Anthony Bender
2026Grade
Suppresses damage and throws strikes — the full package.
Bender is comfortably above average at limiting bases
The simulator expects him to allow 0.431 bases per batter faced, better than 83% of qualified pitchers. His best skill is limiting home runs (96th percentile). Short relief outings push strikeout rates up a little, so read his K% spoke with that in mind.
His grade rests on 140 batters faced, with data through 2026-09-27.
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Plays like…
Each of these pitchers shares his archetype and sits closest to him in xEB/PA. Pick one to see him side by side with Anthony Bender.
Pitcher type
Pitcher type
He lands in the “Misses bats, limits hard contact” corner of the map.
League best:K% − BB% Jacob Misiorowski (26.8%)Hard-hit% allowed Blake Snell (29.0%)
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| Anthony Bender | League median | Percentile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bases per ball in play(lower = better) | .391 | .527 | — |
| Walk rate(lower = better) | 9% | 9% | 51st |
| Strikeout rate(higher = better) | 25% | 22% | 76th |
A higher percentile is better, and the 99th is the top of the league.
Arsenal
Anthony Bender leans on his sweeper (52% of pitches). His best pitch has been the sweeper, saving 5.0 bases per 100 thrown against league average.
Pitch mix & swing-and-miss
He allowed about 46 estimated bases, against a replacement arm's 73 over the same batters faced.
Replacement level is per-batter and can't be split by pitch type, so the bars below use league average.
He saved 16.4 bases against league average across 519 pitches, or 3.2 per 100 pitches.
He rarely throws his changeup and four-seam fastball (4% of his pitches combined).
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Mix by batter side
Compared with the league, his sinker tilts 18 points more toward lefties.
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Anthony Bender's pitch movement, 2026
His Sweeper has moved 2+ inches from its early-season shape, but his other 2 have not.
The verdict above compares each pitch with his own early-season outings in 2026, not with other pitchers, after taking out the league-wide drift in break.
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By appearance
These charts follow his velocity, movement and pitch mix one outing at a time, and each pitch keeps the same color in every chart. The velocity and movement charts also shade the middle of the league for scale.
Platoon splits
Platoon splits (EB/PA allowed)
He handles righty bats better than lefty bats, by 0.042 EB/PA allowed.
50% probable range: +0.033 to +0.050
vs LHB: shrunk estimate 0.422 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.401 to 0.443, based on 59 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.350 EB/PA. League median vs LHB: 0.451 EB/PA.
vs RHB: shrunk estimate 0.380 EB/PA, 50% probable range 0.359 to 0.401, based on 81 plate appearances. Raw (unshrunk) rate: 0.336 EB/PA. League median vs RHB: 0.435 EB/PA.
His raw rate vs RHB (0.336) is off this scale. Small samples can push a raw rate this far, which is why the dot, the shrunk estimate, is the number to trust.
His split is about typical for a righty arm (median 0.042). He allows less than the league median against both sides, so even his weaker side is a strength.
How to read this chart
- Each dot is his estimate against that side, with its 50% probable range as the bar. These are bases allowed, so lower is better.
- The diamond is his raw rate, which small samples make noisy, so the simulator pulls the dot toward a more trustworthy value.
- The dashed tick is the league median, and the shaded strip is the middle half of pitchers with 100 or more batters faced.
- The two splits average back to his modeled overall EB/PA allowed, not the xEB/PA headline.
- Tap or hover a mark for its number. LHB and RHB are left- and right-handed batters. More on the About page
Contact allowed
Batters go to the pull side off him most often, and that's also where they do the most damage.
Pull side and opposite field depend on which side each batter hits from, so this pools every hitter he faced.
Batted balls allowed
Luck check
One out behind him came on a ball the simulator values at 1.5 bases or more.
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Deserved vs. actual
Batters have been credited with about the bases their contact off Anthony Bender deserved.
Both bars count 84 balls in play, with walks and strikeouts left out.
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ERA 2.62 · WHIP 0.96 · BABIP against 0.241 (Lg median 0.286)
Best games
Best games
These are his best outings this season, ranked by bases saved against a replacement arm.
- vs MetsMay 23, 2026
4 BF · 3 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.1
- Above replacement
- +2.0
- vs White SoxMar 31, 2026score only
6 BF · 1 K, 1 BB
- Bases allowed
- 1.2
- Above replacement
- +1.9
- vs GiantsJun 19, 2026
4 BF · 0 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.5
- Above replacement
- +1.6
- vs CardinalsJun 27, 2026
5 BF · 2 K, 1 H
- Bases allowed
- 1.1
- Above replacement
- +1.6
- vs MetsMay 29, 2026score only
3 BF · 1 K
- Bases allowed
- 0.1
- Above replacement
- +1.4
Trends
Multi-season trends · Anthony Bender
Compared with last season, his HR allowed% is down, his BB% is down, his K% is up, his Barrel% against is up and his Hard-hit% against is down.
Actual rates show what happened on the field, season by season.