100 mph Is Now Just Expected in Baseball, and It's Getting Faster Every Season
Remember when throwing 100 mph was a unicorn moment? When you saw that triple-digit fastball and your jaw hit the floor? Yeah, those days are basically over. From 2013 to 2016, only 87 pitchers in all of MLB hit 100 mph. Last year, that number jumped to 82 in a single season. This year, we're not even done with April and already 35 pitchers have touched triple digits. Let that sink in.
From High School Dream to Major League Reality
Bubba Chandler remembers exactly when he set his target. As a sophomore at North Oconee High in Georgia, the kid was a three-sport athlete: star quarterback, varsity basketball starter as a freshman, pitcher, and even a scratch golfer. He understood his 6-foot-3 frame could do special things. So he said it out loud to his baseball coaches: "It's 100 or die." Back then, his fastball was sitting in the 88 to 89 mph range, topping out at 91. He grew up watching Jose Fernández throw heat for the Marlins and wanted to be just like him. Fernández occasionally reached triple digits, which at that time meant you were one of the most elite arms in the sport. Now Chandler, a right-handed starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates, is one of the many who actually did it.
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The numbers tell the story. The average major league fastball now sits around 95 mph, a full 6 mph harder than it was 25 years ago. Teams have made velocity training a non-negotiable part of their pitching programs. They prioritize it when scouting amateur talent. The result? 100 mph has gone from a rare achievement to something coaches expect from their best arms.
Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Will Klein laid it out perfectly: "I feel like 100 is the new 95. It used to be, 'You throw 95, that's gas.' Now, it's 100. And now you see starters out there sitting 100." Klein first hit 100 in a summer ball all-star game in 2020 and expects to do it again this season, having already topped out at 98.8 mph so far. The velocity revolution isn't slowing down. It's accelerating.
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