Best Pitches in Baseball Right Now

There are a lot of dominant pitchers in baseball - Hernandez, Kershaw, Price, Lester, etc. However, there are some pitchers with one absolutely deadly pitch (except if you're Clayton Kershaw - then you have two), and here are five of the best in baseball right now. Stats are as of 8/14/2014, and taken from www.fangraphs.com

Yu Darvish’s Slider

Darvish doesn’t throw his slider with a lot of velocity at all, averaging 80.8 MPH. In fact, of the 89 qualified pitchers that threw sliders from 2012-2014, Darvish’s slider ranked 73rd in terms of velocity. However, it was by far the most effective. During that time, Darvish saved 52.3 runs above average when using a slider. The second most was Francisco Liriano at 37.8. It’s not that he throws it a ton, either, as he also leads in runs saved per 100 sliders thrown (2.58).

Cole Hamels’s Changeup

Since 2012, among pitchers with 350 innings pitched, Hamels has the most effective change, at 2.49 runs saved per 100 thrown. He averages a nine MPH difference between his change and fastball, helping him save 54.8 runs during the past three years. It’s no wonder why he throws it more than a quarter of the time.

Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball

Like Darvish and his slider, Kershaw’s curve is not very fast - its 73.9 MPH average ranks 93rd of 113 pitchers. However, it’s been the most effective - 2.38 runs per 100 thrown. Kershaw also has the most effective fastball from 2012-2014, but its his curve that sticks out.

Aroldis Chapman’s Fastball

Since 2010, Chapman’s fastball has saved 1.45 runs per 100 thrown. He averages the fastest speed since 2012 at 98.4 MPH, and this year, he averages 100.3 MPH! This season, if he doesn’t hit triple digits on a fastball, it’s under performing! It’s no wonder he throws it 78.7% of the time.

Hisashi Iwakuma’s Splitter

Seattle’s starter has saved 37.2 runs since 2012 with his splitter, one of only two pitchers with more than 22 runs saved with the pitch. Among qualified pitchers, he has the most effective splitter at 2.25 runs saved per 100 thrown. Since 2012, among qualified starters, Iwakuma has the highest rate of splitters at 24%.

BONUS:

Luke Hochevar’s Cutter

Although he hasn’t pitched this year, he’s still making the list because of this pitch’s nastiness. Since 2011, Hochevar has lost 27.8 runs with all non-cutters (fastball, changeup, slider, and curve). However, his cutter has saved 17.0 runs alone. His cutter is the most effective among starting pitchers.