Matt Cain
P | Bats/Throws: R/R | 6' 3" 230LBS | Age: 40
Draft: 2002 | Rd: 1, #25, San Francisco Giants | Houston HS (Germantown, Tenn)
W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2015 2 4 5.79 13 11 0 60.2 41 1.50
2016 4 8 5.64 21 17 0 89.1 72 1.51
2017 3 11 5.43 27 23 0 124.1 75 1.66
13 Seasons 104 118 3.68 342 331 0 2,085.2 1,694 1.23
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2015 13 2-4 5.79 60.2 41 1.50
2016 21 4-8 5.64 89.1 72 1.51
2017 27 3-11 5.43 124.1 75 1.66
13 Seasons 342 104-118 3.68 2,085.2 1,694 1.23
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 30 993 206 22 10.7 8.1 89.2 112.2 16.8 36.9 .304 .568 .380 .399 .445 40.8 15.1 7.4 5.79 7.17
2016 31 1568 287 20 7.0 5.0 88.9 112.9 16.1 33.1 .270 .456 .367 .343 .385 33.4 18.1 8.1 5.64 5.07
2017 32 2083 441 27 6.1 4.8 88.5 112.4 12.0 34.9 .296 .489 .358 .361 .389 36.6 13.2 8.6 5.43 5.81
Player 4644 934 69 7.4 5.6 88.8 112.9 14.3 34.8 .290 .496 .366 .364 .400 36.5 15.2 8.2
MLB 7.0 4.8 88.5 122.4 12.3 33.2 .245 .406 .316 .315 .369 36.5 22.2 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Cain relies on 5 pitches.
Four Seamer
(35.3%) ,
Curveball
(23.1%) ,
Sinker
(19.9%) ,
Changeup
(10.9%) ,
Slider
(10.7%) ,


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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 36.4 23.3 32.0 8.3 33.5 32.0 34.5 2.4 26.2 24.8 24.8 8.3 10.7 8.1
2016 40.8 21.6 27.2 10.5 33.4 39.4 25.4 2.4 29.6 25.4 24.4 6.6 7.0 5.0
2017 44.2 22.7 26.8 6.3 39.0 40.1 20.9 4.5 31.1 24.0 26.8 5.4 6.1 4.8
Player 41.4 22.5 28.1 8.0 36.1 38.1 25.3 3.4 29.6 24.6 25.6 6.4 7.4 5.6
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


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
2017 4-Seam Fastball SF R 728 89.3 21.2 -3.2 11.2ARM 2.4 14.5 -2.6 11.2ARM 3.1
2017 Sinker SF R 411 89.0 26.3 2.2 17.2ARM 2.0 9.6 1.2 17.2ARM 1.8
2017 Changeup SF R 225 83.0 37.4 5.1 12.2ARM -1.7 4.4 4.1 12.2ARM -1.4
2017 Slider SF R 220 83.1 36.1 -3.2 2.8GLV -2.3 5.5 -1.9 2.8GLV -1.4
2017 Curveball SF R 477 74.5 58.5 -2.3 15.2GLV 4.7 -5.7 -2.3 15.2GLV 6.6
2016 Changeup SF R 180 85.1 36.3 4.9 9.3ARM -3.1 2.0 5.2 9.3ARM -2.0
2016 4-Seam Fastball SF R 711 91.0 19.6 -1.6 7.6ARM -0.2 13.8 -2.0 7.6ARM 1.2
2016 Slider SF R 390 85.5 33.6 -2.4 4.4GLV -0.6 3.9 -1.4 4.4GLV -1.6
2016 Curveball SF R 214 77.0 56.2 -0.7 14.7GLV 4.7 -9.6 -0.4 14.7GLV 3.7
2016 Sinker SF R 58 90.8 25.2 2.3 13.2ARM -0.9 8.3 1.3 13.2ARM -0.1
2015 Changeup SF R 172 85.6 34.8 3.6 11.7ARM -1.1 3.1 4.1 11.7ARM 0.3
2015 4-Seam Fastball SF R 382 91.6 19.1 -1.8 8.9ARM 1.1 13.9 -1.8 8.9ARM 2.2
2015 Slider SF R 212 86.0 34.3 -1.5 3.8GLV -1.1 3.0 -0.8 3.8GLV -2.2
2015 Curveball SF R 104 77.2 55.8 -0.7 13.8GLV 4.0 -9.3 -0.2 13.8GLV 3.0
2015 Sinker SF R 108 91.0 25.0 1.5 14.4ARM 0.0 8.5 0.5 14.4ARM 0.9
! 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 %
2017 4-Seam Fastball -0.5 -3 728 34.9 181 .342 .553 .424 11.4 16.0 14.6 .325 .555 .406 44.4
2017 Curveball -0.4 -2 477 22.9 134 .228 .402 .275 16.8 19.4 17.6 .233 .387 .275 29.8
2017 Sinker -1.9 -8 411 19.7 123 .370 .528 .434 10.4 10.6 12.6 .317 .513 .388 35.1
2017 Changeup 1.3 3 225 10.8 60 .268 .375 .311 9.7 1.7 2.9 .311 .490 .363 35.7
2017 Slider -2.3 -5 220 10.6 60 .346 .462 .404 13.0 10.0 10.2 .308 .486 .374 35.4
! 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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Swing/Take

