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
Pitch Distribution

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 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 3.91
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 6.9 4.7 88.4 122.4 12.2 33.1 .245 .406 .316 .315 .369 36.3 22.1 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%) ,


  •   
  •   
  •   

+ If Available Pitches Click to Video.


  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   
  •   

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 44.6 23.5 24.9 7.0 37.0 37.6 25.3 3.9 32.9 24.7 24.4 5.8 6.9 4.7
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Pitch Movement


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
2018 Changeup CWS R 581 83.4 32.4 0.5 1 14.5 0.9 7
2018 Cutter CWS R 765 86.4 29.3 -0.7 -2 4.5 1.8 69
2018 4-Seam Fastball CWS R 845 89.5 20.4 -1.9 -10 8.0 1.2 17
2018 Curveball CWS R 629 78.2 49.5 -5.0 -9 6.3 -3.2 -34
2018 Sinker CWS R 366 89.0 29.8 3.1 12 13.9 -0.7 -5
2017 Curveball CWS R 402 78.1 49.2 -2.8 -5 5.0 -4.1 -45
2017 Changeup CWS R 219 82.6 32.8 0.9 3 16.0 2.5 18
2017 Cutter CWS R 509 85.9 30.0 -1.0 -4 2.8 0.9 44
2017 4-Seam Fastball CWS R 529 90.2 17.5 -0.8 -5 8.4 0.7 8
2017 Sinker CWS R 259 89.8 23.5 -0.4 -2 12.8 -2.1 -14
2016 Cutter CWS R 599 86.8 31.0 -2.4 -8 6.6 3.2 97
2016 Sinker CWS R 559 90.9 21.9 -1.3 -6 11.9 -1.9 -14
2016 Curveball CWS R 511 77.6 55.4 -1.4 -2 10.1 -0.6 -6
2016 Changeup CWS R 662 84.3 30.8 -0.5 -2 12.9 0.3 2
2016 4-Seam Fastball CWS R 774 91.1 17.0 0.5 3 5.7 -1.2 -18
2015 4-Seam Fastball SD R 799 91.7 16.3 0.6 4 6.0 -0.7 -10
2015 Sinker SD R 537 91.4 22.0 -1.5 -6 12.1 -1.7 -12
2015 Curveball SD R 621 78.8 54.6 -0.1 0 10.7 0.3 2
2015 Changeup SD R 694 84.9 30.6 0.2 1 12.0 -0.6 -5
2015 Cutter SD R 585 86.5 32.3 -3.0 -10 7.9 3.8 94
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
+ View Complete Pitch Movement Leaderboard

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 11.8 5.4 9.5 .327 .688 .473 44.2
2018 Cutter -1.1 -8 765 23.1 200 .288 .469 .360 20.8 14.0 17.3 .295 .516 .388 41.7
2018 Curveball -0.7 -4 629 19.0 165 .247 .475 .312 33.7 29.7 22.3 .225 .393 .274 32.5
2018 Changeup 0.1 0 581 17.6 168 .221 .322 .294 28.8 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 22.4 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.
+ View Complete Run Value Leaderboard

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
+ View Complete Swing/Take Leaderboard

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 28.5 5.2 71.3
2016 3,133 42.0 67.1 86.5 27.3 58.0 40.5 54.8 44.0 22.2 6.3 72.4
2017 2,016 47.1 67.5 81.4 23.7 59.5 39.3 57.9 44.4 24.6 7.0 76.6
2018 3,306 45.8 67.4 83.0 26.8 58.3 40.4 56.8 45.4 24.3 7.9 77.9
Player 11,791 43.7 67.0 83.2 27.8 56.8 40.4 57.5 45.0 25.0 6.6 74.8
MLB 48.6 67.0 82.0 28.5 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 47 63 53 41 43 8 33 20 10 79 15 86 70 32 57 73 96
2016 6 10 8 9 6 1 8 44 60 17 20 42 29 22 57 64 99
2017 12 25 9 6 18 11 6 37 12 37 20 53 12 13 65 55 96
2018 9 20 9 7 20 1 19 41 46 19 37 47 35 9 54 51 95
+ View Complete Percentile Rankings Leaderboard

Expected Home Runs

Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2016 22.2 40 41.3 -1 15 30 17 42.5
2017 22.0 27 22.3 5 11 17 10 37.0
2018 22.5 34 33.7 0 21 21 17 50.0
Player 22.3 101 97.2 4 47 68 44 43.6

Expected Home Runs by Park

Year HR
2016 40 45 32 48 42 37 44 40 38 34 38 48 40 35 41 43 33 41 45 44 40 33 53 45 36 39 43 53 45 45 38
2017 27 19 20 25 23 20 26 23 16 17 18 26 25 24 18 28 19 17 27 21 26 18 29 25 25 19 21 30 30 19 14
2018 34 47 29 33 34 30 32 34 28 26 31 39 40 28 30 35 30 29 38 35 36 35 42 42 27 26 32 36 45 33 29
Player 101 111 81 106 99 87 102 97 82 77 87 113 105 87 89 106 82 87 110 100 102 86 124 112 88 84 96 119 120 97 81
! 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.
+View Complete Expected Home Runs Leaderboard

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
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% 28.5 22.2 -6.3 24.6 2.4 24.3 -0.3
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
+ View Complete Year to Year Changes Leaderboard

Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 806 .379 412 24 5.8 394 149 37.8
2017 Shifts 511 .349 258 47 18.2 253 128 50.6
2018 Shifts 871 .326 424 276 65.1 447 379 84.8
! 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%
+ View Complete Pitch Tempo Leaderboard

Pitch Distribution