When a pitcher throws 103 mph, you’re likely to shoot up in your chair. Even in this era of elevated velocity, that isn’t a reading you see very often, especially in the Minor Leagues. Only 15 Major Leaguers have touched such a number in the Statcast era (since 2015), and only two have done it at Triple-A since Statcast came to the entire level in 2023.
So when Brewers pitching prospect Jacob Misiorowski blew a 103 mph four-seamer past Luken Baker as a starter on May 15, it got us thinking about what pitches have been most effective at the Minors’ top level, both from a stuff point of view and a results one.
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Along those lines, these are some of the most notable offerings by pitch type at Triple-A to this point in the 2025 season. (Note: we’re going to keep this focused to pitchers still in Triple-A, rather than include those who have pitched at the level in ‘25 but are currently in the Majors.)
FOUR-SEAMER
Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Brewers (MIL No. 4/MLB No. 72): Milwaukee’s top arm on the farm has thrown the most four-seamers in Triple-A with 485 to this point in the season, and it’s not hard to understand why, beyond just that 103 mph pitch mentioned above. His fastball averages 97.3 mph and comes with 2,575 rpm of spin, the highest mark among the 146 Triple-A pitchers to throw at least 150 four-seamers. As if that wasn’t enough, he throws his heater with 7.4 feet of extension, putting an already-fast pitch right on top of batters. No wonder they’re batting only .134 against it with a 30.9 percent whiff rate.
Bubba Chandler, RHP, Pirates (PIT No. 1/MLB No. 2): The top pitching prospect in baseball hasn’t touched the same extremes in terms of velo that Misiorowski has, but his four-seamer averages even more heat at 98.0 mph, per Statcast, the fourth-hardest among that same group of 146. It also drops only 10.3 inches on average (lowest among the group) and has 18.3 inches of induced vertical break out of a sub-6-foot release, making it an extremely difficult pitch for hitters to get on top of. Triple-A batters are missing on 40.4 percent of their swings against Chandler’s fastball. That’s why it's been such a big driver of his success with Indianapolis.
SINKER
Brandon Sproat, RHP, Mets (NYM No. 2/MLB No. 68): It hasn’t been an easy start to the season for New York’s top pitching prospect (6.69 ERA, 1.43 WHIP in nine starts), but his sinker continues to show promise as an individual offering. Sproat's sinker averages 95.2 mph and 16.9 inches of armside movement. For reference, the width of home plate is 17 inches. That’s made it a buzzsaw. Batters are hitting just .190 off it with no extra-base hits. Not bad for a pitch that’s still relatively new to his arsenal. Perhaps it’s worth increasing its usage.
Riley O’Brien, RHP, Cardinals: Looking for a power sinker? Find one in the Memphis bullpen with O’Brien, who’s averaged 98.2 mph on his through 13 appearances for the Redbirds. Only Reds No. 20 prospect Luis Mey (99.2) throws a harder sinker among pitchers with at least 100 sinkers thrown in Triple-A this season. But that’s not all. O’Brien's sinker also averages 16.8 inches of armside run and gets 6.9 feet of extension, giving batters a lot to handle in a short amount of time. His expected numbers are better than his realized ones, and with 27 strikeouts in 14 innings, he should get more MLB opportunities as the summer wears on.
SLIDER
Evan Reifert, RHP, Rays: Reifert was taken by the Nationals in last offseason’s Rule 5 Draft on the strength of his plus-plus slider but was returned to Tampa Bay because of command issues. The results have been much better early this year with Durham (1.64 ERA, 22 strikeouts, five walks in 11 innings), and the slider is again a big reason why. He’s thrown the mid-80s offering 121 times and generated whiffs on a whopping 71 percent of the swings against it. No other pitcher has thrown more than 100 sliders in Triple-A and generated a whiff rate above 60 percent. With only 2.3 inches of gloveside movement and 38.7 inches of drop, it has more depth than sweep, and hitters have a tough time picking it up out of his lower three-quarters arm slot. It simply shouldn’t behave the way it does given that release point.
Clayton Beeter, RHP, Yankees (NYY No. 20): It’s all about spin for this 26-year-old right-hander. Beeter’s slider has averaged a stellar 2,914 rpm through his first five outings with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after starting the season slow with shoulder issues. He rips that breaker from an over-the-top delivery and generates a little more drop (42 inches) than and similar gloveside break (2.2 inches) to Reifert’s slider. It gets whiffs on 57.1 percent of swings and also generates weak contact with an average launch angle of -23 degrees. Those kinds of numbers earned Beeter's slider a 65 grade in our preseason rankings, and the early effectiveness should get him back to the Bronx in ‘25.
SWEEPER
Bradley Hanner, RHP, Guardians: The first number most look for with sweepers is, well, sweep, and Hanner’s offering has plenty of that: 21 inches on average, the most in Triple-A. It also comes with an average velocity of 79.3 mph and 3,001 rpm, second-most among Triple-A sweepers. It's downright Wiffleball-type movement. Hanner throws it about half the time to righties and sprinkles it in against lefties, and it’s at its best when he’s wearing out the outer half of the strike zone. With that much movement, it can present a major problem for same-side bats.
