Best Swing-and-Miss Pitches in the AL Central

Yesterday, the top five individual swing-and-miss pitches from starters in the American League East were revealed. Today, we take a look at the AL Central. 

Think Justin Verlander's curveball is a given at the top spot? Do Justin Masterson or Ubaldo Jimenez rate?

Read on to see what the numbers say—again, you may be surprised by the results.

(Note: All statistics culled from brooksbaseball.net's whiff/swing data from 2011. Minimum 200 times thrown.)

5. Max Scherzer's Slider

The man with the multicolored eyes is more than just a Justin Verlander afterthought.

Twenty-seven-year-old Max Scherzer has hit the 195-inning mark in each of the past two seasons, being something of a work horse for the Tigers over that span.

Not a bad resume for a pitcher who was once included in the three-team deal which sent Curtis Granderson to New York (with Scherzer coming over from Arizona). 

In 2011, he fired off 656 sliders, getting batters to hack and miss 37.5 percent of the time, good for fifth in the AL Central.

If the Tigers plan to make a deep run in 2012, Scherzer will have to provide the same sort of support to Detroit's resident ace.

4. Justin Verlander's Changeup

Not only does the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner not have the top swing-and-miss pitch in the division, Justin Verlander's changeup managed to avoid more bats in 2011 than his fabled hook.

This is not to say that there is a better pitcher alive at the moment, but the stats show that he spread out his knee-buckling assault over his entire repertoire.

For comparison's sake, his curveball rocked opposing hitters at a 26.95 percent whiff rate in 2011 (748 times thrown), while the change came in at a filthy 40.36 percent (681 times thrown). 

Clearly, it doesn't matter from which angle Verlander comes at you, he's still more than likely going to win the battle—just maybe not in the way everyone thinks. 

3. and 2. Francisco Liriano's Changeup and Slider

Long known for his break-neck stuff, Francisco Liriano holds down the No. 3 (changeup) and No. 2 spots (slider) with a pair of breaking balls.

Now, if he can only consistently harness that power, Twins fans' dreams of him one day morphing into a reasonable redux of Johan Santana may come true.

But a Tommy John surgery and a few sub-.500 seasons into his career, Liriano is more likely to show a flash of brilliance here or there than sustain it over the long haul.

Yet, when he does manage to pull back the curtain and show hitters his ridiculous stuff, each of these pitches are where it's at.

He dropped in his changeup 438 times in 2011 for a 42.71 whiff rate, while batters missed his 662 sliders 42.77 percent of the time—numbers that show Liriano's potential for dominance. 

1. Chris Sale's Slider

Zoiks. I'm just as surprised as you are.

Chris Sale, the 13th overall pick of the 2010 amateur draft, topped Justin Verlander et al. en route to a 49.66 percent whiff rate on 400 sliders thrown. That's nearly half the time the 23-year-old throws that Frisbee out there that a giant breeze is felt in the stands. 

Sale made his first major league start on Monday, tossing 6.2 innings in Chicago's 4-2 win in Cleveland, a game in which he gave up just one earned run.

Highly encouraging news for a franchise that counts Gavin Floyd and John Danks among its top starters. 

Check back tomorrow for the AL West results.

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