Michael Rucker
P | B/T: R/R | 6' 1" 195LBS | Age: 29
Draft: 2016 | Rd: 11, #344, Chicago Cubs | Brigham Young

Stats

W L ERA G GS SV IP SO WHIP
2023 1 1 5.48 20 0 0 23.0 25 1.74
3 Seasons 4 2 5.09 81 0 1 106.0 105 1.44
G W-L ERA IP SO WHIP
2023 20 1-1 5.48 23.0 25 1.74
3 Seasons 81 4-2 5.09 106.0 105 1.44

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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
2021 27 490 83 9 10.8 7.1 90.8 113.5 11.9 36.1 .270 .500 .360 .361 .439 45.8 23.8 8.7 6.99 5.73
2022 28 914 159 13 8.2 5.7 89.8 118.4 13.4 27.0 .230 .376 .308 .297 .343 38.3 21.8 8.7 3.95 3.64
2023 29 418 70 4 5.7 3.8 90.3 109.9 6.1 32.9 .250 .386 .388 .318 .371 41.4 23.6 8.5 5.48 4.12
Player 1822 312 26 8.3 5.6 90.2 118.4 11.3 30.8 .246 .413 .341 .320 .376 41.0 22.8 8.7
MLB 6.8 4.7 88.4 122.4 12.1 33.0 .245 .405 .316 .315 .368 36.0 22.1 8.4
! Note: All figures in this table cover the period 2015-present.

Statcast Pitch Arsenal

Rucker relies on 5 pitches.
4-Seam Fastball
(38.5%) ,
Cutter
(30.9%) ,
Slider
(13.2%) ,
Curveball
(12.2%) ,
Changeup
(5.3%) ,


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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
2021 45.8 27.7 22.9 3.6 30.1 45.8 24.1 0.0 33.7 18.1 30.1 7.2 10.8 7.1
2022 44.7 28.9 17.6 8.8 34.6 38.4 27.0 3.1 31.4 28.9 21.4 3.1 8.2 5.7
2023 52.9 8.6 30.0 8.6 40.0 42.9 17.1 2.9 40.0 17.1 28.6 5.7 5.7 3.8
Player 46.8 24.0 21.8 7.4 34.6 41.3 24.0 2.2 34.0 23.4 25.3 4.8 8.3 5.6
MLB 44.8 23.2 24.9 7.1 36.8 37.7 25.4 3.9 33.0 24.6 24.4 5.8 6.8 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
2023 4-Seamer CHC R 161 94.8 14.0 0.7 5 5.6 -2.5 -31
2023 Slider CHC R 55 85.9 40.0 4.8 14 4.4 -0.4 -8
2023 Cutter CHC R 129 89.5 29.8 -3.7 -14 2.9 0.8 37
2023 Curveball CHC R 51 80.9 51.5 0.9 2 14.7 5.1 52
2023 Changeup CHC R 22 90.6 29.7 0.2 1 13.6 -2.1 -13
2022 4-Seamer CHC R 379 94.7 14.5 0.3 2 7.4 -0.6 -8
2022 Changeup CHC R 74 90.0 29.5 0.2 1 14.6 -0.5 -3
2022 Cutter CHC R 40 88.4 31.2 -4.7 -18 3.1 1.1 52
2022 Curveball CHC R 152 80.6 51.9 1.2 2 15.6 5.8 60
2022 Slider CHC R 217 86.0 38.2 2.9 8 3.9 -1.0 -20
2021 Slider CHC R 53 86.5 37.8 3.5 10 5.3 0.4 8
2021 4-Seamer CHC R 145 95.1 14.0 0.6 4 7.0 -0.7 -9
2021 Cutter CHC R 122 89.4 29.1 -3.1 -12 3.6 1.8 96
2021 Curveball CHC R 98 81.3 50.2 -0.5 -1 15.6 6.1 64
2021 Changeup CHC R 36 90.5 26.6 -1.2 -4 11.9 -2.7 -19
2021 Sinker CHC R 36 95.1 17.7 -2.7 -13 13.0 -1.9 -13
! 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 %
2023 4-Seamer 3.1 5 161 38.5 45 .471 .735 .532 16.2 8.9 11.1 .356 .600 .463 50.0
2023 Cutter -1.0 -1 129 30.9 33 .281 .406 .311 32.9 33.3 40.7 .214 .308 .239 38.1
2023 Slider -2.1 -1 55 13.2 16 .188 .188 .169 47.8 43.8 29.2 .126 .170 .128 11.1
2023 Curveball 3.0 2 51 12.2 9 .333 .667 .417 31.3 33.3 23.1 .210 .284 .215 66.7
2023 Changeup -2.7 -1 22 5.3 3 .000 .000 .233 20.0 0.0 0.0 .173 .173 .337 0.0
2022 4-Seamer -0.8 -3 392 42.9 98 .222 .407 .328 20.3 14.3 13.6 .235 .412 .337 39.1
2022 Slider 0.5 1 228 24.9 55 .231 .442 .320 46.2 45.5 33.3 .193 .343 .269 51.9
2022 Curveball -1.5 -2 156 17.1 39 .211 .211 .226 19.3 17.9 14.3 .237 .315 .252 19.4
2022 Changeup -3.1 -2 77 8.4 21 .238 .286 .231 13.2 9.5 7.1 .306 .352 .289 52.6
2022 Cutter 3.8 2 40 4.4 10 .400 .700 .422 31.8 20.0 25.0 .199 .559 .310 25.0
2021 4-Seamer -1.6 -2 145 29.6 42 .250 .444 .337 22.1 26.2 26.8 .288 .579 .398 50.0
2021 Cutter 0.8 1 122 24.9 28 .240 .360 .305 34.9 32.1 23.7 .188 .255 .246 37.5
2021 Curveball 0.1 0 98 20.0 19 .211 .211 .237 28.9 31.6 18.2 .269 .345 .266 46.2
2021 Slider -0.9 0 53 10.8 14 .167 .250 .254 48.3 21.4 14.3 .205 .480 .345 44.4
2021 Changeup 14.4 5 36 7.3 13 .538 .923 .623 14.3 0.0 0.0 .349 .639 .412 53.8
2021 Sinker 9.8 4 36 7.3 10 .571 1.429 .790 43.8 10.0 20.0 .443 1.168 .672 33.3
! Note: Years are in reverse order.
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Spin Direction

