Raise your hand if you, like me, often check the radar gun after a pitch while watching an MLB game.
It can be so much fun to see how hard pitchers throw these days with guys consistently touching triple-digits. But who are the hardest throwers in baseball?
Baseball Savant helps answer that question with its pitch arsenal leaderboard, tracking the average velocity for each pitch. For this page, I’ll focus on the average four-seam fastball since that is typically the fastest pitch in an arsenal.
Hardest-Throwing Pitchers in MLB
| Player | Team | Average 4-seam velocity |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Joyce | LAA | 101.4 mph |
| Justin Martínez | ARI | 101 mph |
| José Alvarado | PHI | 99.8 mph |
| Hunter Greene | CIN | 99.6 mph |
| Andrés Muñoz | SEA | 98.9 mph |
| Jordan Hicks | SF | 98.7 mph |
| Ryan Helsley | STL | 98.7 mph |
| Nate Pearson | CHC | 98.4 mph |
| Paul Skenes | PIT | 98 mph |
| Jack Leiter | TEX | 97.9 mph |
Who is the Hardest-Throwing Pitcher in MLB This Season?
Among qualified pitchers, Los Angeles Angels reliever Ben Joyce has the highest average four-seam fastball velocity at 101.4 miles per hour during the 2025 MLB season. He’s one of two pitchers (along with Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Justin Martínez) to average over 100 mph on the four-seam fastball.
Martinez ranks second with an average four-seam velocity of 101 mph, but his average sinker velocity of 100.7 is the best in baseball.
Which Left-Hander Throws the Hardest in MLB?
Philadelphia Phillies reliever José Alvarado has the highest average four-seam velocity (99.8) among all qualified left-handed pitchers in 2025. He ranked seventh last year with an average of 96.8 mph on his four-seamer.
Aroldis Chapman, now with the Boston Red Sox, has led this metric in back-to-back years, averaging 99 mph in 2023 and 97.8 in 2024. He’s yet to throw enough to qualify this year.
Who was the Hardest Thrower in 2024?
Athletics closer Mason Miller was the hardest thrower in 2024, averaging 100.9 mph on his four-seam fastball and 102.1 (also No. 1) on his sinker. He hasn’t thrown enough to qualify in 2025, but will likely be the favorite again this year.
Hardest throwers in 2024 (four-seam fastball velo):
- Mason Miller (100.9)
- Justin Martínez (100.5)
- Emmanuel Clase (100.3)
- Camilo Doval (100)
- Robert Suarez (99.1)
- Paul Skenes (98.8)
Who is the Hardest Thrower in the Statcast Era?
Baseball Savant’s data only goes back to 2017, but Minnesota Twins closer Jhoan Duran has recorded the highest average four-seam fastball velocity over an entire season. He averaged 101.8 mph on his four-seamer in 2023.
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