DataBaseball
2026
Justin Lawrence headshot

Pitcher · 2026

Justin Lawrence

Age
32
B/T
R/R
Height
6' 3"
Weight
211 lb
Number
#44
Born
November 25, 1994 in Panama City, Panama
MLB debut
April 29, 2021
Drafted
2015, round 12
College
Daytona JC
Salary, 2026
$1.23M
dbWAR
-1.2
3 season(s)
IP
34.1
ERA
7.34
FIP
6.96
K/9
11.3
FIP−
167
100 = avg

Justin Lawrence is a relief pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 2026 he struck out 43 batters over 34.1 innings across 37 appearances, going 0-3. His ERA of 7.34 was 75.8% higher than the league average of 4.18 — the worst on his team, and 460th of 467 among MLB pitchers with 20+ innings. Stripping out defence, his 6.96 FIP suggests he pitched better than his ERA shows. He missed bats on 26.3% of swings (10.7% of every pitch he threw), walked 15.8% of the batters he faced and struck out 24.3%. His -0.9 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.

FIP6.96
K/911.3
WHIP1.95
WAR-.9

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 LHB77591741517.288.455.542.43622.1%
vs RHB100832251326.265.380.554.40226.0%

Pitch sequencing

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

ShowBatter
SweeperSinkerFour-seam

Select a count to see exactly what Justin Lawrence throws in it.

Pitch arsenal

What he throws, how hard, and how often it misses in 2026.

Sweeper43.7%29982.12,98143.5%45.5%
Sinker42.7%29295.52,42042.5%12.6%
Four-Seam Fastball13.6%9395.62,50150.5%22.0%
Justin Lawrence'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.

Pitching

Standard and advanced, by season.

Trend
202637034.1031392843287.346.961.9511.37.3176167-0.9
202517017.2100912380.512.230.9611.74.112540.5
202456059.2442734345336.495.631.786.85.0159138-0.7

Head to head

Put Justin Lawrence beside up to three others.

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Justin Lawrence

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.