 295 1,109 12 4 -8 -5 3
2016 508 1,940 2 7 -8 -3 -3
2017 549 2,261 23 15 -7 -6 26
2018 645 2,598 -1 24 -5 -6 12
2019 691 2,912 6 30 -17 -10 10
2020 90 356 -3 1 -2 -1 -5
2023 411 1,690 9 7 -11 -5 0
2024 437 1,708 10 3 -8 -7 -2
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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 1,111 47.6 62.1 87.2 21.8 62.2 43.2 53.5 41.0 19.3 7.7 61.6
2016 1,950 53.9 66.6 82.3 30.5 53.8 46.0 62.4 49.8 25.5 7.6 74.1
2017 2,268 53.3 67.3 77.8 26.5 53.6 43.7 64.9 48.2 28.2 8.4 75.9
2018 2,603 54.4 70.1 78.3 32.0 47.2 43.4 66.2 52.6 30.0 9.0 78.1
2019 2,665 48.4 70.8 77.3 30.4 51.0 44.6 65.7 49.9 30.8 6.0 81.8
2020 356 49.2 69.7 82.0 33.7 50.8 36.5 68.9 51.4 28.4 9.0 68.8
2021 24 37.5 66.7 83.3 40.0 50.0 70.8 100.0 50.0 33.3 0.0 --
2023 1,690 50.1 70.7 81.1 29.3 51.0 42.5 59.9 50.0 27.6 7.3 78.0
2024 1,708 49.2 69.3 87.3 25.8 56.3 41.8 63.6 47.2 21.1 6.5 75.7
Player 14,375 51.2 68.7 80.6 28.8 52.3 43.6 63.4 49.2 27.2 7.5 75.9
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 21 37 24 20 26 47 12 4 10 39 13 20 1 79 16 7 46
2016 82 49 71 81 85 49 83 5 4 65 92 69 70 96 27 6 60
2017 93 85 93 97 91 66 96 49 65 85 77 78 37 86 62 5 74
2018 74 73 54 37 90 8 6 7 4 93 79 79 90 85 65 1 54
2019 75 75 67 61 78 23 41 34 33 83 39 83 64 81 54 3 70
2020 50 62 31 17 71 46 13 12 14 76 60 62 91 31 43 9 63
2023 66 69 60 49 75 35 27 41 44 58 57 62 56 71 42 1 79
2024 17 28 39 52 11 33 43 9 13 7 12 13 18 35 13 2 56
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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 21.3 9 10.1 -1 7 9 3 33.3
2017 22.9 9 9.9 -1 6 9 4 44.4
2018 22.8 23 24.2 -1 11 18 10 43.5
2019 22.1 25 21.5 4 12 12 12 48.0
2020 25.0 4 4.1 0 2 3 2 50.0
2023 23.2 18 16.2 2 5 16 4 22.2
2024 22.9 12 12.5 -1 10 13 2 16.7
Player 22.7 100 98.5 2 53 80 37 37.0
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 9 12 7 11 10 9 12 9 8 6 11 13 11 9 8 11 5 8 12 12 11 9 12 14 7 9 11 15 12 12 8
2017 9 10 9 10 11 8 13 10 8 6 9 13 7 11 9 11 8 7 13 10 12 9 14 12 8 7 10 13 11 10 8
2018 23 31 19 26 24 24 27 26 19 17 22 30 24 23 24 26 24 24 27 27 26 20 29 28 23 19 20 25 25 24 22
