Baseball is continuing to grow as a global game. All around the world, players display their ability on the mound, trying to find a way to Major League Baseball. However, not every part of the world views pitching the same.
MLB teams find talent everywhere, creating a unique dynamic in the league. Pitchers from all over the world have different skill sets stemming from their upbringing. Last season, three rookie starters from three different backgrounds dominated on the mound in various ways.
Paul Skenes, Shōta Imanaga, and Luis Gil were all rookies in 2024. All three hailed from different parts of the world and learned the game in various ways. Their first seasons in The Show are microcosms of how their home countries develop pitching.
Skenes was born in the United States and pitched at Louisiana State University. He was the National League Rookie of the Year and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting. Skenes’ approach and skillset showcase what American-born pitchers are taught to value. Like many young pitchers in the United States, he displays excellent velocity. He threw his four-seem fastball 39.2% of the time and relied on his “splinker” as his secondary pitch.
Skenes Fastball averaged a staggering 98.8 mph. His four-seamer averaged 17.4 inches of verticle drop and 14.4 inches of horizontal break. During the season, Skenes threw six different types of pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball, sweeper, slider, and change-up. However, it was evident that he had been groomed to use his velocity to attack hitters.
Meanwhile, Imanaga, who made his MLB debut after pitching in Japan his whole life, had a different approach, one that many Japanese pitchers have shown. He threw his four- seam fastball more than any pitch but averaged just 91.7 mph. A big difference from Skenes, near 99 mph average. This is the biggest difference between Japanese-born pitchers and Americans. Frame plays a significant role in velocity; on average, Americans have a larger frame than men born in Japan.
As a result, pitching development in Japan relies on movement. Imanaga’s spin rate was 2,442 on his fastball, while Skenes was 2,244. Additionally, Imanaga has developed a variety of different pitches since he can not just rely on velocity to get to hitters. He threw eight different pitches last season. He relied on his splitter, a pitch that other Japanese-born starters have also relied on, 30.6% of the time. Kenta Maeda throws his spitter more than any pitch. Meanwhile, Yu Darvish relies on his slider the most. However, the trend is that pitchers hailing from Japan have relied more on the movement of their secondary pitches to attack hitters.
Ultimately, a lot goes into pitching philosophy, and it differs from player to player. However, one thing is certain. If a player can get outs and limit runs, MLB teams can develop their unique skillset even more to create an effective pitcher.
