Here's a fun stat on velocity, which MLB's Daren Willman first pointed out last week on X.
Entering play on Tuesday, the average four-seam fastball velocity so far in 2026 was 94.6 mph. Compare that to the beginning of the pitch-tracking era, in 2008, when the average heater clocked in at 91.9 mph.
It's a similar story with sinkers. On average, pitchers are throwing their sinkers 93.9 mph this season; in 2008, the average sinker registered a mere 90.7 mph.
You've probably heard this story before. Pitchers continue to prioritize velocity, and while it's not everything, it undoubtedly helps. Take it from the six pitchers below, each benefitting from significant early-season velocity gains in 2026.
All stats below are through play on Monday, April 6.
Shota Imanaga, Cubs
2026 4-seam velocity: 92.2 mph (+1.4)
Imanaga missed close to two months last season with a left hamstring strain and, when he returned, his fastball velocity lagged. In a 17-start span to end 2025, Imanaga's four-seamer sat at 90.7 mph, down a full tick from his average fastball velocity as a rookie in '24. While velocity isn't king for the crafty left-hander, it at least played a role in Imanaga's down year: The four-seamer was Imanaga's least valuable pitch, with a run value of -10.
It's been a different story so far in 2026. After his fastball averaged 92.5 mph in Spring Training, Imanaga has carried over that velocity bump into the regular season. He's thrown 12 pitches at least 93 mph, something he did only 13 times all of last year. In his last start against the Guardians, Imanaga sat at 92.6 mph in his fifth and final frame -- equaling his average fastball velocity from the first inning.
"For me, velo isn't everything, but obviously, having velocity is an advantage," Imanaga said this spring.
That's true. For Imanaga, it's just as important that his fastball shape -- in terms of movement -- looks a whole lot like the version we saw two years ago. In the bigger picture, though, the velocity gain signals that Imanaga is healthy. He spent the offseason working toward this goal, strengthening his lower half and refining the mechanics that betrayed him after his hamstring injury. In the wake of injuries to Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton, the Cubs need Imanaga to pitch like an All-Star. Having his fastball is a step in the right direction.
Janson Junk, Marlins
2026 4-seam velocity: 94.9 mph (+1.3)
The Marlins are at the forefront of innovation these days, and Junk fits right in.
Miami signed the right-hander to a Minor League deal last February, back when he had all of 15 big league appearances under his belt. He pitched to a 4.17 ERA and 3.14 FIP in 110 innings, relying mostly on plus command. A year later, he's doing things a bit differently.
In his first start of the year, Junk's four-seamer averaged 95.4 mph, the fastest single-game average fastball velocity of his career. He didn't throw quite as hard in his second start, but that's in part because he pitched so well: Junk was on fumes in the eighth inning, when his fastball velocity dipped to 92.4 mph after hovering around 95 much of the night.
In the past, Junk threw hard in bursts: Last season, he touched 95 mph 84 times. But as Junk explained to MLB.com over the weekend at Yankee Stadium, he wanted to know why he struggled to hit that mark with any sort of consistency.
Last September, FanGraphs approached Junk about a potential interview for this story on arm angle variation. Junk respectfully turned them down. "I didn't have any information to provide them," he said. "But it kind of lit a lightbulb in my head." He stowed away the idea and later presented it to the cutting-edge folks at Driveline, his training hub during the offseason.
"I proposed to my trainer, can we look into this and see if there's something to back this up," Junk told MLB.com. "He made a whole graph and was like, 'yes.' He broke down every single arm angle of every single fastball that I threw. And for me, the higher the arm angle, the slower the velo. And the lower the arm angle, the higher the velo. I was like, 'OK, well, why don't I just do that every time?'"
Junk spent the offseason honing a lower slot, practicing with high-intensity throws, long tosses and athletic throws, in which he would act like a shortstop. He relied on Trackman data to inform him when his slot was creeping up. He's found a sweet spot now. Last season, Junk threw his four-seamer from an average arm angle of 55°. This year, he's throwing from a 48° angle.
There's other stuff happening here, too. Typically, over-the-top arm angles make it easier to put the sort of backspin on the ball that's required to create ride. But Junk has actually gained ride on his fastball despite throwing from a lower slot. Since he's throwing harder with more vertical movement, the Stuff+ number on his four-seamer has surged.
"It's been eye-opening," Junk said. "Stuff+ went up, wOBA went down, stuff like that. I'll be able to execute my pitches, and if I don't, the velo is up, so I'll have some room to get away with it. That's where I figured that out. Thank God that FanGraphs article approached me about it."
Kodai Senga, Mets
2026 4-seam velocity: 96.7 mph (+2.0)
Senga has a whole lot to prove this season, considering the Mets demoted the right-hander to the Minors in the heat of the pennant race last September. At his best, Senga is an unquestioned ace. The 33-year-old turned heads with a strong camp this spring, giving reason to believe that the version of Senga that made the All-Star team in 2023 is still in there.
That optimism is bleeding into the regular season, and there are few better signs than this:
Much like Imanaga above, Senga struggled with his fastball in 2025: It was his least valuable pitch, with a -6 run value. The opposition hit .281 with a .547 SLG against it, taking advantage of subpar velocity and spotty command.
