Paul Skenes' Velocity Could Break MLB Starting Pitching Records (2024)

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Paul Skenes' Velocity Could Break MLB Starting Pitching Records? ›

Skenes sat at 100.1 mph with his fastball

Paul David Skenes (born May 29, 2002) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Air Force Falcons and LSU Tigers. Fullerton, California, U.S.

90 MPH tops. The average fastball for all of the roughly 75 or so starting pitchers from, say, 1927 would be around 80–86 mph. There were no speed guns in the 1930s, but Bob Feller began his MLB career in 1936, and at al later date threw a pitch through timed electronic gates at over 100 mph.

Skenes sat at 100.1 mph with his fastball in his debut. That's almost two mph harder than any starter in 2024 (Jose Soriano's 98.4 mph average fastball velocity is second best). Just one start into his MLB career, Skenes has thrown six 101 mph pitches.

Paul Skenes shoe size

Per a dugout interview with ESPN's Karl Ravech, Skenes wears a size 15 shoe.

Ruth fanned 3.6/9 for his career. He never averaged 5/9 a season, even at age 21. Three-and-a-half whiffs per freaking 9 innings with a 90 mph fastball against players using 40-ounce bats.

Chapman currently has the record for the fastest recorded pitch speed in MLB history, at 105.8 miles per hour (170.3 km/h), as well as the Guinness World Record for fastest baseball pitch.

Ryan was a right-handed pitcher who consistently threw pitches that were clocked above 100 miles per hour (161 km/h). He maintained this velocity throughout his pitching career, being known as one of the top pitchers in Major League Baseball into his mid-40s.

Therefore, hypothetically, a heavier pitcher would be able to create greater momentum of his body/arm, which can then be applied to the baseball. These equations seem to suggest that if an athlete were to gain weight, and still move at the same speed, he would have more momentum and move the ball faster.

As this chart shows, pitchers who can throw 100 have doubled since 2019 and tripled since '18. On April 22, Gregory Santos threw the fastest and second-fastest pitches recorded by a White Sox pitcher, 102.3 mph and 103.1 mph—five months after he was designated for assignment.

How fast did MLB pitchers throw in high school? ›

When it comes to speed… In high school that might be an upper 80s fastball, college a low to mid 90s fastball, MLB a upper 90s fastball or better.

Skenes was born in Fullerton, Calif., and attended El Toro High School in Lake Forest, Calif. Before being drafted by the Pirates, Skenes spent the first two years of his collegiate career with the Air Force Academy before transferring to LSU ahead of his junior year.

Full name is Paul David Skenes … born May 29, 2002, in Fullerton, Calif. … parents are Craig and Karen Skenes … Craig works for a pharmaceuticals company, and Karen is a stay-at-home mom … has an older sister, Lauren, and a younger sister, Kristen …

It was fun to watch for the years I had him.” These days, of course, it's Skenes' pitching that has earned him fame. The 6-foot-6, 247-pound fireballer is the front-runner of LSU's rotation, a dazzling pitching prospect with a fastball that runs up past 100 mph and a strikeout rate of 46 percent.

Major League Baseball's top pitchers every year usually have an ERA under 3.00, meaning they give up less than three earned runs for every nine innings they pitch.