#mlb-trends

#mlb-trends

In 2017, starters averaged five and a half innings per start. Now, there's no such thing as half an inning, but that's the beauty of math. That number dipped slightly in 2018, to 5.4 innings per start. Even ignoring 2020, where teams felt more comfortable and/or harried into just getting through the 60-game season, the innings-per-start value bottomed out at exactly five in 2021.

The complete game is all but dead -- no pitcher has more than one nine-inning complete game this season. One hundred pitches is now viewed as the top limit for a pitch count, with pitchers rarely exceeding 110 -- Randy Johnson had more 110-pitch outings just in 1993 than every starter combined in 2025. Pitchers get more days off between starts. And the list goes on.