The short version
- Strikeout, Ground Ball and Command weigh 1.2; Velocity, Break, Stamina and Clutch 1.1. Defense and Frame scale with their own value: a 73 glove barely counts (0.4×), an 85+ glove counts 1.3×.
- Strikeouts come almost entirely from the Strikeout slot (97 Strikeout ≈ 13.5 K/9). Career length and innings come from Stamina; under 52 Stamina you are a reliever.
- Cy Young odds only turn elite above 92 OVR. Three Cy Youngs, 64 career WAR, or 4,000 strikeouts with 50 WAR is an automatic Hall of Fame.
- The all-time #1 is a 109 OVR. The board is full of relievers in the strikeout slots and Greg Maddux in Stamina.
- The daily alternates with Build a Batter: pitcher one day, batter the next.
On this page
The nine slots
| Slot | Body part | What it is | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strikeout | Forearm | Strikeouts per batter faced | 1.2 |
| Ground Ball | Ball hand | Home-run suppression | 1.2 |
| Command | Shoulder | Walk avoidance | 1.2 |
| Velocity | Bicep | Fastball speed | 1.1 |
| Break | Wrist | Movement | 1.1 |
| Stamina | Legs | Innings and career length | 1.1 |
| Clutch | Head | Strand rate, playoff success | 1.1 |
| Defense | Glove | Fielding | 0.4 to 1.3, scaling from a 73 to an 85 glove |
| Frame | Body | Height | 0.4 to 1.3, scaling from 6'3" to 7'0" |
The "three true outcomes" slots (Strikeout, Ground Ball, Command) are the scoring engine. Defense and Frame are the unusual ones: their weight grows with their value, so an ordinary glove or an ordinary height is nearly free to fill with a weak card, while an elite glove or a very tall pitcher is rewarded as much as a strikeout slot. Frame is height only: 50 + 3.5 per inch above 5'7". A 6'4" pitcher is an 82, 6'8" a 96, 6'9" a 99.
What lands
- 4% Legend (purple), 5% Prime card (a real special edition of a current player), otherwise a live card weighted 15% diamond, 24% gold, 26% silver, 25% bronze, 10% grey.
- The pool is starters and closers only, current season in every tier plus gold-and-up cards from the previous five seasons, about 560 pitchers and 69 legends.
- 🔥 Last Night's Studs (free play only): a 10% chance the reel serves a real pitcher who dominated the previous night, with a flat boost to every attribute.
- One day in seven is a lucky daily: the first card is a guaranteed Diamond.
- Power-ups: one Re-spin, one Boost (to the player's Prime, only if he has one), one Snag. A separate 🔭 Scout consumable from the season pass peeks the next card, but it is off in the daily and in Hard Mode.
What the career sim rewards
| Output | Driven by |
|---|---|
| K/9 | Strikeout, almost alone (a little Velocity and Break). 97 Strikeout ≈ 13.5 K/9. |
| BB/9 | Command |
| HR/9 | Ground Ball |
| BABIP | Defense, Break, Ground Ball |
| Innings per year, career length | Stamina first, Frame second. Max age ≈ 27 + 0.14 × Stamina + a little Frame, between 28 and 41. Under 52 Stamina you are a Bullpen Ace. |
| ERA | FIP from K, BB, HR, adjusted by BABIP and Clutch |
| WAR | ERA against league average × innings, plus K/9 and OVR |
| Wins | ERA, innings, team luck |
| Rings and playoff runs | Clutch, heavily |
| Cy Young | WAR, ERA and strikeouts; up to 34% a season for starters, 10% for relievers. An elite bonus switches on only above 92 build OVR. |
| All-Star | 4.0 WAR or a 2.90 ERA (2.40 in relief) |
| ERA title | 150+ innings and an ERA of 3.00 or better, then a roll |
| Strikeout title | 210+ strikeouts as a starter, then a roll |
| No-hitters, perfect games | K/9, BABIP and HR/9; a perfect game only rolls after a no-hitter |
At most one injury per career. Decision events (Media Day, Signature Deal, The Presser, Pitch for the Flag, The Phenom, Free Agency at year seven, Injury Crossroads, The Twilight Call) nudge earnings, performance, Clutch and the Hall of Fame vote, exactly as in Build a Baller.
The Hall of Fame
Otherwise the score is 0.82 × WAR, plus up to 18 points for strikeouts past 2,800, up to 10 for wins past 150, up to 8 for a career ERA under 2.75, and hardware: a Cy Young is worth 14, a ring 2.5, a no-hitter 2, a perfect game 5, ERA and strikeout titles 1.6 each. 112 points is the line. Verdicts: 🐐 G.O.A.T. (Hall of Fame with a 99+ build), 🏆 Hall of Fame, Hall of Pretty Good (80 to 85 OVR), Hall of Mid (72 to 79), Hall of Not Good. Rule of thumb from the tuning notes: an 85 makes it about 70% of the time, an 80 almost never, and a 90 averages more than one Cy Young.
Best builds from the leaderboard
The highest-rated pitchers ever posted, pulled 2026-08-25 from 96,113 builds. Notice what the top players figured out: relievers (Dibble, Gagne, Miller, Devin Williams) own the Strikeout and Clutch slots because their per-batter rates are the best in the pool, and Greg Maddux owns Stamina. Legends fill 31% of top-40 slots and Primes 25%.
| # | OVR | Build | Ground Ball | Break | Strikeout | Velocity | Command | Clutch | Defense | Frame | Stamina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 109 | Cam Wilson by Carson_Morris | Max Fried Prime 2025 99 | