Throwing hard before All-Star break

In late June, I listened to a podcast show. In the show, an analyst indicated that a pitcher’s fastball is amazing. That pitcher’s fastballs frequently touch triple digits and opponents couldn’t hit well against his fastballs. After listening to the podcast show, I began to think about a question.

 

Before the All-Star break, which pitchers had thrown a lot of pitches that reached 100 mph? To understand a little bit more, I chose to check on the statcast website.

 

Number of pitches (>=100 MPH, Pre All-Star)
Player	NP
Mason Miller	299
Justin Martinez	202
Emmanuel Clase	159
Jhoan Duran	137
Camilo Doval	119
Ben Joyce	115
Aroldis Chapman	108
Michael Kopech	106
Ryan Helsley	100

 

Mason Miller has been dominant on the mound in 2024. Before the All-Star break, Miller collected 15 saves. He owned a 2.27 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP over 39.2 innings. Moreover, Miller threw 70 strikeouts. His four-seam fastball is his key weapon and he uses it more than 60% of the time. Before the All-Star break, Miller threw 299 four-seam fastballs that reached at least 100 mph.

 

Justin Martinez made his MLB debut in 2023. He made 10 relief appearances last season, posting a 12.60 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP over 10 innings. In 2024, he made 32 relief appearances before the All-Star break, posting a 1.32 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP over 41 innings. He uses his sinker more than 40% of the time in 2024 and his four-seamer usage is around 10%. Both his sinker and four-seamer could reach triple digits and before the All-Star break, he threw 200+ pitches that were at least 100 mph.

 

In addition, Emmanuel Clase has been one of the most dominant closers in the majors. He’s been fantastic in 2024. Before the All-Star break, Clase collected 29 saves with a 0.81 ERA and a 0.68 WHIP. Clase uses his cutter more than 80% of the time this season. His cutters frequently touch 100 mph and occasionally, he throws four-seam fastballs that could reach 100 mph. Before the All-Star break, Clase threw 159 pitches that touched triple digits.

 

Furthermore, Jhoan Duran uses his four-seam fastballs more than 40% of the time this season. Before the All-Star break, he threw 100+ four-seamers that touched triple digits. Moreover, Camilo Doval, who’s the closer of the Giants, is throwing hard. Doval’s cutter and sinker could reach triple digits. Before the mid-summer classic, Doval threw 119 pitches that were at least 100 mph. Nonetheless, Doval had an ERA over 4 before the All-Star break. Additionally, Ben Joyce threw 110+ pitches that touched triple digits in the first half of the 2024 season.

 

Finally, 3 other pitchers each threw at least 100 pitches that touched triple digits before the Midsummer Classic.

 

Before the All-Star break, there were 9 pitchers that threw at least 100 pitches, which touched 100 mph. Mason Miller certainly throws hard and his four-seam fastball is one of the most difficult pitches to hit. Meanwhile, Emmanuel Clase’s cutters frequently reached 100 mph before the All-Star break and it’s hard for opponents to hit against his cutters. Nonetheless, an interesting thing is that back in 2023, before the All-Star break, there were 7 pitchers that threw at least 100 pitches that reached triple digits. Do MLB pitchers throw harder this season? Let’s keep watching.