Top Bat-Missing Fastballs of 2011

Which pitchers miss lumber most often when they unleash a fastball? Here's a list of the top 10 starters and relievers in terms of fastball miss rate.

Starters

Brandon Beachy, 24.2 percent

Rich Harden, 22.1

Hiroki Kuroda, 21.9

Brandon Morrow, 21.9

Rubby de la Rosa, 21.4

David Price, 21.3

Gio Gonzalez, 20.9

Madison Bumgarner, 20.4

Michael Pineda, 20.4

Juan Nicasio, 20.2

Notes: Velocity isn't everything. While this list contains plenty of hard throwers, Beachy (91.9 mph), Harden (91.4 mph) and Kuroda (92.1 mph) feature fastballs at or below the 92 mph average for right-handed pitchers. Looking for a reason for Bumgarner's increase in strikeouts this season? His fastball miss rate has climbed eight percentage points compared to 2010.

Relievers

Tyler Clippard, 35.8

Vinnie Pestano, 33.6

Jonathan Papelbon, 31.5

Aroldis Chapman, 30.7

Craig Kimbrel, 30.7

Jesse Crain, 30.5

Ernesto Frieri, 26.6

Jason Motte, 26.4

Koji Uehara, 25.5

Leo Nunez, 24.8

Notes: Papelbon's fastball miss rate is up 10 percentage points compared to last year. Hitters can't seem to lay off the pitch, swinging at 56 percent of his fastballs overall (the highest rate in the majors) and 35 percent of those thrown out of the strike zone. For those of you keeping score at home, Chapman has thrown 109 fastballs with triple-digit velocity, topping out at 103.4 mph on April 9 against the Diamondbacks' Miguel Montero. Montero struck out swinging on the 0-2 blur of a pitch.