Major League Baseball pitchers are on pace for another record season in fastball velocity. The average four-seam fastball sits at 94.6 mph, up slightly from last year. This continues a long-term shift toward higher speeds across the league.
Pitchers now operate within a much narrower velocity range than in previous decades. Data from the pitch-tracking era shows the gap between maximum and minimum fastball speeds has shrunk to 3.47 mph this season, down from 7.37 mph in 2008. Minimum velocities have risen sharply while maximums have increased only modestly.