The Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching rotation has been essentially the most dominant drive of this yr’s MLB playoffs, with L.A.’s 4 aces combining for a microscopic 1.40 ERA and 81 strikeouts over 10 postseason begins.
With seemingly each efficiency from Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani comes a brand new wave of stats that convey the rarity of their achievements racing round social media.
As L.A.’s 4 starters put together to face the the Toronto Blue Jays within the World Sequence, we’re right here to get you prepared for his or her Fall Traditional appearances with a information to what every does greatest and the pitch combine that makes the quartet so dominant.
Blake Snell: The Sport 1 man
What he has completed this October: 0.86 ERA, 12.0 Okay/9 in 21 IP
What makes him so good: Snell’s excellence is straightforward to grasp: He has been a frontline starter for nearly a decade, signed a $182 million deal final yr and is a lefty who throws within the mid-90s. He already has two Cy Younger awards and a 3.15 ERA over his 10-year massive league profession. However there was a refined change in his method throughout his first yr with the Dodgers that has powered his playoff dominance.
How he makes use of his pitches: Snell had been an influence fastball/breaking ball pitcher for principally his complete profession — however this season, his changeup turned his second-most-used pitch and his clear greatest by run worth (i.e. good issues occurred when he threw it this yr, way more so than his different pitches). Run worth might be considerably misleading — what in case your dominating fastball will get hitters on their heels, however the changeup will get the strikeout and all the statistical credit score for the strikeout? Snell appears to consider in what the numbers are exhibiting, too.
His changeup utilization was 23.6% within the common season and is 32.4% within the playoffs. His regular-season miss charge on the pitch was 43.5% and it is 65.5% within the playoffs. It has been at 60% or larger in all three of his playoff begins. The pitch motion and velocity is sort of equivalent to final yr’s model, however the outcomes, particularly the in-zone contact charge and launch angle allowed, have improved fairly dramatically.
Snell threw the pitch solely 2% of the time in opposition to left-handed hitters within the common season however that has ticked up within the playoffs, growing with every begin to 7% in opposition to the Brewers.
These additional changeups are principally coming on the expense of his fastball utilization. Throwing fewer fastballs is considerably frequent within the high-stakes atmosphere of the playoffs, however Snell is prospering by relying extra on his changeup than his slider and curveball in these key conditions this yr.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto: The six-pitch magician
What he is completed this October: 1.83 ERA, 8.2 Okay/9 in 19⅔ IP
What makes him so good: Yamamoto got here into the league final yr with a variety of hype and largely met it, however missed almost three months due to a shoulder situation after being hit round in his first massive league look.
This yr, he took an enormous step ahead and appears greater than price his $325 million deal, throwing 173⅔ innings with a 2.49 ERA and glowing peripherals that added as much as a 5.0 WAR common season. In the event you seek the advice of run values, all six of his pitches have been higher in 2025 than 2024, along with throwing nearly twice as many innings. What did he change?
The rate and motion of his pitches are principally the identical and the utilization of these pitches was principally the identical, apart from shifting 5% utilization of his curveball to his cutter, as he improved the motion on his cutter by a couple of inches.
How he makes use of his pitches: Check out the refined shifts along with his two greatest pitches: his four-seam fastball and splitter. Listed below are the areas of his fastball in opposition to right-handed hitters within the 2024 common season (left) and 2025 common season (proper).
It is refined, however that singular crimson dot down the center has migrated towards the sting of the zone, and there is a little extra motion throughout the highest of the strike zone, which is the place many of the misses are occurring. His run worth per fastball thrown nearly doubled and the entire runs saved went from plus-5 to plus-17 (a top-10 determine in baseball) whereas the xWOBA (anticipated manufacturing by hitters) went from .360 to .299 and his miss charge additionally ticked up by 2%.
