Fastballs: the Top 5 through the season’s first two months
Even though he’s missed some action due to his elbow flaring up, Ventura has done enough so far to have his fastball qualify as top five. His fastball is just that, fastest in the majors at 96 MPH and routinely hitting triple digits. He has the seventh best whiff rate at 24.4%, and hitters swing at 9.9% of all fastballs he throws. But Ventura isn’t all about velocity, he’s improved his movement and location on the pitch since last year. Now he’s getting 6 inches of run with 10 inches of rise, both elite marks. His 54.2% Zone% on his fastball is also among the top in the league. By continuing to pound the zone with a pitch that’s almost impossible to make contact on, Ventura is riding his great fastball to huge success.
Garrett Richards
Richards is finally reaching his huge potential that’s followed him for his first few scuffling years in the majors, and as with most breakout stories he’s been using his pitches in better spots and getting better results. Richards’ fastball has been elite for the past few years, and now he’s learning how to use it. It’s second highest in velocity at 95.9 MPH, and gets 20.86% whiffs. Despite his fastball getting only average movement and Zone%, Richards knows how to locate it to get swings and grounders. His great sequencing has his fastball worth 3.6 runs above average, and has been fueling his breakout 2014 campaign.
Even with declining velocity and pitching for a team with the worst record in the AL, David Price still has one of the best fastballs in the bigs. He gets the fourth highest whiff rate at 24.8%, and can still top out at 96 on occasion. His 8.2 inches of horizontal movement is the most among starters. He puts it in the zone 56.5%, locating around the edges are rarely coming close to the middle, and opponents make well below average contact on it, just 81.5%. Price is getting older and his skillset is changing, but he’s adapting as well as any pitcher in the game.