Very early command sub-indicator surgers, 2025
Apr 26 2025
It's still risky to put significant stock into early-season skills, especially aggregate measures like strikeouts and walks. But looking into the components that drive them can be a helpful early-season exercise, since they represent larger sample sizes.
These starting pitchers have increased their swinging strike rates the most from 2024 to 2025 (min 20 IP each season):
| 2024 | 2025 | Δ | ||||||||
| Name | Lg | SwK% | FpK% | Ball% | SwK% | FpK% | Ball% | SwK% | FpK% | Ball% |
| Max Meyer | NL | 10.3% | 60% | 38% | 15.4% | 61% | 34% | 5.1% | 1% | -4% |
| Luis L. Ortiz | AL | 8.9% | 61% | 35% | 13.1% | 63% | 35% | 4.2% | 3% | 0% |
| Jameson Taillon | NL | 8.5% | 66% | 34% | 12.6% | 75% | 33% | 4.1% | 9% | -1% |
| Justin Verlander | NL | 9.2% | 58% | 35% | 13.2% | 66% | 35% | 4.0% | 7% | 0% |
| Kyle Freeland | NL | 7.9% | 66% | 33% | 11.7% | 66% | 29% | 3.8% | 0% | -4% |
| Cristopher Sanchez | NL | 11.3% | 66% | 32% | 15.1% | 71% | 34% | 3.8% | 5% | 2% |
| Gavin Williams | AL | 10.4% | 63% | 36% | 14.0% | 51% | 37% | |||
Almost!
You’re just a few clicks away from accessing this feature and hundreds more throughout the year that have a singular goal in mind: Winning your league. Subscribe to BaseballHQ.com here!
Already a subscriber? Sign in here
More From Starting Pitchers
No starting pitcher has provided more value in wins and innings or shown a steeper groundball tilt than Cristopher Sanchez over the past 12 months.
Jul 11 2026 3:05am
Jul 11 2026 3:05am
Jake Bennett's intriguing pitch profile translated well from Triple-A to the Red Sox in June, making him a premium speculation in deeper leagues.
Jul 4 2026 3:07am
Jul 4 2026 3:07am
Cam Schlittler's breakthrough season would get even better if he could improve his third-time-through lineup skills.
Jun 27 2026 3:10am
Jun 27 2026 3:10am
Ben Brown gets dialed in with runners on base. Finding a similar approach with the bases empty will help him take a sustained step forward.
Jun 20 2026 3:05am
Jun 20 2026 3:05am
The ups-and-downs of Jesús Luzardo can be traced to some really ugly results when he pitches at home, largely due to some bad luck during those starts.
Jun 13 2026 3:09am
Jun 13 2026 3:09am
