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With the downfall of the PED era, Major League Baseball has become more of a pitcher’s league.

From starters to relievers, there are multiple pitchers who can make hitters look like fools.

However, each hurler has his own special way of doing so—a go-to pitch that generates far more whiffs than wallops.

Using insight from Bleacher Report MLB featured columnists Joel Reuter, Adam Wells and Joe Giglio, here’s a look at the best strikeout pitches in baseball.

Note: This list specifically deals with individual pitches from a particular pitcher.

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Nick Swisher isn’t the biggest fan of Aroldis Chapman. Then again, can you blame him after the Cincinnati Reds closer threw above Swisher’s head Monday?

It happened in the top of the ninth inning with one out and no men on base, and the Reds were leading the Cleveland Indians 4-2.

After Chapman’s first pitch was up and in on Swisher, the second pitch sailed above the batter’s head, causing Swisher to mouth the words, “don’t do that,” according to Jeremy Warnemuende of MLB.com.

Chapman’s fastball was clocked at over 100 mph, and after the pitch, Chapman stared down Swisher to set the stage for the rest of the rivalry series.

In his postgame interview, Swisher remarked, “I know you guys are trying to stir some stuff up here. The first one I saw go by, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty quick.’ And then that second one was a little too close for comfort. Let’s be honest, 100 mph at somebody’s head? That’s not exactly the best thing.”

There’s no history between between the pair, as it was only Swisher’s second career at-bat against Chapman.

Why aim a 100 mph fastball over the head of a player? There are plenty of other spots on the body with a lot more cushion if you want to send a message.

And if it wasn’t intentional, why did Chapman stare down Swisher after throwing the pitch?

Cincinnati manager Dusty Baker had his own take to the situation.

Is that the first time you’ve seen Aroldis throw one on the screen? I’m serious. I just think that maybe everybody overreacted except the umpire [Paul Schrieber]. The umpire was really pretty cool about handling the situation. That’s not something that we’d like to be known for or he’d like to be known for either.

Cleveland slugger Jason Giambi agreed with Baker’s statement:

I’ve talked to Chapman plenty of times, and he’s a great kid. But we’re going to protect our guys, too, especially Nick, who’s a big leader on this ballclub, just to let him know, ‘Hey, we’ve got your back.’ But I don’t think there’s anything to it.

While those sentiments may be true, the next three games should be rather interesting, to say the least.

Will bad blood erupt between the Reds and Indians at some point in the next three days?

Umpire Warnings

After Monday’s escapades, there’s a likelihood that both dugouts will be issued warnings prior to each game.

While back-and-forth banter is all in fun, when it comes to throwing at someone in this series, there could be something more that develops. MLB doesn’t want to have another brawl on its hands.

Also, keep in mind Tuesday’s game is at Cincinnati, which means the pitchers will be batting. Zach McAllister will be taking the hill for Cleveland, while Mat Latos will be doing so for Cincinnati.

Neither has a history of retaliation, although Latos did accuse the Indians of stealing signs in a game he pitched last year. That could come into play as well.

So will something erupt over the next three days?

My guess is likely not. Both teams are in the thick of division races, and suspensions are the last thing either team needs.

However, as the old saying goes, “Never say never.”

Whatever happens, this should be an interesting three days as the Battle for Ohio rages on.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Alex Sanabia has been caught.

The 24-year-old righty for the Miami Marlins was caught spitting on the ball after giving up a home run during Monday night’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

You know you suck at cheating when your spit literally BOUNCES off the ball. Alex Sanabia needs a lesson in loogies. twitter.com/JeffPassan/sta…

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 21, 2013

The video gives a spitting image of what he did (Sorry, couldn’t resist).

Ironically, umpires Sam Holbrook and Joe West didn’t catch it.

The Twitter world has taken notice, as well.

Marlins pitcher Alex Sanabia spit on the baseball and then pitched brilliantly. He knows that’s cheating, right? sportsgrid.com/wzbuf

— SportsGrid (@SportsGrid) May 21, 2013

Did @sanabia28 forget there are cameras in the show? #Spitball twitter.com/TotalConoMove/…

— Total Coño Move (@TotalConoMove) May 21, 2013

If Sanabia would have given up more runs during the game, it wouldn’t have been such a big deal. But he got 14 of the next 18 batters out, as he left the game in the seventh having only given up that one run.

While the cameras caught the spit in the second inning, one has to wonder if it was missed at any point the rest of the game, as well. What about the rest of the season?

But while some people are outraged that this happened, Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky offers some different insight.

Spitballers load up a ball, and they keep the load on the ball. That little bit of baggage messes with the rotation and causes the ball to move unnaturally. They don’t vigorously rub a substance into the cowhide, as Sanabia did. Especially not when it’s spit, which almost surely dried out by the time he delivered the next pitch. While Sanabia absolutely violated the letter of the law, it’s hard to imagine he was doing anything other than trying to get a better grip.

