Strike rate measures the percentage of a pitcher’s pitches that end up as strikes — either called by the umpire or swung at by the batter. League average is about 63%.

A high Strike% can come from two distinct skills: pumping the zone with command, or generating chase swings out of the zone. Pitchers like Sandy Alcantara and Justin Verlander run high Strike% via command; pitchers like Jacob deGrom run it via stuff that hitters can’t resist.

Strike% pairs naturally with BB% — a high Strike% is almost always associated with a low walk rate. When the two diverge (high Strike% with high BB%), the pitcher is usually nibbling for whiffs but missing the zone too often, walking batters who lay off marginal pitches.

What is a good Strike%?

Strike% isn’t directly used in NUT, but it sits behind both K% and BB% — a pitcher who can’t throw strikes will walk batters, and a pitcher who throws too many fat strikes will give up hits. It appears in the pitcher percentile Stuff section as a measure of zone-control.

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