Year Pitch Type Pitches MPH Active Spin % Total Movement (In.) Spin-Based Observed Deviation
2021 Changeup 35 90.4 94 14.0 1:30 2:15 -45
2021 Curveball 98 81.3 74 19.7 7:30 8:00 -30
2021 Cutter 122 89.4 31 5.7 11:30 10:30 60
2021 4-Seam Fastball 145 95.1 92 17.4 1:00 12:45 15
2021 Sinker 36 95.1 93 18.0 1:00 1:45 -45
2021 Slider 53 86.5 28 6.6 9:00 8:00 60
2022 Changeup 69 90.0 90 15.7 1:45 2:30 -45
2022 Curveball 149 80.7 76 20.4 7:15 7:45 -30
2022 Cutter 40 88.4 24 4.8 11:15 10:00 75
2022 4-Seam Fastball 379 94.7 89 17.3 1:15 1:00 15
2022 Slider 216 86.0 28 5.9 8:45 8:00 45
2023 Changeup 21 90.6 79 14.8 1:30 2:45 -75
2023 Curveball 51 80.9 75 19.6 7:15 7:45 -30
2023 Cutter 128 89.5 26 4.6 11:15 10:30 45
2023 4-Seam Fastball 160 94.8 80 16.9 1:00 12:45 15
2023 Slider 55 85.9 37 6.9 8:15 7:30 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
2021 126 490 3 -5 6 3 7
2022 223 893 -7 -5 4 3 -5
2023 106 418 -1 -4 5 3 3
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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 %
2021 490 45.3 72.1 80.6 31.3 48.8 37.3 61.9 49.8 30.3 6.3 87.1
2022 914 45.6 72.0 82.6 28.8 52.9 43.3 55.5 48.4 25.8 5.9 79.2
2023 418 46.9 68.4 82.8 25.7 47.4 40.4 53.8 45.7 27.7 6.9 96.6
Player 1,822 45.8 71.2 82.1 28.8 50.5 41.0 56.8 48.1 27.5 6.3 85.8
MLB 48.5 66.9 82.0 28.4 58.2 42.6 60.8 47.1 24.7 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
2021 43 67 67 45
2022 58 59 53 46 61 62 33 16 47 42 38 54 44 60 61 54 36
2023 50 42 57 67 40 69 75 24 36 53 49 62 27 34 78 66 37
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Expected Home Runs

