There’s nothing quite as exciting in pitching as seeing someone rev up the speedometer.
Plenty of pitchers are capable of locating their fastballs where they want them; plenty have sweeping breaking pitches. But you can’t teach speed, and there are some pitchers capable of lighting up the radar gun when they’re on the mound.
Paul Skenes has been posting blazing speeds on the radar gun since his college days at LSU. Hunter Greene’s major claim to fame in high school was perhaps the fastest four-seamer in prep history. Mason Miller has become the talk of the 2024 season with his fastball/slider combination at the back of the A’s bullpen.
Not everyone can run it up to 100-plus, even in today’s game where more and more pitchers are averaging high velocities. There are a select few capable of consistently hitting triple-digits on the radar guns.
Which pitchers have the highest speeds in baseball? Here’s what you need to know.
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Fastest pitchers in baseball
Starting pitchers
It’s one thing to let it loose over an inning or two. It’s another to keep the velocity up over multiple innings.
Among starting pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched this season, here’s a look at the pitchers with the highest-average fastball velocity, per FanGraphs, as of May 20.
| Pitcher | Team | Innings | Average Fastball Velocity |
| Paul Skenes | Pirates | 10 | 99.7 |
| Jose Soriano | Angels | 40.1 | 98.9 |
| Bobby Miller | Dodgers | 11.2 | 98.3 |
| Hunter Greene | Reds | 58.2 | 97.8 |
| Jared Jones | Pirates | 53 | 97.3 |
| Garret Crochet | White Sox | 51.2 | 96.8 |
| Dylan Cease | Padres | 59 | 96.8 |
| Joe Boyle | Athletics | 27.2 | 96.6 |
| MacKenzie Gore | Nationals | 46.1 | 96.6 |
| Tarik Skubal | Tigers | 55 | 96.6 |
| Ben Brown | Cubs | 19 | 96.6 |
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see Skenes top the list. Though he has made just two starts in the majors, his fastball has drawn rave reviews since his college days, and many expect it to be the fastest in the majors even over the course of a full season of work.
Most of the hard-throwers are right-handed pitchers in their early 20s, as all but Crochet, Gore, and Skubal are righties. Of the pitchers on the list, Cease, 28, and Tarik Skubal, 27, are the only arms over 25. Skenes, 21, is the youngest hurler.
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Last year, Crochet had been a reliever, but the White Sox moved him into the rotation for the 2024 season. This year, he has seen a spike in velocity from 96.5 mph in 2023 to 96.9 mph in 2024, a rare jump for a pitcher going from the bullpen to the rotation.
Fans might be noticing another reliever-turned-starter potentially missing from this list. Though Jordan Hicks averaged 100.2 mph last year as a reliever, he has drastically dialed it back as a starter with the Giants, averaging only 95.1 mph pitching every fifth day.
In total, only 20 starting pitchers out of 187 who meet the criteria average at least 96 mph or more.
Relief pitchers
It’s a bit different for pitchers in the bullpen to come out throwing seeds, and the harder throwers at the back end of many bullpens are part of what makes it so difficult for batters to get hits late in games.
Among relievers with at least five innings pitched, here’s a look at the pitchers with the highest-average fastball velocity, per FanGraphs, as of May 20.
| Pitcher | Team | Innings | Average Fastball Velocity |
| Mason Miller | Athletics | 19.1 | 100.9 |
| Jhoan Duran | Twins | 8.2 | 100.6 |
| Abner Uribe | Brewers | 14.1 | 100.1 |
| Jose Soriano | Angels | 6 | 100 |
| Justin Martinez | Diamondbacks | 13 | 99.9 |
| Ryan Helsley | Cardinals | 21 | 99.4 |
| Michael Kopech | White Sox | 21.2 | 98.9 |
| Andres Munoz | Mariners | 20.1 | 98.8 |
| Emmanuel Clase | Guardians | 24.1 | 98.6 |
| Robert Suarez | Padres | 20.1 | 98.6 |
| Joe Kelly | Dodgers | 13.1 | 98.6 |
Last year, Miller was used largely in a starting role and averaged 98.4 mph on his fastball, which would have been third among starters in 2024. Moved to the bullpen full time in 2024, Miller has maintained excellent velocity and also demonstrated improved command.
Duran has been among the best closers in baseball over the past three years, but he began the season on the injured list with an oblique strain.
Skenes would not crack the top five of relievers, though he would come in at sixth. Only he and Soriano, who appears on both lists, would crack the top 10 among relievers in average fastball velocity.
There is more age variety among these pitchers. Martinez, 22, is the youngest, while Kelly, 35, is the oldest. Suarez, 33, is the second-oldest. Including Kopech, there are three pitchers 28 or older among the relievers on the list.
