Paul Skenes’ Velocity Could Break MLB Starting Pitching Records

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Paul Skenes’ MLB debut was not him at his best.

He struggled to control his fastball, something that generally isn’t an issue for him.

But even in a start that saw him lifted in the fifth inning, he reinforced something that was obvious from his time at Louisiana State and his brief stint in the minors: he’s one of the hardest-throwing starting pitchers we’ve ever seen.

With A’s closer Mason Miller regularly getting to 103 mph and eight different MLB relievers touching 102 mph this year, it’s easy to lose track of how rare it is to see a starting pitcher tickle triple digits. 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. In the Statcast pitch tracking era (2008-2024) there have been only 13 MLB starting pitchers who have thrown more than that in their MLB careers. 

Here’s a look at the starting pitchers with the most 101+ mph pitches thrown in the Statcast era.

Player	101+ mph Pitches
Greene, Hunter RHP	131
deGrom, Jacob RHP	50
Verlander, Justin RHP	46
Hicks, Jordan RHP	31
Ventura, Yordano RHP	27
Syndergaard, Noah RHP	26
Eovaldi, Nathan RHP	16
Ohtani, Shohei RHP	11
Cole, Gerrit RHP	10
Ashcraft, Graham RHP	9
Miller, Bobby RHP	8
Jiménez, Ubaldo RHP	7
Miller, Mason RHP	7
Alcantara, Sandy RHP	6
Skenes, Paul RHP	6
Martinez, Carlos RHP	6

Skenes has already thrown 17 pitches 100 mph, which puts him in a tie for 27th by an MLB starter. He was likely amped up with adrenaline in his MLB debut, but Skenes averaged 14 100+ mph pitches per Triple-A start this year.

Here’s a look at the leaderboard for 100+ mph pitches by an MLB starter since 2008.

Pitcher	100+ mph Pitches	Pitcher	100+ mph Pitches
Greene, Hunter RHP	455	Castillo, Diego RHP	44
deGrom, Jacob RHP	318	Severino, Luis RHP	43
Syndergaard, Noah RHP	245	Paxton, James LHP	43
Ventura, Yordano RHP	226	Miller, Mason RHP	38
Verlander, Justin RHP	205	Strasburg, Stephen RHP	29
Eovaldi, Nathan RHP	163	Soriano, José RHP	28
Miller, Bobby RHP	140	McClanahan, Shane LHP	25
Alcantara, Sandy RHP	130	Cashner, Andrew RHP	25
Cole, Gerrit RHP	127	Hernández, Carlos RHP	25
Martinez, Carlos RHP	99	Rodriguez, Grayson RHP	22
Hicks, Jordan RHP	92	Skenes, Paul RHP	17
Jiménez, Ubaldo RHP	91	Fujinami, Shintaro RHP	17
Ohtani, Shohei RHP	75	Graterol, Brusdar RHP	17
Strider, Spencer RHP	51	Glasnow, Tyler RHP	15
Ashcraft, Graham RHP	49	De La Rosa, Rubby RHP	13

Counting Triple-A, Skenes has already thrown 115 100 mph pitches this season in just eight starts. Only nine starters have thrown 100+ 100 mph pitches in their MLB careers in the Statcast era.

The closest comparison for Skenes is Reds righthander Hunter Greene. Greene holds the crown of being the hardest-throwing starter of the Statcast era. He is the only starter with 10+ 102 mph pitches (he has 11). Greene and Yordano Ventura share the crown for the hardest fastball thrown by a true starter at 102.6 mph. (Jordan Hicks did top 103 mph in a 1.2-inning outing as an opener in 2022).

Greene has seven starts in the majors where he’s sat at 100+ mph with his fastball, much like Skenes did in his debut. But Greene’s path is a reminder that this type of velocity can be fleeting. Six of his seven starts where he sat at 100+ mph came in 2022. He had one last year and so far has none this year. Greene still throws exceptionally hard, but he now sits at 97.9 mph with his fastball compared to 98.9 in 2022 and 98.3 in 2023.

Skenes’ long-term success will depend on more than just throwing exceptionally hard, but hitting 100+ mph is hard for even the best big league hitters. Skenes’ exceptional velocity gives him an advantage that will make him a true challenge.