Yankees' Tim Hill ranks in the 1st-percentile for fastball velocity, averaging just 88.8 mph, yet maintains a 93rd-percentile expected ERA. His unique pitching style is effective despite his low velocity.
Yankees' Tim Hill is in the 1st-percentile in MLB in a notable metric, and it hasn't mattered originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Tim Hill doesn't do his job like most pitchers in 2026.
He's a soft-throwing left-hander who throws quite side-armed for the New York Yankees. And it works wonderfully.
Maybe the best way to sum this up is in a big contrast: Hill has a 1st-percentile fastball velocity, and a 93rd-percentile expected ERA.
Something being in the 1st-percentile means essentially no one in baseball has a lower mark in that category. Hill averages just 88.8 miles per hour on his heater.
But he induces weak contact and gets guys out. That's what it's all about.
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For those more inclined to traditional stats: This season, Hill has made eight appearances, thrown 8.0 innings and allowed one earned run. That's a 1.13 ERA.
He has allowed five hits in that time and walked no one. Hill has just three strikeouts, so he's not fooling guys totally into whiffs. He gets them just off balance enough to allow pretty much no damage even when the ball gets hit off of him.
This isn't a fluke, either.
Hill had a 2.05 ERA in 35 outings with the Yanks in 2024, and then a 3.09 ERA in 70 appearances last season.
He wasn't quite as effective early in his MLB career, but as Hill has leaned into what he does well, and the rest of the league has gotten more and more different from him, he's become a totally different foe for opponents to try and contend with.
Right now, Hill is winning. He doesn't have to throw hard to do it.
Being in the 1st-percentile means Tim Hill has one of the lowest fastball velocities in MLB, averaging 88.8 mph.
Tim Hill has a 93rd-percentile expected ERA, indicating he performs well despite having a low fastball velocity.
Tim Hill is a soft-throwing left-hander who throws side-armed, which contributes to his effectiveness on the mound despite his low velocity.
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