2019 25 23 18 25 23 22 23 23 20 16 18 27 25 19 22 21 16 17 21 23 21 22 28 25 19 18 21 28 25 21 16
2020 4 4 4 5 3 5 4 5 4 2 3 6 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 3 6 4 3 3 5 5 5 3 3
2023 18 10 17 11 20 17 19 16 17 11 17 18 14 13 18 18 17 11 18 19 14 20 22 21 11 11 20 17 18 18 14
2024 12 7 13 13 9 12 15 11 10 7 13 15 14 10 10 10 8 6 14 17 13 14 23 16 9 10 15 17 18 13 12
Player 100 97 87 101 100 97 113 100 86 65 93 122 99 89 94 101 82 77 109 113 102 97 134 120 80 77 102 120 114 101 83
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 +/-   2019 +/-   2020 +/-   2021 +/-   2022 +/-   2023 +/-   2024 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 94.6 95.7 1.1 ↑ 94.6 -1.1 ↓ 94.2 -0.4 ↓ 93.6 -0.6 ↓ 90.7 -2.9 ↓ -- 1.0 ↑ -- -- 93.1 -- 92.7 -0.4 ↓
Offspeed Velocity 86.5 89.4 2.9 ↑ 86.9 -2.5 ↓ 86.5 -0.4 ↓ 86.2 -0.3 ↓ 82.0 -4.2 ↓ -- 0.0 -- -- 84.4 -- 82.6 -1.8 ↓
Breaking Velocity 81.8 82.5 0.7 ↑ 80.4 -2.1 ↓ 81.1 0.7 ↑ 81.1 0.0 79.7 -1.4 ↓ -- -1.6 ↓ -- -- 81.4 -- 80.8 -0.6 ↓
Exit Velocity 90.1 90.4 0.3 ↑ 87.2 -3.2 ↓ 90.1 2.9 ↑ 89.2 -0.9 ↓ 90.7 1.5 ↑ -- -24.5 ↓ -- -- 89.3 -- 90.5 1.2 ↑
Launch Angle 8.7 8.8 0.1 ↑ 12.3 3.5 ↑ 15.0 2.7 ↑ 17.6 2.6 ↑ 18.4 0.8 ↑ -- -3.9 ↓ -- -- 13.8 -- 16.0 2.2 ↑
Barrel % 7.1 4.1 -3.0 ↓ 2.8 -1.3 ↓ 9.4 6.6 ↑ 7.4 -2.0 ↓ 10.7 3.3 ↑ -- -10.7 ↓ -- -- 9.2 -- 8.0 -1.2 ↓
Hard Hit % 37.7 41.2 3.5 ↑ 31.3 -9.9 ↓ 42.1 10.8 ↑ 38.5 -3.6 ↓ 44.6 6.1 ↑ -- -44.6 ↓ -- -- 39.9 -- 43.1 3.2 ↑
LA Sweet-Spot % 27.4 30.6 3.2 ↑ 31.7 1.1 ↑ 36.3 4.6 ↑ 35.1 -1.2 ↓ 37.5 2.4 ↑ -- -37.5 ↓ -- -- 33.3 -- 32.6 -0.7 ↓
xBA .251 .247 -0.004 ↓ .213 -0.034 ↓ .220 0.007 ↑ .221 0.001 ↑ .227 0.006 ↑ -- -0.183 ↓ -- -- .229 -- .255 0.026 ↑
BA .253 .279 0.026 ↑ .223 -0.056 ↓ .224 0.001 ↑ .242 0.018 ↑ .284 0.042 ↑ -- -0.284 ↓ -- -- .250 -- .251 0.001 ↑
xwOBA .329 .280 -0.049 ↓ .256 -0.024 ↓ .286 0.030 ↑ .291 0.005 ↑ .315 0.024 ↑ -- -0.145 ↓ -- -- .300 -- .334 0.034 ↑
wOBA .309 .306 -0.003 ↓ .263 -0.043 ↓ .287 0.024 ↑ .310 0.023 ↑ .368 0.058 ↑ -- -0.230 ↓ -- -- .328 -- .324 -0.004 ↓
xSLG .421 .365 -0.056 ↓ .306 -0.059 ↓ .383 0.077 ↑ .379 -0.004 ↓ .442 0.063 ↑ -- -0.396 ↓ -- -- .390 -- .403 0.013 ↑
