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Happ ranks fifth among MLB starters this season in swinging-strike rate on four-seam fastballs (minimum 750 thrown), at 12.5 percent, Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports. That rate more than doubles, to 27.3 percent, when Happ gets his four-seamer to the upper-third of the strike zone.
Now in his 11th MLB season, the veteran's average fastball clocks in at 92.9 mph -- that's more than a tick up from his career average of 91.8 mph. Happ serves his heater on 42.8 percent of pitches this year, matching the lowest frequency rate of his career from 2010, and well below his 51.1 percent career average. A major reason for the effectiveness of his fastball has been the rebirth of his changeup, a pitch he used on 11.5 percent of deliveries in 2017, his highest usage rate over the last four seasons. The 34-year-old got injured in the first half and had a 5.33 ERA upon his June 5 activation, but has since returned to form with a 9-6 record and a 3.39 ERA over 18 starts.
