Owen Ellsworth, Algonquin. Fastball: The senior uses a reliable four-seam grip but holds his fingers closer together to generate more spin. "It's more comfortable, more accurate," Ellsworth said ...

It is one of three secondary pitches, including an 85.7-mph slider and an 82.1-mph sweeper, that Honeywell uses to offset a four-seam fastball that averages 94.8 mph.

Overall, MLB hitters are hitting .244/.311/.401 with a 25.1% whiff rate this year, and the average velocity of a four-seam fastball is 94.2 mph. Hitters like to see fastballs, so against those ...

But it’s not just the young guns who are throwing from a lower arm slot. All-Star Chris Sale, 35, of the Atlanta Braves is throwing from his lowest release point in five years (5.16).

To make the pitch work, he must throw it 85-86 mph — with movement. ... His average four-seam fastball velocity is nearly 2.5 mph slower than the major league average of 94.2.

“If I throw a fastball at 95 miles per hour, it looks closer to 100 because I have so much ride and a high spin rate. It is hard for a hitter to time up coming from a funky lefty arm slot.” ...

Owen Ellsworth, Algonquin. Fastball: The senior uses a reliable four-seam grip but holds his fingers closer together to generate more spin. "It's more comfortable, more accurate," Ellsworth said ...