Get to know these relievers -- and their elite pitches

Almost every relief pitcher has a signature pitch. A few even become known for it: Think Mariano Rivera's cutter, Trevor Hoffman’s changeup or Aroldis Chapman’s triple-digit fastball.

While not many relievers reach that kind of legendary status, those who throw an offering long enough -- and well enough -- will soon become identified with their bread-and-butter pitch.

Which current hurlers might reach that point? We identified a few under-the-radar relievers who have all found success by featuring an ELITE pitch in 2025. You might not have heard of some -- or any -- of the players on this list, but their arsenals all include some formidable weapons.

Here are nine relievers making a name for themselves this season -- with a breakdown of their signature offerings.

All statistics are entering Monday.

LHP Brendon Little, Blue Jays
The pitch: knuckle curve

Only a few dozen pitchers in MLB feature the knuckle curve as part of their arsenal, but none throws it like Little. The Toronto lefty not only throws it 46.4% of the time, more than anyone else, but it has been perhaps the best pitch in the Major Leagues.

Little is limiting opponents to a .137 average (6-for-51) and a .390 OPS on his curve, which averages 87 mph and has above-average vertical drop. Simply put, hitters can’t touch it: Their 61.5% whiff rate on Little’s curve is the highest on any qualifying pitch in the Majors. A 2017 first-round Draft pick by the Cubs, Little has struck out 32 hitters in just 56 plate appearances ending on his unhittable knuckle curve in 2025. He’s in the midst of a breakout season for the Blue Jays, and the dynamic pitch is a big reason why.

RHP Fernando Cruz, Yankees
The pitch: splitter

Cruz refers to his signature splitter as “a gift from above,” and it’s easy to see why. The Yankees reliever isn’t back yet from a stint on the injured list for right shoulder inflammation, but Cruz has been off to a dominant start to 2025: He has racked up 35 strikeouts in just 23 2/3 innings. With apologies to Cruz’s excellent four-seam fastball, the splitter is the pitch behind his success.

Cruz uses his splitter a ton (57.5% usage rate) and does so to great effect, getting 31 of his 35 K’s on the pitch thanks to a 57.8% whiff rate that trails only Little’s knuckle curve. Thrown in the low 80s with excellent drop, the pitch has drawn rave reviews from teammates: Left-hander Carlos Rodón, for example, called Cruz’s splitter a “glitch pitch.” One thing’s for sure: It’s hard to hit, and Cruz is proving that this year.

LHP Tim Herrin, Guardians
The pitch: curveball

Herrin owns one of the best curveballs in the game -- and not many of them are thrown by lefties. Only four pitchers’ curves have a higher run value in 2025 than Herrin’s (+3), and only two of those pitchers -- Toronto’s Little and the Rockies’ Jake Bird -- are relievers.

Herrin has limited hitters to a .086 average and .114 slugging percentage in 43 plate appearances ending on his curve, which has identical whiff and strikeout rates of 41.9%. The pitch has an expected batting average of .088, the best among any curveball in MLB (min. 25 PA). While Herrin’s ERA is up significantly from his impressive 1.92 mark in 2024, his curveball has been better than ever.

RHP Abner Uribe, Brewers
The pitch: slider

Uribe is known for his triple-digit fastball -- he’s reached up to 101.2 mph with his heater this season -- but don’t sleep on his slider. The 24-year-old has allowed a .188 average with zero extra-base hits on the pitch, which has an excellent whiff rate (51.1%) and strikeout rate (50%). Not many pitchers get more horizontal movement on their sliders than Uribe does, either.

Coupled with the 24-year-old’s high-velocity sinker, Uribe’s nasty slider has made him hard to square up in 2025. He owns a 1.59 ERA with 37 K’s in 28 1/3 innings, stepping up in the back end of the bullpen for the Brewers after Devin Williams was dealt to the Yankees in the offseason. After a subpar 2024 (6.91 ERA in 14 ⅓ innings), Uribe has been stellar in 2025 -- thanks in large part to his terrific slider.

RHP Graham Ashcraft, Reds
The pitch: slider

Ashcraft throws only two pitches, but one of them is absolutely elite. The Reds right-hander -- pitching in relief in 2025 for the first time in his Major League career -- has further honed a slider that took a big step forward last season. Meanwhile, he scrapped a sinker and changeup that were hit hard in 2024.

A hard slider averaging just over 90 mph with elite horizontal break has had excellent results, including a .195 batting average, a .244 slugging percentage and 20 strikeouts in 42 PAs. Shockingly, Ashcraft has even been a little unlucky with the pitch: the expected wOBA on his slider is just .132, the second lowest on any qualifying pitch in MLB.

LHP Jalen Beeks, D-backs
The pitch: changeup

Signed to a Minor League contract by the Astros in March then released two weeks later, Beeks inked a deal with the D-backs the day before Opening Day. The addition has paid considerable dividends so far for Arizona, as Beeks has been a solid bullpen piece so far with a 3.45 ERA in 28 2/3 innings.

His changeup has been a major reason why. Beeks has kept opponents to three hits -- all singles -- in 50 at-bats, recording 16 strikeouts on a changeup with a 36.4% whiff rate. By pitcher run value, Beeks' changeup has been tied for the second most valuable in MLB (+8 runs), behind only Tarik Skubal (+10). That’s pretty good company.

LHP Dylan Lee, Braves
The pitch: slider

The Atlanta lefty throws his slider 57.0% of the time, more than almost anyone, and isn’t afraid to use it against left-handed and right-handed hitters alike. Only Phillies closer Jordan Romano (61.4%) and Braves teammate Daysbel Hernández (57.2%) deploy their slider more often. But even though hitters are seeing Lee’s slider plenty, they still can’t manage to hit it. Lee is allowing just a .098 average against the pitch -- opponents are 5-for-51 with 19 strikeouts.

The southpaw’s signature pitch actually has well-below-average movement compared to similar sliders, but Lee is throwing it harder this year: 85.5 mph in 2025, up from 84.0 mph a season ago. The increased velocity is likely the reason, or at least part of it, for Lee’s success on a pitch that has a 42.9% whiff rate and has been hard to square up this season.

RHP Anthony Bender, Marlins
The pitch: sweeper

In terms of actual results, few pitches have been better than Bender’s sweeper. Opposing hitters are just 3-for-39 (.077) against the pitch with two singles, making the offering one of the most valuable pitches in baseball in 2025. Not bad for a guy who has a five-pitch repertoire also including a pretty good slider (.167 BA, .278 SLG).

Bender’s sweeper doesn’t get outrageous strikeout or whiff numbers like most of the other pitches mentioned here, nor is its movement particularly notable. But the righty hurler uses it to great effectiveness against right-handed hitters, allowing just a 25.9% hard-hit rate against the pitch. The mid-80s offering might not veer sharply out of the strike zone nor miss a million bats, but Bender gets the job done.

LHP Steven Okert, Astros
The pitch: slider

Okert has been quite the addition to Houston’s bullpen, striking out 32 in 26 1/3 innings with a 2.05 ERA -- a number backed up by elite expected metrics, a strong whiff rate and an excellent strikeout-to-walk ratio. His four-seamer hasn’t been bad by any means, but it’s his slider that deserves particular attention.

A .113/.143/.170 slash line allowed to opponents is impressive enough -- but how about 25 strikeouts in just 56 plate appearances on the pitch? Those are some gaudy numbers that put Okert’s slider up with almost any pitch in the sport. For a team whose bullpen already features power arms like Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu and Bryan King, having Okert -- and his elite offering -- has been almost a luxury.