SLG .381 .406 0.025 ↑ .324 -0.082 ↓ .386 0.062 ↑ .423 0.037 ↑ .531 0.108 ↑ -- -0.531 ↓ -- -- .452 -- .404 -0.048 ↓
K% 18.9 22.9 4.0 ↑ 28.3 5.4 ↑ 32.2 3.9 ↑ 29.4 -2.8 ↓ 28.9 -0.5 ↓ -- 11.1 ↑ -- -- 24.6 -- 16.7 -7.9 ↓
BB% 9.8 4.7 -5.1 ↓ 6.7 2.0 ↑ 6.5 -0.2 ↓ 8.7 2.2 ↑ 7.8 -0.9 ↓ -- 12.2 ↑ -- -- 8.0 -- 11.4 3.4 ↑
Swing % 41.0 49.8 8.8 ↑ 48.2 -1.6 ↓ 52.6 4.4 ↑ 49.9 -2.7 ↓ 51.4 1.5 ↑ -- -1.4 ↓ -- -- 50.0 -- 47.2 -2.8 ↓
Whiff% 19.3 25.5 6.2 ↑ 28.2 2.7 ↑ 30.0 1.8 ↑ 30.8 0.8 ↑ 28.4 -2.4 ↓ -- 4.9 ↑ -- -- 27.6 -- 21.1 -6.5 ↓
In Zone % 47.6 53.9 6.3 ↑ 53.3 -0.6 ↓ 54.4 1.1 ↑ 48.4 -6.0 ↓ 49.2 0.8 ↑ -- -11.7 ↓ -- -- 50.1 -- 49.2 -0.9 ↓
Out of Zone % 52.4 46.1 -6.3 ↓ 46.7 0.6 ↑ 45.6 -1.1 ↓ 51.6 6.0 ↑ 50.8 -0.8 ↓ -- 11.7 ↑ -- -- 49.9 -- 50.8 0.9 ↑
Out of Zone Swing % 21.8 30.5 8.7 ↑ 26.5 -4.0 ↓ 32.0 5.5 ↑ 30.4 -1.6 ↓ 33.7 3.3 ↑ -- 6.3 ↑ -- -- 29.3 -- 25.8 -3.5 ↓
First Pitch Swing % 22.2 29.2 7.0 ↑ 27.2 -2.0 ↓ 31.9 4.7 ↑ 32.4 0.5 ↑ 34.4 2.0 ↑ -- 25.6 ↑ -- -- 30.2 -- 36.6 6.4 ↑
First Pitch Strike % 53.5 62.4 8.9 ↑ 64.9 2.5 ↑ 66.2 1.3 ↑ 65.7 -0.5 ↓ 68.9 3.2 ↑ -- 31.1 ↑ -- -- 59.9 -- 63.6 3.7 ↑
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 506 .307 425 13 3.1 81 31 38.3
2017 Shifts 550 .263 459 1 0.2 91 12 13.2
2018 Shifts 645 .287 533 4 0.8 112 9 8.0
2019 Shifts 633 .310 479 60 12.5 154 71 46.1
2020 Shifts 89 .372 67 12 17.9 22 13 59.1
2021 Shifts 5 .138 4 0 0.0 1 0 0.0
2023 Shades 411 .328 316 6 1.9 95 44 46.3
2024 Shades 437 .324 363 19 5.2 74 26 35.1
! 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 %
2013 132 15.3 43.2% 0.0% 43 20.5 0.0% 9.3%
2014 356 15.1 48.6% 1.4% 211 21.9 0.9% 8.1%
2015 359 15.3 48.7% 1.4% 187 22.1 4.3% 12.8%
2016 563 15.6 42.3% 2.3% 299 21.5 9.0% 11.4%
2017 686 15.1 46.9% 0.6% 319 21.0 0.3% 5.0%
2018 736 15.2 46.7% 0.3% 343 20.5 2.6% 5.0%
2019 760 16.5 29.7% 0.5% 393 23.1 0.0% 9.2%
2020 105 17.0 21.0% 1.0% 38 23.1 0.0% 5.3%
2021 7 19.2 14.3% 0.0% 2 23.4 0.0% 0.0%
2023 473 14.0 73.4% 0.2% 254 18.7 0.8% 0.8%
2024 518 13.9 73.4% 0.6% 246 17.9 3.7% 0.0%

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Pitch Distribution

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