DataBaseball
2026
Matt Waldron headshot

Players · W · Pitcher · 2026

Matt Waldron

Age
30
B/T
R/R
Height
6' 2"
Weight
185 lb
Number
#56
Born
September 26, 1996 in Omaha, NE, United States
MLB debut
June 24, 2023
Drafted
2019, round 18
College
Nebraska
High school
Westside
dbWAR
1.2
4 season(s)
IP
42.2
ERA
6.54
FIP
4.60
K/9
7.0
FIP−
110
100 = avg

Matt Waldron is a relief pitcher for the San Diego Padres. In 2026 he struck out 33 batters over 42.2 innings across 17 appearances, going 2-2. His ERA of 6.54 is 56.5% higher than the league average of 4.18 — the worst on his team, and 512th of 538 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 4.60 FIP suggests he pitched better than his ERA shows. He missed bats on 17.8% of swings (8.8% of every pitch he threw), walked 5.7% of the batters he faced and struck out 17.0%. His 0.1 dbWAR is built from that FIP rather than runs allowed, so it credits him for what he controls and not for the defence behind him.

League context

Percentile among qualified pitchers, 2026.

FIP4.60
K/97.0
WHIP1.59
WAR.1

WAR by season

1.40.6-0.223242526

Pitching

Standard and advanced, by season.

Trend
2026SD/TOR/WSH17442.2220573133116.544.601.597.02.31571100.1
2025SD114.201064367.718.492.575.811.6186204-0.2
2024SD2726146.2711014580133404.914.261.268.22.51201041.4
2023SD8641.1130392031124.355.461.236.82.6101126-0.1

Platoon splits

How left- and right-handed hitters fare against him.

Opponent batting by the side the hitter bats from, 2026. Counted from play-by-play, so totals can differ from the box-score season line by a plate appearance or two.
SplitPAABHHRBBSOAVGOBPSLGwOBAK%
vs LHB10797335821.340.383.629.42719.6%
vs RHB8780242312.300.337.388.32313.8%

Pitch sequencing

What Matt Waldron throws in each count, and what he follows each pitch with. Select any cell for the breakdown.

ShowBatter
KnuckleballCutterFour-seamSinkerSweeper

Select a count to see exactly what Matt Waldron throws in it.

Pitch arsenal

What he throws, how hard, how often it misses, and what hitters do with it.

Knuckle Ball30.1%20880.531042.8%21.0%56.304.822
Cutter21.0%14587.92,13449.0%16.3%37.297.632
Four-Seam Fastball17.8%12392.02,06245.5%20.0%31.3231.045
Sinker16.4%11391.52,00546.9%17.5%33.394.992
Sweeper14.6%10180.92,22242.6%10.0%21.2861.019
Matt Waldron's arsenal by usage. Velocity is average release speed in mph, spin in rpm, and whiff rate is misses per swing — the cleanest single measure of whether a pitch beats hitters. BAA and OPS are what hitters did against each pitch, credited to the one that ended the plate appearance, and are left blank under 15 at-bats.

Head to head

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Similar players

Nearest 2026 seasons by command, run prevention and role, on rate statistics rather than totals.

How these are computed

wOBA uses linear weights measured from this season's own play-by-play rather than published constants, and wRC+ is park-adjusted against that same league. dbWAR is our own open implementation — not fWAR or bWAR — and the full derivation, including its simplifications, is on the methodology page.