There’s no doubt MLB is going to have to do something about this.

As Petchesky noted in his story, before Joel Peralta was suspended for eight games last year for pine tar on his glove, nobody had been suspended since 2005. And any of the suspensions that happened then were for sandpaper, glue or pine tar. None had to do with actual spit.

So, what’s next for MLB and Sanabia? A suspension? A stern talk?

Any way you look at it, MLB will have the final say in this matter. It won’t go away until something is done.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming into the 2013 Major League Baseball season, it was obvious which divisions would be the best.

The NL East had the Braves and the Nationals, while the AL West had the Angels, Rangers and Athletics.

However, through the first quarter of the season, those thoughts can be thrown out the window, as only one of those five teams has met expectations.

But what about the divisions? Has each division met or exceeded its expectations for the season?

Are there any surprises?

Here’s a ranking of each division in baseball.

Note: Best hitter/pitcher/rookie selections are based on players that are having the best 2013 seasons thus far. Previous seasons were not taken into account.

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Matt Harvey had the game of his career Tuesday night for the New York Mets.

Harvey pitched nine innings against the Chicago White Sox and gave up one hit, no walks and struck out 12. His only blemish came on an Alex Rios infield single in the seventh.

The Mets won the game in the 10th, but Harvey’s pitching was the story of the night.

Which begs the question—is Harvey now the Cy Young favorite in the National League?

Harvey leads the NL in strikeouts (58), WHIP (0.69); ranks second in wins above replacement (2.1) and ERA (1.28); and third in innings pitched (49.1) and wins (four).

His worst outing was a six-inning, three-earned run performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 24.

Harvey was named the NL Pitcher of the Month in April and looked good in his first start in May.

But can he really keep it up the rest of the year?

The Nerdiness of Matt Harvey

Most pitchers use film as a resource throughout the year to help them make adjustments.

However, Harvey has used something else since his junior year of college, according to Ted Berg of USA Today.

Harvey maintains on his iPad a pitching diary that dates to his junior year in college at North Carolina, before the Mets drafted him seventh overall in 2010.

In the document, which Harvey calls his “pitching bible,” he records notes on every outing, including the details of his mistakes, temporary mechanical adjustments he made during the start and personal scouting reports on his approach to every hitter he expects to face again.

For a young pitcher, this is huge as he’s able to see what adjustments he makes and what his logic was on each situation.

These are the kind of things you would expect from veterans like Tim Hudson and Cliff Lee, not from a guy who has started 17 games in his big-league career.

His Competition

If the first month of the season holds serve, then pitchers like Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Matt Cain are out of the picture. While all five have the ability to turn it around, they’re already behind the curve compared to Harvey.

Instead, players like Hudson, Adam Wainwright and Lance Lynn could be his main competition.

Lynn is the only one of the three that has put up equally as good of numbers, giving up four earned runs twice this season and one run or less in all but one other start this year.

If the first six weeks of the season are any indication, Harvey looks to have a leg up on everyone.

The Missing Pieces

While Harvey has been impressive, one must remember his starts have come against teams with a combined record of 96-125.

The only team to be proud of beating is the Washington Nationals. Then again, their offense has struggled this year as well.

The missing pieces for his starts are the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants.

Should he continue to get a start every fifth game through the first half of the season, Harvey will face the Reds, New York Yankees, Braves, and Giants. That means he’ll get his opportunities to prove himself before July.

If he can pass those tests, then Harvey will enter the second half of the season as the leader in the Cy Young race.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Every year, MLB teams with playoff aspirations have some sort of injury that gets fans worried.

Whether it’s an injury to the team’s ace or big hitter, something always happens to playoff contenders.

This year is no different, as there are many players on the disabled list who are key to their franchise’s playoff aspirations.

Here’s a look at 10 injured MLB players whose returns will determine whether or not their team makes the playoffs.

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Dan Uggla‘s struggles are no secret for Atlanta Braves fans.

Hitting .227 with 55 home runs and 160 RBI in his two years with the Braves, Uggla hasn’t exactly lived up to his five-year, $62-million contract.

Which raises the question: How long of a leash does Uggla have this year?

With power throughout the Braves’ order, fans aren’t going to be patient if Uggla continues to struggle. And, let’s face it, can you blame them?

The Good

Before you think this is an article intended to bash Uggla, here are some of the good things he’s done for the Braves.

In 2012, Uggla batted .262 with runners in scoring position and .308 with runners in scoring position and two outs. So he can hit in the clutch. He brings power to the second base position, which is not seen much in MLB. Robinson Cano, Aaron Hill and Rickie Weeks come to mind. He also started and ended 2012 well, batting .271 in April and .280 in September.

Uggla has it in him to do well, but he seems unable to get things right in his head during the middle parts of the season.

