A few weeks ago, I watched a YouTube video, which is quite interesting. In the video, an analyst indicated a pitcher’s change in 2024. His fastballs didn’t frequently touch 90 mph during the regular season, however, those fastballs worked. Opponents didn’t hit well against his fastballs.
It seems that some pitchers’ fastball velocity isn’t a serious problem. After watching the video, I’m just wondering if there were many pitchers that threw fastballs that didn’t touch 90 mph but opponents didn’t hit well against those fastballs.
To understand a little bit more, I chose to check on the statcast website.
According to the statcast website, 4-seam fastball, sinker (2-seam fastball) and cutter are included in fastballs. And let’s review some pitchers’ performance without throwing fastballs very fast.
Tanner Bibee has been an important starter in the Guardians rotation. It’s his second season in the majors. In 2024, he made 31 starts, posting a 3.47 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 173.2 innings. Average velocity of his four-seam fastballs was 94.6 mph during the regular season. However, he didn’t throw his cutter that fast. Average velocity of his cutters was 86.5 mph. In 2024, opponents only hit .136 against his cutters that didn’t reach 90 mph.
Tyson Miller pitched for the Mariners and the Cubs in 2024. He owned a 2.32 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP over 62 innings. During the regular season, he used his four-seam fastballs 47.3% of the time and used his sinker 3.4% of the time. The average velocity of each pitch was below 90 mph. In 2024, he threw 300+ fastballs that were 90 mph or lower and opponents didn’t hit well with a batting average below .190.
In addition, Hunter Strickland has pitched in the majors for 10 seasons. In 2024, he made 72 relief appearances for the Angels, posting a 3.31 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. During the regular season, he used his four-seamer and cutter more than 30% of the time each. His four-seamer can touch 90 mph, nonetheless, the average velocity of his cutter was 84 mph. His cutters didn’t touch 90 mph during the regular season, but it worked. Opponents only hit .185 against his cutters.
It's a great season for the Detroit Tigers because they clinched a postseason berth for the first time since 2014. And Tyler Holton is surely an important pitcher of this team. Holton tossed a career high 94.1 innings, posting a 2.19 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. During the regular season, Holton used his cutter 27.3% of the time, however, the average velocity of his cutters was below 90 mph. Moreover, he used his sinker more than 20% of the time and threw his four-seamer 15.2% of the time. The average velocity of his sinkers was below 92 mph. And his four-seamer velocity was 92.1 mph, on average. Holton threw 372 fastballs (sinker and cutter) that were 90 mph or lower and opponents’ batting average against those fastballs was below .190.
Finally, Phil Maton pitched for the Rays and the Mets in 2024. He made 71 relief appearances and tossed 64 innings, posting a 3.66 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Maton used his cutter 35.5% of the time and threw his sinker 9.3% of the time. The average velocity of each fastball was below 90 mph. This season, he threw 400+ fastballs that were 90 mph or lower and opponents hit only .192.
Well, looking back at the regular season, some pitchers did throw fastballs that didn’t reach 90 mph and opponents didn’t hit well. However, Tanner Bibee could be a very interesting case. Without doubt, the Guardians heavily relied on him in 2024. During the regular season, he threw 1200+ fastballs that reached 90 mph or higher, but the outcomes weren’t good. Opponents’ batting average against those pitches was over .280. During the offseason, it will be important for him and the Guardians front office to figure out how to pitch more effectively in 2025.
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