Efficient?

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a pitcher use less than 10 pitches to finish an inning. In that game, that pitcher ate several innings and got his job done. After watching the game, I was just wondering which pitchers are pitching efficiently and use fewer pitches each inning.

Hence, I went to check on the MLB website.

 

Pitches per Inning (~2022.08.07)
Player	P/IP
Sandy Alcantara	14.24
Cole Irvin	14.31
Triston McKenzie	14.59
Tyler Anderson	14.62
Shane Bieber	14.66
Justin Verlander	14.70
Aaron Nola	14.71
Shane McClanahan	14.74
Alek Manoah	14.83
Corey Kluber	14.87
Kyle Wright	14.92

 
Sandy Alcantara made his MLB debut in 2017. Back in 2017, he tossed only 8.1 innings and he used 18.6 pitches per inning. In December 2017, he was traded to the Marlins and gradually, he has become the ace of the team. By far this season, Alcantara made 22 starts and now posts a 1.88 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP over 158.1 innings. A 1.88 ERA currently ranks first in the NL. Moreover, he already threw 141 strikeouts, 9th in the majors. He has been very efficient this season and uses only 14.24 pitches each inning. Back in 2020, Cole Irvin tossed only 3.2 innings for the Phillies, but he used 22.36 pitches per inning. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics in January 2021 and he has become an important part of the A’s rotation. This season, Irvin made 19 starts for the A’s thus far. He owns a 3.04 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Each inning, he uses 14.31 pitches, on average. In addition, Triston McKenzie uses 14.59 pitches per inning this year and he’s pitched well with a 3.16 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. McKenzie threw 16.46 pitches per inning last season. Furthermore, this year, he already tossed a career-high 128 innings. Meanwhile, Tyler Anderson was selected to the 2022 All-Star game and it's his first time to be an All-Star. Previously, he frequently used more than 15 pitches per innings, in particular, his P/IP was 20.71 in 2019. However, this season, he’s been pretty efficient with 14.62 pitches per inning. Anderson now owns a 2.72 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He surely enjoys a great 2022 season. This season, Shane Bieber’s fastball velocity drops to 91 mph, on average. Furthermore, his K/9 rate was 12.48% last season, but the number decreases to 9.1% this season. However, he still pitches well with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Bieber used 16.13 pitches per inning in 2021, nonetheless, he has become more efficient this season. By far, Bieber tossed 124.2 innings and 14.66 pitches are used per inning.

Finally, a 39 years old Justin Verlander has a great 2022 season. Now, he has 15 wins with a great 1.73 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. Verlander uses 14.70 pitches per inning this season. Before 2022, he usually threw more than 15 or 16 pitches per inning each season. Furthermore, Shane McClanahan and Aaron Nola each used fewer than 14.8 pitches per inning.

Looking at the chart, 10 pitchers each use fewer than 14.9 pitches per inning. Among them, only 1 pitcher has an ERA over 4. Moreover, 6 of them each own a WHIP below 1. Sandy Alcantara now leads the majors with 158.1 innings and using fewer pitches per inning certainly helps him throw more innings. He tossed a career-high 205.2 innings in 2021 and it will be interesting to see whether he will set a new career-high this season.