Runs
Year Team PA Pitches Heart Shadow Chase Waste All
2008 878 3,420 9 26 -19 -11 6
2009 862 3,271 35 31 -15 -12 38
2010 973 3,789 34 24 -11 -13 33
2011 901 3,468 24 36 -10 -15 35
2012 997 3,807 31 34 -16 -14 35
2013 755 2,909 -2 28 -13 -14 0
2014 372 1,432 0 8 -6 -7 -5
2015 271 992 -10 9 -3 -5 -9
2016 396 1,562 -5 15 -14 -6 -10
2017 559 2,064 6 -1 -14 -6 -15
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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 993 48.0 65.5 85.9 30.6 67.1 43.4 59.0 47.3 19.8 6.6 72.3
2016 1,568 48.4 65.0 83.6 25.7 62.0 40.6 63.2 44.7 21.8 6.9 73.1
2017 2,083 49.4 64.2 90.1 23.4 77.6 43.0 63.4 43.5 12.5 7.5 74.2
Player 4,644 48.7 64.7 87.0 25.8 69.6 42.3 62.4 44.7 17.3 7.1 73.5
MLB 48.7 67.0 82.0 28.5 57.8 42.6 61.0 47.2 24.9 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 1 1 1 1 1 26 1 18 2 15 49 25 61 31 92 85 4
2016 18 19 18 18 19 36 26 37 59 28 44 38 14 21 95 90 6
2017 8 4 8 21 8 19 47 17 18 4 44 1 8 8 88 77 3
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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 23.0 16 15.0 1 0 13 6 37.5
2017 22.0 18 21.0 -3 6 13 11 61.1
Player 22.4 34 36.0 -2 6 26 17 50.0
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 16 17 12 13 16 11 18 12 14 11 14 16 16 14 16 17 9 12 17 18 15 14 19 18 12 15 17 19 17 17 13
2017 18 22 19 21 22 22 24 21 21 18 20 23 19 20 24 22 19 18 23 22 20 20 26 22 20 20 22 24 22 21 14
Player 34 39 31 34 38 33 42 33 35 29 34 39 35 34 40 39 28 30 40 40 35 34 45 40 32 35 39 43 39 38 27
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 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 91.5 90.9 -0.6 89.2 -1.7
Offspeed Velocity 85.6 85.1 -0.5 83.0 -2.1
Breaking Velocity 83.1 82.5 -0.6 77.2 -5.3
Exit Velocity 89.2 88.9 -0.3 88.5 -0.4
Launch Angle 16.8 16.1 -0.7 12.0 -4.1
Barrel % 10.7 7.0 -3.7 6.1 -0.9
Hard Hit % 40.8 33.4 -7.4 36.6 3.2
LA Sweet-Spot % 36.9 33.1 -3.8 34.9 1.8
xBA .304 .270 -0.034 .296 0.026
BA .293 .299 0.006 .310 0.011
xwOBA .399 .343 -0.056 .361 0.018
wOBA .380 .367 -0.013 .358 -0.009
xSLG .568 .456 -0.112 .489 0.033
SLG .545 .501 -0.044 .477 -0.024
K% 15.1 18.1 3.0 13.2 -4.9
BB% 7.4 8.1 0.7 8.6 0.5
Swing % 47.3 44.7 -2.6 43.5 -1.2
Whiff% 19.8 21.8 2.0 12.5 -9.3
In Zone % 48.0 48.4 0.4 49.4 1.0
Out of Zone % 52.0 51.6 -0.4 50.6 -1.0
Out of Zone Swing % 30.6 25.7 -4.9 23.4 -2.3
First Pitch Swing % 29.5 25.7 -3.8 28.6 2.9
First Pitch Strike % 59.0 63.2 4.2 63.4 0.2
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Statcast Fielder Positioning

vs RHHvs LHH
YearAlignment TypePAwOBAPATotal%PATotal%
2016 Shifts 387 .366 222 3 1.4 165 22 13.3
2017 Shifts 559 .356 311 9 2.9 248 30 12.1
! 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 %
2010 1088 15.0 48.4% 0.6% 469 22.0 0.6% 10.4%
2011 1040 14.9 52.0% 0.3% 525 21.5 1.5% 5.0%
2012 972 15.8 39.1% 0.6% 508 23.1 0.0% 6.3%
2013 870 16.6 26.2% 0.8% 436 23.6 0.0% 7.6%
2014 482 17.3 22.6% 0.4% 194 24.1 0.0% 11.3%
2015 278 17.2 34.2% 4.0% 162 24.9 4.3% 21.6%
2016 464 16.8 33.6% 1.9% 296 23.2 4.4% 17.6%
2017 580 14.9 50.9% 1.0% 434 21.9 0.5% 5.5%

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Pitch Distribution