Favorite pitches to swing?

It’s been more than three weeks since the Braves defeated the Astros to win the World Series Champions. Recently, I read some articles about pitching and looked back at the 2021 season. I was just wondering whether MLB hitters love to hit certain pitches from some pitchers. To understand a little bit more, I went to check on the statcast website.

Robbie Ray just won the 2021 AL Cy Young award. Ray had a great year and he finished the season with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. During the regular season, batters swung 996 times against Robbie Ray’s four-seam fastball. In total, opponents had 96 hits against Ray’s four-seam fastball. Meanwhile, Ray generated 239 swings and misses via his four-seamer. This season, Sean Manaea relied more on his sinker since his sinker usage increased from 54.3% to 60%. Opponents swung 909 times against his sinker. Manaea generated 228 swings and misses via his sinker, however, he also allowed 111 hits. MLB batters hit .273 against Manaea’s sinker in the 2021 season. It’s worth noting that the average pitch velocity of his sinker increased from 90.4 mph (2020) to 92.1 mph (2021). This year, Kevin Gausman was selected to the All-Star game for the first time in his career. It’s surely an unforgettable season for him. He finished the season with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Additionally, he threw a career-high 227 strikeouts. Opponents batted .210 against him. During the regular season, MLB batters swung 842 times against his four-seam fastball but 165 times were swings and misses. He gave up 150 hits in 2021 and 98 hits were against his four-seamer. Tyler Mahle had a breakout season in 2021. He tossed a career-high 180 innings and struck out 210 batters. Additionally, Mahle posted a 3.75 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He used his four-seam fastball 53.1% of the time this season and opponents swung 775 times. Mahle created 209 swings and misses via his four-seamer and batting average against his four-seamer was .236. Logan Gilbert was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the first round of the 2018 MLB draft. On May 13, 2021, he made his MLB debut, giving up 4 runs over 4 innings. In his rookie season, Gilbert made 24 starts and tossed 119.1 innings. He finished the season with a 4.68 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. Four-seam fastball is Gilbert’s primary pitch since he used it more than 60% of the time. Opponents swung 732 times against Gilbert’s four-seamer and he created 159 swings and misses. Finally, batters swung 727 times against AL Cy Young finalist Gerrit Cole’s four-seam fastball. Average pitch velocity of Cole’s four-seamer was 97.7 mph during the regular season and Cole generated more than 200 swings and misses. Furthermore, opponents swung 700 times against NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes’ cutter. Burnes’ cutter usage increased from 31.5% to 52.3% and he has become one of the most dominant pitchers in the majors. Burnes created 228 swings and misses via his cutter and opponents only batted .237 against his cutter. Fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball and MLB pitchers throw fastballs frequently. MLB batters often swung at these pitchers’ fastballs.