Blade Tidwell, RHP, Mets (NYM No. 15): After last year’s struggles in Syracuse (5.93 ERA in 85 innings), Tidwell upped his sweeper usage from 18.7 percent to 26.3 percent through eight starts this spring, and the results have been significantly better. His sweeper averages 82 mph with 14.1 inches of gloveside movement, thanks to 2,728 rpm, and International League batters are hitting just .150 with a .200 slugging percentage against it while whiffing on 49.4 percent of their swings. As Tidwell noted back in 2023, the sweeper is a bit unorthodox in that it stays on plane rather than showing depth, and that’s a big reason why batters have trouble squaring it up.
CURVEBALL
Lael Lockhart, LHP, Tigers: The deuce may be a dying breed – only 29 pitchers have thrown more than 100 curves in Triple-A this season – but there are a few that still pop. Lockhart’s upper-70s version has earned a whiff rate of 52.1 percent, thanks to its significant drop (60 inches) and gloveside sweep (13.1 inches). This isn’t your typical 12-to-6 job, but that movement over two planes from a low release of 5.4 feet has Triple-A hitters befuddled. They have merely a .153 xBA against the pitch through Lockhart’s 10 starts with Toledo.
Luinder Avila, RHP, Royals (KC No. 19): With 255 curveballs under his belt, Avila is the only Triple-A pitcher to throw more than 200 so far this season. His 81-83 mph offering is a little tighter than Lockhart’s with 46.7 inches of drop and 10.6 inches of sweep, but it’s similarly effective with a 44 percent whiff rate and .119 xBA, thanks to lots of spin (2,813 rpm on average). He’s thrown it 48.8 percent of the time against righties and 31.4 percent against lefties, making it a weapon against both sides.
Yu-Min Lin, LHP, D-backs (AZ No. 11): We should caution that it’s still early days here. Lin was delayed out of Spring Training due to military obligations back home in Taiwan and has made only four starts with Reno so far. But he’s thrown 66 curves in that span and averaged 77.4 mph and 3,086 rpm – the highest spin for any curveball thrown more than 10 times in '25. As with Lockhart and Avila, Lin's has some sweep (10.5 inches) and significant drop (59.7 inches). So far, Pacific Coast League batters don’t have a hit off it.
CHANGEUP
Adisyn Coffey, RHP, White Sox: Few pitchers can kill spin with their cambios like Coffey can. The 26-year-old righty, who has 39 strikeouts in 24 ⅓ innings out of Charlotte's bullpen, generates only 1,194 rpm on average on his changeup. The pitch averages 83.8 mph, giving it about 11 mph of separation off Coffey’s fastball, and without big fade, it’s that difference in velo that drives the pitch's 52.8 percent whiff rate. Coffey has thrown the changeup 46.5 percent of the time against lefties and held them to a .122 average in the process.
Craig Yoho, RHP, Brewers (MIL No. 18): You may have heard Yoho’s changeup compared to Devin Williams’ Airbender. It is a monster of its own. Putting Yoho’s early MLB struggles aside, it continues to be effective at the Minors’ top level with a .091 average against and 32.1 percent whiff rate. The upper-70s offering comes with the most drop of any Triple-A changeup (48.7 inches, min. 100 thrown) and 17.9 inches of average armside movement. Good luck squaring that up.
Carson Whisenhunt, LHP, Giants (SF No. 2): Whisenhunt’s changeup has been his gravy train to notable Draft and pro prospect status, and that hasn’t stopped with Sacramento. He’s thrown 275 through nine starts, second-most among Triple-A hurlers. His sinker has averaged 92.7 mph and the changeup 80.1, and as with Coffey, it’s that difference that makes it worthy of a plus-plus grade. It also gets plenty of armside run (15.9 inches) and decent drop (40.3), and while the usage is still heavier toward righties, lefties don’t have a hit off Whisenhunt’s changeup yet.
Parker Messick, LHP, Guardians (CLE No. 13): The Columbus southpaw has a fairly flat 91-94 mph fastball that he throws about 50 percent of the time. That sets up his mid-80s changeup exceptionally well. It’s a pitch with 14.5 inches of armside run and 34.5 inches of drop, and because batters are so often sitting on the high heat, they’ve missed on 54.7 percent of their swings against Messick’s change. That's the second-best whiff rate among Triple-A pitchers (min. 100 changeups thrown).
SPLITTER
Hurston Waldrep, RHP, Braves (ATL No. 2): Once Roki Sasaki graduated, Waldrep’s splitter retook the mantle as the best splitter in pro prospectdom. The mid-80s pitch comes with incredibly low spin, only 691 rpm on average. No other splitter (min. 50 thrown) averages less than 800. It’s also the only Triple-A splitter with a whiff rate above 47 percent at 50.9. The quality of Waldrep’s four-seam fastball is his biggest holdup, but the splitter will always keep him in MLB conversations.