Year Team Avg HR Trot Actual HR xHR HR-xHR Doubters Mostly Gone No Doubters No Doubter %
2021 22.8 5 5.0 0 5 3 2 40.0
2022 24.5 8 6.8 1 2 8 1 12.5
2023 22.2 3 3.0 0 2 2 1 33.3
Player 23.5 16 14.8 1 9 13 4 25.0

Expected Home Runs by Park

Year HR
2021 5 7 4 5 5 5 5 6 3 4 4 8 6 4 5 4 4 6 5 5 5 5 8 4 4 4 6 5 6 5 3
2022 8 6 6 5 8 9 9 5 4 4 7 7 6 6 9 8 7 8 5 8 6 5 10 7 5 7 7 7 7 9 8
2023 3 3 2 2 4 3 3 2 2 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3
Player 16 16 12 12 17 17 17 13 9 11 14 19 15 13 17 15 14 17 13 16 14 13 21 14 12 14 17 15 16 17 14
! 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 2021 2022 +/-   2023 +/-  
Fastball Velocity 92.8 94.1 1.3 ↑ 92.4 -1.7 ↓
Offspeed Velocity 90.5 90.0 -0.5 ↓ 90.6 0.6 ↑
Breaking Velocity 83.1 83.8 0.7 ↑ 83.5 -0.3 ↓
Exit Velocity 90.8 89.8 -1.0 ↓ 90.3 0.5 ↑
Launch Angle 11.9 13.4 1.5 ↑ 6.1 -7.3 ↓
Barrel % 10.8 8.2 -2.6 ↓ 5.7 -2.5 ↓
Hard Hit % 45.8 38.3 -7.5 ↓ 41.4 3.1 ↑
Sweet Spot % 36.1 27.0 -9.1 ↓ 32.9 5.9 ↑
xBA .270 .230 -0.040 ↓ .250 0.020 ↑
BA .286 .242 -0.044 ↓ .333 0.091 ↑
xwOBA .361 .297 -0.064 ↓ .318 0.021 ↑
wOBA .360 .308 -0.052 ↓ .388 0.080 ↑
xSLG .500 .376 -0.124 ↓ .386 0.010 ↑
SLG .482 .396 -0.086 ↓ .505 0.109 ↑
K% 23.8 21.8 -2.0 ↓ 23.6 1.8 ↑
BB% 8.7 8.7 0.0 8.5 -0.2 ↓
Swing % 49.8 48.4 -1.4 ↓ 45.7 -2.7 ↓
Whiff% 30.3 25.8 -4.5 ↓ 27.7 1.9 ↑
In Zone % 45.3 45.6 0.3 ↑ 46.9 1.3 ↑
Out of Zone % 54.7 54.4 -0.3 ↓ 53.1 -1.3 ↓
Out of Zone Swing % 31.3 28.8 -2.5 ↓ 25.7 -3.1 ↓
First Pitch Swing % 33.3 27.5 -5.8 ↓ 32.1 4.6 ↑
First Pitch Strike % 61.9 55.5 -6.4 ↓ 53.8 -1.7 ↓
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Statcast Shift Statistics

vs RHHvs LHH
YearPAwOBAPAShifts%PAShifts%
2021 124 .366 64 13 20.3 60 39 65.0
2022 223 .298 136 35 25.7 87 57 65.5
2023 106 .388 53 0 0.0 53 0 0.0

Pitch Tempo

Bases EmptyRunners On Base
SeasonTeamPitchesTempoFast %Slow %PitchesTempoFast %Slow %
2021 132 18.4 8.3% 2.3% 83 21.8 0.0% 4.8%
2022 239 17.6 12.6% 3.3% 172 19.7 0.6% 2.9%
2023 47 15.0 48.9% 0.0% 39 18.2 7.7% 0.0%
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Pitch Distribution

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