The MLB has become more and more of a pitcher’s league over the past few seasons, and that is as much a result of moving past the Steroid Era as it is due to an impressive crop of pitching talent.

With so many good arms, there is no shortage of dominant individual pitches, and what follows is my attempt to name who throws the best fastball, cutter, changeup, slider, curveball and splitter.

While some pitchers rely on one overpowering pitch, others simply have a deep arsenal of pitches at their disposal. As such, guys like Felix Hernandez and Jered Weaver don’t appear on the following list for having any one great pitch, but they rank among the best in baseball nonetheless.

With that, here is my take on the MLB’s top five pitchers, pitch by pitch. Take a look at the notes below for a better understanding of the statistics that are presented, all of which are from the start of the 2012 season to now.

Special mention to R.A. Dickey, a man without peers when it comes to throwing his knuckleball.


Some clarification on stats, all via FanGraphs:

– % refers to how often the pitcher throws the pitch.

– MPH refers to the average miles per hour of the pitch.

– w(pitch type) refers to the number of runs the pitcher has saved with the pitch.

– w(pitch type)/C refers to the numbers of runs the pitcher has saved per 100 times throwing the pitch.

– All stats are since the start of the 2012 season.

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