So far, we have reviewed some pitchers who used fastballs and offspeed pitches to strike out many hitters in the majors from 2021 to 2025. This time, let’s shift our focus on breaking pitches.
There are different groups of breaking pitches. Today, let’s focus on curveballs.
Charlie Morton retired after the 2025 season. In his career, he spent 18 seasons in the majors and threw 2196 strikeouts. In the last 5 seasons of his career, he struck out 920 batters. Among those 920 strikeouts, 564 came from his curveballs (knuckle curve). In particular, from 2021 to 2024, he threw 100+ strikeouts via his curveball each season. Also, he used his curveball more than 40% of the time in 2023 and 2024.
Moreover, Framber Valdez used his curveball to generate 500+ strikeouts from 2021 to 2025. In particular, he threw 100+ strikeouts via his curveball in each of the 2022 season and the 2025 season. Valdez made his MLB debut in 2018 and he pitched for the Astros from 2018 to 2025. He’s now pitching for the Tigers and Valdez has 1000+ strikeouts so far in his career.
In addition, Aaron Nola made his MLB debut in 2015. He already threw 1900+ strikeouts and shall soon reach 2000 strikeouts. From 2021 to 2025, there were 3 times that he finished a season with 200+ strikeouts. Nola’s knuckle curve is his key pitch arsenal. Over the last 5 seasons, he used his knuckle curve to create nearly 400 strikeouts.
Furthermore, Zac Gallen made his MLB debut in 2019 and he was pitching for the Marlins. In July 2019, he was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since then, he has become a key pitcher in the D-backs rotation. Gallen has thrown more than 1000 strikeouts in his career. In particular, he threw more than 200 strikeouts in 2023. From 2021 to 2025, he used his knuckle curve to create 300+ strikeouts.
Finally, let’s look at 3 southpaws. Drew Smyly pitched in the majors from 2012 to 2024 and had 1119 strikeouts. From 2021 to 2024, he used his knuckle curve more than 40% of the time each season. Those knuckle curves helped him create 287 strikeouts in those 4 seasons. Kyle Freeland has reached 1000 strikeouts in his career. From 2021 to 2025, he used his knuckle curve to generate 270+ strikeouts. Additionally, Blake Snell is a 2-time Cy Young award winner. From 2021 to 2025, he used his curveball to generate 270 strikeouts. In particular, 109 of those strikeouts came in 2023.
Looking back at the last 5 seasons, Morton and Valdez are the only 2 pitchers who generated 500+ strikeouts via their curveballs. However, Morton already retired. Also, the last time that Smyly pitched in the majors was in 2024. In the 2026 season, we have to focus on other pitchers’ curveballs. For example, can Valdez throw as many strikeouts via his curveball as he did in the Astros uniform? Meanwhile, Aaron Nola might soon reach 2000 strikeouts in his career. Will Nola use his knuckle curve to create the 2000th strikeout?
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