"Early in 2024, the Red Sox went with a breaking ball-heavy approach, giving the team a reputation for being anti-fastball. Now, when the Red Sox acquire a new pitcher, seemingly every analyst's first move is to look at the new pitcher's four-seam fastball. If the pitch has a high batting average against or low swinging strike numbers, the immediate reaction is to say, "Well, they'll cut that usage for something else". I'm guilty of it, but it isn't necessarily the case."
"Gray isn't throwing his four-seam at the top of the zone, where four-seams traditionally play best, because his four-seam shape isn't traditional. The pitch cuts without much vertical movement. As a general rule, pitches tend to play best by throwing them in the direction they move - a slider plays best glove side and down, while a four-seam works best at the top of the zone. Gray throws his four-seam, which moves like a cutter, away from righties."
A breaking-ball-heavy approach in early 2024 created a reputation that the Red Sox dislike four-seam fastballs, but that reputation is overstated. The team ranked 21st in four-seam percentage, yet several pitchers relied on their four-seams, including Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, Hunter Dobbins, and Richard Fitts. Analysts frequently evaluate new acquisitions by four-seam batting average and swinging-strike rates and often assume usage will be cut. Sonny Gray illustrates why that assumption can be misleading: opponents hit .370 against his four-seam in 2025 with a sub-9% swinging-strike rate at 22.3% usage, yet his pitch moves like a cutter and is positioned away from right-handed hitters.
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