I listened to a podcast show a few weeks ago. In the show, a well-known analyst mentioned a pitcher’s fastball. He indicated that the pitcher frequently used his four-seam fastball to strike out batters in the majors.
After listening to the show, I was just thinking about some pitchers who frequently threw fastballs. In particular, over the last several seasons, did they strike out many batters via their fastballs? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website.
From 2021 to 2025, Zack Wheeler used his fastballs to strike out 700+ batters and he’s the only pitcher who threw 700+ strikeouts via fastballs. Wheeler’s four-seam fastball is his primary pitch and he used it to generate 400+ strikeouts. In 2021 and 2023, he used his four-seamer to create 100+ strikeouts each season.
Meanwhile, Chris Bassitt used his fastballs to create 500+ strikeouts from 2021 to 2025. Bassitt didn't rely heavily on his four-seamer. Instead, sinker is his key pitch arsenal. Over the last 5 seasons, he used his sinker to generate 200+ strikeouts.
Well, Luis Castillo hasn’t been pitching well so far this season. However, from 2021 to 2025, he was one of the most reliable starters in the majors. From 2021 to 2025, he used his fastballs to generate 500+ strikeouts. In particular, his four-seamer is his primary pitch. In 2023, Castillo threw 219 strikeouts and 104 strikeouts were generated by his four-seamers.
Furthermore, Nick Pivetta used his fastballs to create 492 strikeouts from 2021 to 2025. Pivetta heavily relied on his four-seamer over the last 5 seasons. In particular, his four-seamer usage was over 50% from 2021 to 2023. Also, he generated 400+ strikeouts via his four-seam fastballs over the last 5 seasons.
Moreover, Lance Lynn announced his retirement in April 2025. He didn’t pitch last year. Nonetheless, no one would ignore his great career. He threw 2015 strikeouts in 13 seasons. From 2021 to 2024, he used his fastballs to create 400+ strikeouts. In particular, he used his four-seamer more than 40% of the time from 2021 to 2024 and his four-seamers generated nearly 300 strikeouts.
Finally, Freddy Peralta and Mitch Keller each used fastballs to create 460+ strikeouts from 2021 to 2025. Freddy Peralta has heavily relied on his four-seamer in his career. From 2021 to 2025, he threw his four-seamer more than 50% of the time each season. And his four-seamers generated 400+ strikeouts. In 2021, 2023 and 2024, his four-seamers created 100+ strikeouts each season. Nevertheless, Mitch Keller’s case is a little bit different. Keller’s four-seamers created 200+ strikeouts in the last 5 seasons.
Looking back at the last 5 seasons, we can clearly see that Zack Wheeler’s fastballs did create several troubles for hitters in the majors. In particular, he used his four-seamer to generate a lot of strikeouts. However, for Chris Bassitt, things were a bit different. He used his sinker more. But for other pitchers such as Luis Castillo, Nick Pivetta and Freddy Peralta, they did rely more on their four-seamers to strike out batters.
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