Familia’s primary fastball has sinker movement. While he also throws a four-seamer, it got hit hard allowing a .490 wOBA. Familia’s sinker came in at 96 and he hit the zone 47.2% of the time. In 2019, the sinker broke a four-year streak of 60%+ ground-ball rate by coming in at 52.4%.
Familia’s splitter actually had the numbers to qualify as a Money Pitch, hitting the zone 45.6% of the time while getting a 19 SwStr% and 46.5 O-swing%. The pitch also got a 83.3 GB%, but was BABIP’d to death and allowed a .304 AVG.
Familia’s slider was his strikeout pitch as he managed a 19.7 SwStr% and 38.2 O-swing% (both down from 2018) to put up a 40.3 K%.
With a 0.8 pVal for the season, Familia’s sinker had a ton of vertical movement (as a sinker should!), generated a solid 60.2 GB%, and allowed a miniscule 4.5 HR/FB%. It was hit for 116 wRC+, but was also likely the victim of a high BABIP of .346; the BABIP for this pitch hadn’t been above .300 since 2013.
Perhaps benefiting from an extra mph in velocity, Familia’s slider was money in 2018, generating a 7.3 pVal in just 339 pitches. This value came thanks to standout rates in O-swing% (44.5%), Zone% (46.3%), and an incredible 22.4 SwStr%. This pitch boasted a fantastic 38.6 K-BB%.
Familia’s third pitch, his fastball was a positive pitch in 2018 (0.8 pVal). In reality, it was much more valuable than the pVal suggests, giving up a mere .191 AVG, .120 ISO, and a 74 wRC+, while limiting home runs as well (6.7 HR/FB%).
Incredibly effective in a very small sample, Familia’s splitter had a 1.9 pVal in a mere 34 pitches, generating a 20.0 K% and a 100 GB%. It would be very interesting to see what this pitch could do in a larger sample.
