+ - Indicates Hall of Famer. Bold indicates active player.
Statistic Description: 9 x SO / IP For recent years, leaders need 1 IP per team game played
Minimum of 1000 IP, 3000 PA, 500 games (fielding), 200 stolen base attempts (catchers) or 80 stolen base attempts (baserunners only since 1951) or 100 decisions for career and active leaderboards for rate statistics.
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | Strikeouts per 9 IP | Throws |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Kerry Wood (14, 35) | 10.3174 | R |
| 2. | Tim Lincecum (6, 28) | 9.8628 | R |
| 3. | Oliver Perez (9, 30) | 9.1160 | L |
| 4. | Johan Santana (12, 33) | 8.8597 | L |
| 5. | Jake Peavy (11, 31) | 8.8165 | R |
| 6. | Erik Bedard (9, 33) | 8.7638 | L |
| 7. | Cole Hamels (7, 28) | 8.4982 | L |
| 8. | Josh Beckett (12, 32) | 8.4331 | R |
| 9. | Justin Verlander (8, 29) | 8.3485 | R |
| 10. | Jon Lester (7, 28) | 8.2608 | L |
| 11. | Mariano Rivera (18, 42) | 8.2572 | R |
| 12. | Felix Hernandez (8, 26) | 8.2259 | R |
| 13. | A.J. Burnett (14, 35) | 8.2213 | R |
| 14. | Chad Billingsley (7, 27) | 8.0377 | R |
| 15. | Zack Greinke (9, 28) | 8.0274 | R |
| 16. | Ryan Dempster (15, 35) | 7.7885 | R |
| 17. | Jered Weaver (7, 29) | 7.7507 | R |
| 18. | CC Sabathia (12, 31) | 7.7080 | L |
| 19. | Dan Haren (10, 31) | 7.6604 | R |
| 20. | Ted Lilly (14, 36) | 7.6375 | L |
| 21. | James Shields (7, 30) | 7.6020 | R |
| 22. | Wandy Rodriguez (8, 33) | 7.5989 | L |
| 23. | Chris Capuano (8, 33) | 7.5828 | L |
| 24. | Carlos Zambrano (12, 31) | 7.5655 | R |
| 25. | Matt Cain (8, 27) | 7.4615 | R |
| 26. | Aaron Harang (11, 34) | 7.3831 | R |
| 27. | Brett Myers (11, 31) | 7.3507 | R |
| 28. | Cliff Lee (11, 33) | 7.2844 | L |
| 29. | Ervin Santana (8, 29) | 7.1480 | R |
| 30. | Randy Wolf (14, 35) | 7.0368 | L |
| 31. | John Lackey (10, 33) | 7.0283 | R |
| 32. | Gavin Floyd (9, 29) | 6.9529 | R |
| 33. | Bartolo Colon (15, 39) | 6.9508 | R |
| 34. | Kevin Millwood (16, 37) | 6.9321 | R |
| 35. | Chris Carpenter (14, 37) | 6.8859 | R |
| 36. | Roy Halladay (15, 35) | 6.8796 | R |
| 37. | Jose Contreras (10, 40) | 6.8021 | R |
| 38. | Bruce Chen (14, 35) | 6.7868 | L |
| 39. | Edwin Jackson (10, 28) | 6.7322 | R |
| 40. | Doug Davis (13, 36) | 6.7093 | L |
| 41. | Barry Zito (13, 34) | 6.6896 | L |
| 42. | Andy Pettitte (17, 40) | 6.6403 | L |
| 43. | Dontrelle Willis (9, 30) | 6.6008 | L |
| 44. | Kip Wells (11, 35) | 6.5304 | R |
| 45. | Freddy Garcia (14, 35) | 6.4349 | R |
| 46. | Vicente Padilla (14, 34) | 6.3705 | R |
| 47. | Tim Hudson (14, 36) | 6.0987 | R |
| 48. | Nate Robertson (9, 34) | 6.0529 | L |
| 49. | Dave Bush (8, 32) | 6.0482 | R |
| 50. | Brett Tomko (14, 39) | 5.9917 | R |
| Rank | Player (yrs, age) | Strikeouts per 9 IP | Throws |
| 51. | LaTroy Hawkins (18, 39) | 5.9740 | R |
| 52. | Joe Blanton (9, 31) | 5.9216 | R |
| 53. | Bronson Arroyo (13, 35) | 5.9045 | R |
| 54. | Scott Elarton (10, 36) | 5.8967 | R |
| 55. | Jeff Francis (7, 31) | 5.8611 | L |
| 56. | Derek Lowe (16, 39) | 5.8576 | R |
| 57. | Darren Oliver (19, 41) | 5.8265 | L |
| 58. | Rodrigo Lopez (11, 36) | 5.7638 | R |
| 59. | Miguel Batista (18, 41) | 5.7468 | R |
| 60. | Ramon Ortiz (11, 39) | 5.6100 | R |
| 61. | Kyle Lohse (12, 33) | 5.5806 | R |
| 62. | Livan Hernandez (17, 37) | 5.5611 | R |
| 63. | Paul Maholm (8, 30) | 5.5311 | L |
| 64. | Carl Pavano (14, 36) | 5.4908 | R |
| 65. | Jeremy Guthrie (9, 33) | 5.4628 | R |
| 66. | Joel Pineiro (12, 33) | 5.4277 | R |
| 67. | Jamie Moyer (25, 49) | 5.3925 | L |
| 68. | Jason Marquis (13, 33) | 5.1905 | R |
| 69. | Jake Westbrook (12, 34) | 5.0763 | R |
| 70. | Jamey Wright (17, 37) | 5.0661 | R |
| 71. | Mark Buehrle (13, 33) | 5.0557 | L |
| 72. | Joe Saunders (8, 31) | 5.0533 | L |
| 73. | Jeff Suppan (17, 37) | 4.9200 | R |
| 74. | Zach Duke (7, 29) | 4.6427 | L |
| 75. | Aaron Cook (11, 33) | 3.8190 | R |