Through two starts, Senga is reaping the benefits of one of the largest year-to-year velo jumps in baseball. He averaged 97.4 mph on his four-seamer in his first start of the season, the fastest average fastball velocity in a single game in his career. And while his velocity dipped in his second start -- his heater sat at 96.0 mph -- that was still faster than the single-game average in any of his 22 starts in 2025. The oft-injured righty sure looks healthy.
Senga's best pitch is still his signature "ghost fork," but these two pitches work best in tandem: The high fastball can set up the ghost fork down, and vice versa. We've seen that play out so far in 2026. Senga has already recorded seven strikeouts on his four-seamer; he had just 15 strikeouts with the heater all of last season. In total, the opposition is just 2-for-15 with a 28.9% whiff rate against Senga's fastball, which has the sort of zip that it lacked last year.
Antonio Senzatela, Rockies
2026 4-seam velocity: 97.4 mph (+2.4)
This has a whole lot to do with Senzatela moving to the bullpen, a decision that the organization first made last September. Why?
“He’s 1-2 [innings] maxing out, throwing 97-100, there could be a lot of upside with that,” then-interim manager Warren Schaeffer said last September.
That seemed at least a little bit optimistic, considering Senzatela was wrapping up a campaign that saw him pitch to a 6.65 ERA in 130 innings. Senzatela wasn’t exactly a soft-tosser -- he averaged 95 mph with his four-seamer -- but the pitch was problematic. He used it 57% of the time, even though the opposition hit .352 with a .540 slugging percentage against it. Those were some of the worst marks against any four-seamer in all of baseball.
Now, Senzatela is letting it fly, much like Schaeffer envisioned.
Through two appearances, his slowest four-seamer has clocked in at 95.1 mph -- faster than his average last season. It’s playing, too: In a small sample size, the opposition is 1-for-8 with four whiffs on 14 swings against Senzatela’s four-seamer.
Here’s the other thing: Senzatela’s velocity is up across the board, with four other pitches in his six-pitch mix also experiencing velocity bumps of at least 1.4 mph. That matters, because Senzatela is throwing his four-seamer less than ever, just 39.1% of the time. It’s early, yes, but with improved velocity, this has the makings of a successful transition to the bullpen.
Tyler Phillips, Marlins
2026 sinker velocity: 96.6 mph (+1.2)
You may know Phillips best for his unique entrances, considering he's the pitcher who slaps himself while entering from the bullpen. He's also incredibly tough to hit, and he's not making it any easier on the opposition, adding over a full tick of velocity to a sinker that already has plus horizontal movement.
Phillips broke into the Majors as a starting pitcher with the Phillies in 2024, so it's not a surprise that he's throwing harder now in shorter stints. But he's already hit 97 mph more times than he did all of last season, his first as a reliever. What changed? Phillips, who is listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, spent the offseason getting stronger. He embraced velocity-based training at Cressey Sports Performance, performing deadlifts while hitting a minimum speed threshold.
"I think for the most part, it's just having an understanding of how my body is supposed to move," Phillips told MLB.com last weekend at Yankee Stadium. "There’s expected velocity models that people put together. From a surface level, it’s arm speed, lead leg block, rotational power, momentum down the mound. You find out what you’re good at and you try to exploit those, make yourself the best you can."
The work has paid off, and he can feel the difference on the mound.
“We have our pitching plan papers, and I look at mine, I see how good my stuff actually is,” Phillips said. “It gives you more room for error. I throw the sinker, and I need to trust that thing in the zone. When it’s 92, you gotta be kind of fine. Sometimes, I find myself falling into that mindset. 'Oh, I need to make this a perfect pitch.' If it’s 97, 98, well, hitting is hard.”
Indeed it is. Phillips has allowed two hits to the 24 batters that he's faced so far this season.
Randy Vásquez, Padres
2026 4-seam velocity: 94.3 mph (+0.8)
2026 sinker velocity: 94.5 mph (+1.4)
Injuries have already ravaged San Diego's rotation, which makes the evolution of Vásquez especially notable. One of the forgotten pieces of the trade that sent Juan Soto to the Yankees, Vásquez managed to pitch to a 3.84 ERA last year despite a 4.85 FIP and a 5.37 expected ERA that ranked in the seventh percentile of MLB. His 15.7% whiff rate was the lowest of all 175 pitchers to throw at least 75 innings.
In his first start of the season, Vásquez looked different. The right-hander threw 24 pitches at least 95 mph, tied for the most pitches 95+ mph in a single game in his career. But here's the thing: Vásquez actually started improving his velocity last summer. A four-seamer that averaged 93.3 mph in July spiked to 95 mph in September, then averaged 95.6 mph in Spring Training.
The reinvention happened after Vásquez sought out Yu Darvish, who provided advice after bullpens and workouts. As MLB.com's AJ Cassavell noted, Vásquez also overhauled his offseason routine and changed his body with the goal of adding more velocity.
Think about this: Before last September, Vásquez had only touched 95 mph 10 times in his entire career. He's done so 57 times in six starts since, even though he didn't reach that mark last time out on Saturday. Speculatively, the frigid temperatures at Fenway Park might have something to do with that. Otherwise, all signs point towards this being a legit velocity bump.