The Bad

Uggla is equally as bad at the plate against righties and lefties, batting .220 against both. In his home park, he batted .187 with seven home runs and 42 RBI.

Then there’s the strikeouts.

He ranked fourth in the National League with 168 strikeouts, striking out 96 times with the bases empty.

Simply put, Uggla either just can’t get the job done anymore or his brain is getting in the way of him hitting. It’s hard to tell which it is.

And the spring hasn’t been kind to Uggla, either. He’s batting .213 in spring training, recording 10 hits in 47 at-bats.

What to do?

Including this year, Uggla still has three years and $39 million left on his contract. But can the Braves afford another three years of Uggla’s subpar performances?

While there is nobody in the farm system that is ready to take over at second should Uggla continue to struggle, there are other possibilities.

Should the opportunity present itself before the trade deadline, guys like Ben Zobrist and Omar Infante could be had for the right price. With both slated to be free agents after this year, the Braves could put a decent package together to get one of the two during the stretch run.

Or the Braves could send Evan Gattis down to the minors to learn how to play second base. While there would be a major adjustment period for Gattis, it could be beneficial for the Braves because he’s hitting .438 with two home runs and 10 RBI during spring training.

If Gattis could learn how to play second base, that would solve two problems: It would provide him with the opportunity to be in the lineup and it would solve the Uggla problem all in one.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When the Atlanta Braves traded Martin Prado the Arizona Diamondbacks, most thought the Braves got a good deal in return.

After all, the Braves received Justin Upton and Chris Johnson in a deal that saw the Braves give up a bunch of prospects in addition to Prado.

However, with the loss of Prado, there is one question on many people’s mind—who becomes the new super utility guy for the Braves?

The biggest advantage to having Prado was he could play anywhere on the field except for pitcher and catcher.

Since becoming a full-time player in 2009, Prado has played 235 innings at first base, 1,438 innings at second base, 92.1 innings at shortstop, 1,119 innings at third base and 1,841.2 innings in the outfield.

That versatility is what allowed the Braves to be successful when injuries to Chipper Jones, Andrelton Simmons and Tyler Pastornicky happened, as well as the time Dan Uggla was benched for being unproductive.

Prado provided a lot in terms of defense. Now, the Braves must look elsewhere for that super-utility guy.

So, who are the candidates to be that for the Braves?

Tyler Pastornicky

Pastornicky seems to be the favorite to take over the super-utility role, according to Fox Sports writer Cory McCartney.

Last year’s opening-day starter at shortstop, Pastornicky is getting used to the idea of playing all over the field, including the outfield, which he noted he’s never played before.

I don’t think I’ve ever played an inning in the outfield my whole life, so it’s definitely an adjustment, he said. But all the drills and stuff have been going well and it’s one of those things where I’m an athletic kid, so if the ball’s hit in the air, go and catch it. Don’t overthink the situation and don’t do too much with it.

Having never played the outfield will be a definite adjustment for Pastornicky. But, it’s a necessary one if he hopes to make the roster.

Joe Terdoslavich

Terdoslavich struggled when he made the jump from High-A to Triple-A last year.

In 53 games at Gwinnett in 2012, Terdoslavich batted .180 with four home runs and 20 RBI. Not to mention he had 22 errors at third base in 50 games.

Because of his struggles offensively and defensively, Terdoslavich was demoted to Double-A, where he only played six games at third, while playing 68 games at first.

Now, he is learning how to play the outfield, according to mlb.com writer Mark Bowman.

The decision to move him across the diamond to first base seemed to reduce some stress and focus on his offensive approach. Now, he will increase his defensive options by learning to play the outfield.

Until Terdoslavich can learn how to play third base at a high level, it seems the super-utility role will be his best fit if he wants to make the big-league roster.

Evan Gattis

Most people wouldn’t think of Gattis as being a candidate for the super-utility spot, but his experience at three positions will only help his cause.

Last year, Gattis played 37 games in left field and 27 games at catcher across three levels.

While the other two players have more experience at higher levels than Gattis, he has shown to have some pop in his bat.

In 2011, Gattis hit .322 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI at Class-A Rome. Last year, he hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI.

The one knock on Gattis is that he’s never played more than 88 games in a season. For a guy entering his fourth year of professional baseball, that’s not a good sign.

Will there even be a super-utility?

It’s impossible to predict if any of these three will make the big-league roster.

Currently, there is a bench spot taken up with the platoon of Chris Johnson and Juan Francisco at third base. Then, there’s the spot guaranteed to fourth outfielder Reed Johnson and backup shortstop Paul Janish. Throw in infield utility man Ramiro Pena and there might not be a spot for any of these three.

It’s still very early in spring training, so only time will tell if the Braves will have a super-utility player in 2013.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Atlanta Braves fans should be mad that a former player is not getting enough votes to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

However, that player is not Dale Murphy.

