A few weeks ago, I watched some interviews on X. A player mentioned today’s pitchers. Additionally, he indicated that he had seen a lot of pitches which were thrown really hard.
I truly enjoyed watching the interviews. After watching the videos, I was just thinking about one thing. Which players had seen a lot of pitches that touched triple digits over the last few seasons? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website.
From 2021 to 2025, Juan Soto had seen 100+ pitches that touched triple digits. Soto is one of the most dangerous hitters in the majors and for sure, pitchers might throw really hard against him. Over the last 5 seasons, Soto collected 6 hits while facing pitches that touched triple digits. In the meantime, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. did see a lot of pitches that touched triple digits as well. From 2021 to 2025, he saw 98 pitches that were at least 100 mph. Against those pitches that touched triple digits, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. only collected 2 hits and had a batting average below .100.
In addition, Shohei Ohtani, who’s a 4-time MVP award winner, is surely a very dangerous hitter in the majors. And pitchers would throw hard to test him. From 2021 to 2025, Ohtani saw 80+ pitches that touched triple digits. Did he hit well against those hard-throwing pitches? Well, he collected 6 hits and had a batting average over .300. He crushed 2 home runs against pitches that touched triple digits over the last 5 seasons.
Moreover, over the last 5 seasons, Willy Adames saw 85 pitches that reached 100 mph or higher. Adames collected 6 hits against those pitches that touched triple digits. However, his batting average against those hard-throwing pitches was below .250.
At the same time, let’s look at 2 players from the Braves. Matt Olson and Austin Riley each faced 84 pitches that touched triple digits over the last 5 seasons. Olson had 4 hits against those hard-throwing pitches. Nonetheless, Austin Riley failed to collect a hit.
Finally, Manny Machado and Matt Chapman were the other 2 players that saw at least 80 pitches that touched triple digits. They did collect hits while seeing pitches that were at least 100 mph. Machado had 2 hits against those pitches, but his batting average was below .200. Chapman collected 6 hits against those hard-throwing pitches and had a batting average of .333.
When we look back at the last 5 seasons, well, pitchers threw really hard against several of the most dangerous hitters in the majors. Throwing hard against those elite hitters might work. For example, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a batting average below .100 against pitches that were at least 100 mph and Austin Riley didn’t even collect a hit. Nevertheless, some hitters are still able to collect a hit or even crush a home run even though pitchers throw really hard. That’s something interesting in baseball. This season, we can keep watching if pitchers are still throwing hard against those hitters. Also, will they do a better job against those hard-throwing pitches?
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