The Whiff! Dodgers $200 Million Star’s Pitch Is “All But Impossible” to Hit

Yoshinobu Yamamoto isn’t just living up to the hype in his second MLB season — he’s blowing it away. The 25-year-old Dodgers right-hander is doing everything you’d expect from a front-line ace and more.

Through his first 29 innings of 2025, Yamamoto leads the National League with a jaw-dropping 0.93 ERA and has piled up 38 strikeouts. His stuff? Filthy. His command? Surgical. His ceiling? Somewhere in Cy Young territory.

As David Adler of MLB.com puts it, “Yamamoto’s splitter is the most valuable splitter in the Majors so far. It’s proven all but impossible to do damage against.” And it’s not just the splitter that’s turned deadly.

Yamamoto’s taken a leap this year, refining every major pitch in his repertoire. The fastball now comes with more ride — up from 16 inches of induced vertical break to 17 — giving it even more life at the top of the zone. His signature splitter is now touching 91.4 mph with added arm-side run, thanks to a lower arm slot. Ground balls are pouring in—18 of 19 balls in play against the pitch have been hit into the dirt.

And his curveball? It’s now dropping a ridiculous 64 inches, eight inches more than any comparable pitch in the league. He’s getting a sharper break on his cutter, too, with three more inches of movement than last year. There’s no easy take, no comfortable at-bat.

The numbers tell the story, but the eye test seals it: Yamamoto commands every corner, setting hitters up with fastballs on the black and finishing them off with dive-bombing splitters. He has the deepest arsenal on the staff — six legit pitches, all deployed with purpose, tailored to righties and lefties alike.

He’s not just looking like an ace. He looks like a Cy Young winner in the making. And if this is only the beginning of what he can do in the big leagues, the National League might want to brace itself.

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