While he had good numbers, Murphy’s numbers aren’t worthy of the Hall.

Instead, fans should be looking at the numbers put up by former first baseman Fred McGriff and wonder why he isn’t getting more consideration.

Some writers have called Murphy’s non-election a historic injustice. Really?

We’re not talking about human trafficking or child soldiers in Africa. We’re talking about a baseball hall of fame, which means very little in the grand scheme of things.

While Murphy not getting the call in his 15 years on the ballot is somewhat disappointing for Atlanta fans, what’s a bigger disappointment is the ‘Crime Dog’ hasn’t gotten more than 23.9 percent of the vote.

What’s done is done and Murphy can only hope the Veterans Committee eventually elects him. However, let’s compare McGriff and Murphy and see which player is more deserving.

Dale Murphy

It’s true, Murphy does have two league MVPs and five Gold Gloves to his credit. He batted .265 with 2,111 hits, 398 home runs, 1,266 RBI and scored 1,197 runs.

From 1982-87, Murphy was arguably one of the best players in the game with a .289 average, 218 home runs and 629 RBI. He deserves credit for those six years.

However, a great six years doesn’t make a player worthy of the Hall of Fame.

From 1988-93, Murphy batted .234 with 88 home runs and 339 RBI. That’s not exactly the way to go out in retirement if you want to make it into the Hall of Fame.

Among all center fielders to ever play the game, Murphy’s wins above replacement (42.6) ranks 36th. That’s just among center fielders. His seven best WAR years totaled 39. So, over the course of the 11 other years he played baseball, he had a total WAR rating of 3.6.

Compare that to all center fielders in the Hall of Fame and the average of the seven best WAR years was 42.5, with a career average of 67.1. That’s an average of 24.6 for the 18 center fielders over the rest of their careers.

Murphy was a great player for Atlanta and likely is the reason the Braves still call the city home.

Fred McGriff

McGriff spent five years in Atlanta and his career got off to a fiery start…literally.

Most fans remember the press box catching on fire at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on McGriff’s first day in Atlanta.

Over the course of his career, McGriff hit .284 with 493 home runs and 1,550 RBI.

The Crime Dog may have never won an MVP or Gold Glove, but you also have to remember he played in an era where many players were linked to steroids.

His 493 home runs are often overshadowed by what Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco did.

McGriff’s numbers don’t look like much compared to those five mainly because he wasn’t taking steroids. Had he taken steroids, he likely would have had close to 600 home runs over the course of his career.

He had a total WAR of 48.2, with his seven best years totaling 33.2.

Fan-dom

Many fans have distorted opinions because this is an argument pertaining to their hometown guy. A guy that was the face of their franchise.

However, would you think Alan Trammell is worthy of the Hall of Fame? He was the hometown guy for the Detroit Tigers. Many Tiger fans think he’s worthy of Cooperstown, but we all know that he isn’t.

He totaled more hits (2,365), a better average (.285), more runs scored (1,231) and one less Gold Glove.

Or what about Larry Walker, who is the hometown guy for the Colorado Rockies?

He scored 158 runs more runs, had 49 more hits, had 45 more RBI, hit .313 in his career and won seven Gold Gloves.

But he’s not a Hall of Famer. Most Atlanta fans would agree with that.

So why is it a player with numbers less than these two is more worthy of the Hall of Fame?

Does the fact that he played for Atlanta play a role in that thinking for Atlanta fans?

McGriff, on the other hand, surpasses all three in most categories. However, he doesn’t have a hometown base to cry foul because he was traded five times over the course of his career.

The Fan in Me

As a life-long fan of the Braves, I used to side with those who believed Murphy deserved to be in the Hall of Fame. I was blind to the facts because of my passion for a team I grew up loving.

However, once I became a writer, I had to force myself to look at things from an unbiased perspective in anything I wrote. My love for a team could never show through in my writings.

Sitting back, I looked at this issue again and just looked at the numbers. After all, the Hall of Fame is based on numbers for the most part.

Looking at everything from an unbiased point of view, I would be more inclined to think McGriff should get the call before Murphy ever does.

There may be no league MVPs or Gold Gloves to his credit, but McGriff performed better over the course of his career.

If you’re going to be furious about a former Braves player not getting elected to the Hall of Fame, it shouldn’t be over Murphy. It should be over McGriff.

Murphy wasn’t overshadowed by steroid users; McGriff was.

Now tell me which is a bigger shame?

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

A left fielder, a leadoff hitter and replacing Chipper Jones are the biggest challenges facing the Atlanta Braves in 2013.

A year after losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the one-game playoff, the Braves are looking to win their first playoff series since 2001.

However, there are some issues that still have to be worked out.

Here’s a look at the eight biggest questions facing the Braves in 2013.

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