Trajekt gaining popularity in MLB, putting pitchers on notice

During the 2024 regular season, Los Angeles Angels outfielder Willie Calhoun used Trajekt to track the pitches of the New York Yankees’ high-leverage relievers, getting a feel for their pitch sequences. 

When Calhoun came to the plate in the eighth inning, he slapped a base hit to right, sparking the Angels’ two-run comeback win.

“I was able to see how it was looking before I got into the box,” Calhoun told Alden Gonzalez of ESPN. “That machine is nice.”

Hitters have embraced Trajekt as an uncommon chance to level the playing field. In an era of high-speed fastballs and dizzying breaking balls, access to Trajekt is like sneaking a peek at a pitcher’s arsenal. 

But not everyone in baseball is celebrating this new tech. Many pitchers — who rely on their unique timing, movement and velocity — feel that Trajekt’s precision erodes the strategic advantage they’ve worked to hone.

“It’s impossible for a pitcher to mimic the at-bat,” free-agent Caleb Ferguson told Gonzalez. “We don’t even really get the chance at all to try to have that upper hand where you can come in and face a guy and read the result. But they could be hitting my fastball for the next three hours? That’s not fair.”

Ferguson isn’t alone in his concerns. Many pitchers see Trajekt as a threat to pitching integrity and have called for boundaries around its use. 

One veteran pitcher suggested that teams should “shut off the machines” three hours before game time. In his view, simulating in-game matchups so closely crosses an ethical line, transforming baseball into a battle of technology as much as skill.

With every pitch simulated, the machine becomes more adept at replicating player-specific pitches, capturing the nuances that have traditionally kept hitters off-balance. And as teams continue refining the data, some pitchers fear that it’s only a matter of time before every advantage they have is programmed and practiced against.

MLB approved Trajekt’s use in-game this past season — a controversial decision that has further fueled the debate. 

As Trajekt becomes more embedded in the sport, the question is clear: Can pitchers maintain their edge in an age where machines prepare hitters to face them? 

Some in the game say yes, pointing out that machines can’t replicate the human element — the unpredictability of a live pitcher’s reaction and instinct. Others, like Ferguson, argue that Trajekt’s precision threatens the very artistry of pitching.

With the league increasingly defined by technology, it remains to be seen if pitchers can adapt or if Trajekt will reshape baseball. For now, pitchers have to decide whether to keep their routines the same and risk becoming predictable or start searching for a new way to keep hitters guessing.