Lighting up the Radar Gun
On Thursday we all saw Clayton Kershaw throwing gas, hitting 97 MPH multiple times during the game. Its pretty rare for anyone to throw 97, let alone a left handed starting pitcher. Commenter silverwidow pointed out in the gamethread that Kershaw might be the hardest throwing lefty in the major leagues. Thanks to Fangraphs, we can find out.
Here are the top starting pitchers in the MLB in terms of average fastball velocity in 2008. All starters with at least 10 IP are eligible.
| Pitcher | Average Fastball Velocity |
| Ubaldo Jimenez | 94.9 |
| Joba Chamberlain | 94.9 |
| Dustin McGowan | 94.8 |
| Felix Hernandez | 94.6 |
| Ervin Santana | 94.4 |
| Max Scherzer | 94.4 |
| Brandon Morrow | 94.3 |
| Josh Beckett | 94.3 |
| A.J. Burnett | 94.3 |
| Tim Lincecum | 94.1 |
| Clayton Kershaw | 94.0 |
Apparently if you can average at least 94 MPH wth your fastball you are going to be a stud because this is a pretty amazing group of young pitchers. Clayton Kershaw ranks 11th on the list, but he is also the only lefty. This means that Kershaw is in fact the hardest throwing lefty starter in the majors. Here's the next five lefties:
| Pitcher | Average Fastball Velocity |
| CC Sabathia | 93.7 |
| Jorge de la Rosa | 92.8 |
| Wil Ledezma | 92.8 |
| Manny Parra | 92.4 |
| Jon Lester | 92.1 |
This list is a bit more hit-or-miss. Nothing needs to be said about Sabathia, and Lester and Parra both have promising careers, but Ledezma and de la Rosa have yet to have much sustained MLB success. Ledezma seems to have run out of chances, but de la Rosa is the #4 starter for the Rockies.
There is one caveat to these findings. While Kershaw is the hardest throwing lefty starter in the majors, he's not the hardest throwing if you include relievers. Here's the relievers that throw harder than Kershaw does.
| Pitcher | Average Fastball Velocity |
| Matt Thornton | 95.3 |
| Jeremy Affeldt | 94.6 |
| Billy Wagner | 94.5 |
| David Price | 94.2 |
Matt Thornton takes the crown for the hardest fastball by a lefty in the MLB in 2008. He is a reliever with the White Sox who had a great year in '08 but was mediocre before that. Jeremy Affeldt just signed with the Giants this offseason, so we'll get plenty of chances to see him. Billy Wagner is out for the year because of an arm injury so he'll probably never throw this hard again. David Price is the Rays' phenom who got called up last September and pitched well in the playoffs. Keep in mind that relievers usually get an extra 1-2 MPH added to their fastballs because they can throw max effort pitches for one inning whereas starters have to pace themselves. For example, the last time Jeremy Affeldt was used as a part-time starter (9 GS in 2006) his average fastball velocity was 91.9. I think all of these guys with the possible exception of Thornton would throw softer than Kershaw under equal circumstances.
So there you have it. Clayton Kershaw is the hardest throwing left-handed starter, and probably the hardest throwing lefty in the major leagues. Now he just needs some more control.
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Good stuff
It’s nice to see Clayton ranks so highly at such a young age.
Now he just needs some more control
That’s the truth. I think he will be fine eventually, but he needs to have more confidence in the changeup. In yesterday’s game, he couldn’t throw his curve for strikes consistently (though at times it saved him; just ask Brian Giles), so he was forced to rely on his fastball. Just think if his fastball wasn’t so good!
As good as his fastball was, when hitters know it’s coming the effectiveness is limited. The Padres hit 31 foul balls off Kershaw in five innings, elevating his pitch count to 105.
Once Clayton can mix in his changeup effectively, he’ll be a dominant starter because hitters won’t be able to sit on his prodigious fastball.
Nice post
Sums up my thoughts exactly.
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 10, 2009 8:18 AM PDT up reply actions
Completely agree
Kershaw’s already-deadly fastball will make him a good pitcher this year, but just judging from yesterday’s performance, he needs to work on his control a lot more. That will definitely come with time and experience. If he can develop a consistent, decent changeup to complement his superb fastball, I can’t wait to see what he’ll become.
by uclaisthebest123 on Apr 10, 2009 12:19 PM PDT up reply actions
He needs to work on his curveball control too.
He misses with that way too much.
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 10, 2009 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions
I want to comment on De La Rosa to help back up your claim
Something we noticed last season, if you break it down by month: in May, when he was really terrible, his FB velocity averaged 90.8 mph, in June, when he was mediocre it was 92.3 mph. In August and September when he was fantastic, it averaged 93.6 and 93.7 respectively. In his case, his success seemed to be entirely predicated on how hard he was throwing.
Kershaw’s definitely a stud and somebody that worries me as a fan of a divisional rival.
That's really interesting.
And makes sense, because De la Rosa doesn’t really have good off speed pitches right? If he doesn’t have a really good fastball he won’t be able to get very many hitters out. When his fastball is working it seems he can throw it all the time and hitters still won’t hit it.
by Brendan Scolari on Apr 10, 2009 8:21 AM PDT up reply actions
His curve's really nice when it's on...
But given he’s a Rockies pitcher, he has to base everything else off the FB, and if that’s hittable and opponents can just sit on it, we’re in for a long day as fans.
Before 1st TJ Surgery Kuo would have been
there but I guess you can say that about a few left handers who have left their careers on the operating table.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Even after his 2nd TJ
Kuo’s fastball is nothing to sneeze at. Last few years:
2006: 91.6 mph
2007: 90.6 mph
2008: 92.9 mph (all in the pen)
2009: 94.2 mph (has only thrown 33 pitches so far)
by Eric Stephen on Apr 10, 2009 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions

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