Austin Slater vs Kyle Freeland

The Almanac's Take

Slater gets the platoon edge here as a right-handed bat against southpaw Kyle Freeland, and Freeland's season line makes that worth noting — an 8.06 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, and 13 home runs allowed in 48 innings is a genuinely rough stretch. Slater's own numbers are thin (21 PA, .211/.286/.497 in seven games), so there's not much current-form conviction to build on. The head-to-head across 46 PA is a usable sample — .262 average, 90.5 mph exit velo, with Freeland leaning on a fairly balanced four-pitch mix — but it's color, not a driving edge. The platoon and Freeland's current vulnerability are the real story.

Career head-to-head

AVG

.262

11-for-42

PA

46

HR

1

K

10

BB

4

Pitches seen

176

Avg exit velo

90.5 mph

Career meetings in the Statcast era (2015–present). Even a clear edge over a handful of plate appearances is a small sample — read it as color, not a projection.

Pitch mix to the batter

Plate-appearance log

• 2026-03-27Strikeout · Knuckle Curve 83.2 mph
• 2026-03-27Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 92.5 mph · 89.3 mph EV
• 2026-03-27Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 92.5 mph · 94.8 mph EV
• 2024-07-10Field Out · Sinker 92.6 mph · 91.8 mph EV
• 2024-07-10Single · Sinker 92.8 mph · 85.8 mph EV
• 2024-07-10Strikeout · Knuckle Curve 84.1 mph
• 2023-09-16Double · 4-Seam Fastball 87.9 mph · 108.7 mph EV
• 2023-09-16Strikeout · Knuckle Curve 81.8 mph
• 2023-07-09Field Out · Sinker 87.8 mph · 103.9 mph EV
• 2023-07-09Single · Changeup 83.6 mph · 103.0 mph EV
• 2023-07-09Walk · Sinker 85.8 mph
• 2022-09-20Double · Cutter 86.4 mph · 103.0 mph EV
• 2022-09-20Grounded Into Double Play · Knuckle Curve 82.4 mph · 85.7 mph EV
• 2022-09-20Field Out · Sinker 88.6 mph · 93.4 mph EV
• 2022-08-21Double · Changeup 83.4 mph · 96.5 mph EV
• 2022-08-21Field Out · Cutter 87.3 mph · 67.0 mph EV
• 2022-08-21Force Out · Cutter 86.5 mph · 100.2 mph EV
• 2022-08-21Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 88.5 mph · 105.1 mph EV
• 2022-05-18Strikeout · Knuckle Curve 81.2 mph
• 2022-05-18Field Out · Cutter 85.8 mph · 99.7 mph EV
• 2022-05-18Sac Fly · 4-Seam Fastball 91.3 mph · 88.2 mph EV
• 2022-05-18Strikeout · Cutter 86.7 mph
• 2021-08-14Grounded Into Double Play · Knuckle Curve 81.6 mph · 67.4 mph EV
• 2021-08-14Strikeout · Knuckle Curve 80.7 mph
• 2021-08-14Strikeout · Changeup 91.5 mph
• 2020-09-22Walk · Changeup 87.1 mph
• 2020-09-22Walk · Cutter 83.8 mph
• 2020-09-22Home Run · Cutter 86.8 mph · 109.1 mph EV
• 2020-08-06Field Out · Cutter 86.2 mph · 75.0 mph EV
• 2020-08-06Single · Knuckle Curve 82.4 mph · 71.7 mph EV
• 2020-08-06Strikeout · Changeup 86.6 mph
• 2019-09-26Field Out · Changeup 86.2 mph · 64.0 mph EV
• 2019-09-26Field Out · Cutter 85.4 mph · 100.2 mph EV
• 2019-08-04Walk · Cutter 87.3 mph
• 2019-08-04Single · Cutter 88.4 mph · 91.8 mph EV
• 2018-07-02Field Out · Changeup 84.4 mph · 87.0 mph EV
• 2018-07-02Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 92.1 mph · 65.8 mph EV
• 2018-07-02Field Out · Changeup 84.6 mph · 85.2 mph EV
• 2017-09-06Strikeout · Cutter 88.5 mph
• 2017-09-06Single · 4-Seam Fastball 93.2 mph · 103.2 mph EV
• 2017-06-28Field Out · Sinker 91.2 mph · 105.0 mph EV
• 2017-06-28Single · Sinker 91.4 mph · 102.1 mph EV
• 2017-06-28Field Out · Sinker 89.5 mph · 81.9 mph EV
• 2017-06-17Single · Sinker 91.7 mph · 83.2 mph EV
• 2017-06-17Field Out · 4-Seam Fastball 91.9 mph · 87.9 mph EV
• 2017-06-17Strikeout · Sinker 94.3 mph