Splinker

The Splinker is a cross between a Sinker and Splitter, featuring the former's speed, and the latter's break. It was first thrown by Jhoan Duran and was later practiced by Paul Skenes, Mason Miller, and Ben Joyce. Unlike the splitter it often exceeds 1,400 RPM, with its slowly rotating relative rarely breaking 500 RPM. MLB's Statcast system has yet to create a category for splinkers, and lists them as sinking fastballs, or sinkers.

While the pitch was all the rage - at least in the media - in 2024, by the next season it seemed to have been a passing fad. Skenes for one had largely replaced it in his arsenal with a more conventional change-up, with no dip in results, quite the contrary.

Further Reading

• Do-Hyoung Park: "'I've never seen anything like it': Meet the 'splinker' pitch", mlb.com, April 5, 2022. [1]
• Manny Randhawa: "Wait, what? Skenes discovered his splinker by accident", mlb.com, September 12, 2024. [2]
• Alex Stumpf: "A splinker? Skenes' hybrid pitch may be his most electric", mlb.com, May 16, 2024. [3]
• Alex Stumpf: "Skenes ditching the 'splinker' for more conventional toy", mlb.com, August 29, 2025. [4]