Although the distinction in areas aren’t as straightforward to see, the execution of Yamamoto’s splitter additionally improved. His common launch angle allowed went from 1 to minus-8, and the barrel charge dropped from 17% to 9% which helped gas a 24-point drop in xwOBA and a spike in miss charge on that pitch. His run worth on that pitch is plus-9, third greatest in baseball.
When Yamamoto is dealing, it is due to these two pitches, that are his most-used choices in opposition to lefties and righties. And sure, additionally they tunnel nicely:
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 98mph Fastball and 93mph Splitter, Overlay
Good luck. 😳 pic.twitter.com/RDlNGBMTSd
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) September 7, 2025
Tyler Glasnow: The 6-foot-8 energy arm
What he is completed this October: 0.68 ERA, 12.2 Okay/9 in 13⅓ IP
What makes him so good: Glasnow’s type of pitching is a perform of his immense bodily items and all through his profession, slowly determining how you can resolve the geometry drawback they create.
He’s 6-foot-8 and a standout athlete who can generate the largest extension (how removed from the rubber he releases a pitch) in baseball whereas additionally throwing from one of many highest arm slots within the league. Glasnow’s lengthy arms assist create velocity simply however make it more durable to repeat his supply — so his precision throughout the strike zone can come and go. Resulting from this, he depends extra on energy than really feel.
How he makes use of his pitches: Glasnow has mid-90s velocity however can obtain a flatter aircraft to the plate to get misses up within the strike zone as a consequence of his enormous extension, which brings him decrease on the mound to negate his peak and excessive arm slot.
He has a pure capability to chop the ball, so his fastball has near-cutter break whereas sitting within the mid-90s, his slider has typical motion however is available in 3 mph more durable than the common slider and his curveball can also be more durable than the common bender — with six additional inches of drop.
He depends on that curveball in opposition to lefties as a result of he would not throw a changeup, and the slider is the breaker of selection in opposition to righties.
Glasnow’s use of those three major pitches places the hitter in battle. He takes away their time to make choices by throwing laborious, and although he cannot get enormous horizontal motion, he can tunnel the pitches so they appear the identical when the hitter is attempting to resolve. I may present you a plot of how he executes this, however it’s simpler to see in video. Here is a typical assault plan versus a right-handed hitter:
Tyler Glasnow, 97mph Fastball (foul) and 89mph Slider (Sword Okay), Particular person Pitches + Overlay. pic.twitter.com/usSXo0Hng5
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 31, 2025
Glasnow’s recreation is one in every of extremes, however when he is wholesome and executing, he is almost unhittable.
Shohei Ohtani: The 2-way sensation
What he is completed this October: 2.25 ERA, 14.3 Okay/9 in 12 IP
What makes him so good: You imply in addition to being a three-time MVP (who’s about to win his fourth award) as essentially the most dominant two-way drive the game has seen — contemporary off one of the crucial unbelievable performances in postseason historical past?
Effectively, the humorous factor about Ohtani is his eye-popping numbers on the plate and the two-way accolades make it straightforward to overlook how good he’s simply as a pitcher. In a profession that spans 100 regular-season begins, Ohtani has posted a 2.87 ERA and struck out 670 batters in 528⅔.
How he makes use of his pitches: You keep in mind Ohtani being a extremely good pitcher in 2023 with the Angels, and now he one way or the other appears higher. How? Effectively, it is fairly easy:
His velocity is up a couple of tenths on most of those pitches within the postseason, too, as you’d anticipate.
Earlier than the “velocity is not every part” crowd blows a gasket, Ohtani’s Zone% and Strike% are higher in 2025 than 2023, and the shapes of his pitches have not actually modified. He gave again an inch or so of motion on a few of these offspeed pitches, a great swap given what the trade understands about pitching growth.
When scouts in any sport discuss athleticism, it is normally about a number of issues that standout athleticism can have an effect on. In Ohtani’s case, it is fairly apparent: He is the most effective hitters, and at age 31, after a number of elbow surgical procedures, he can enhance his velocity and strike-throwing on the similar time when he was already one of many higher pitchers within the recreation.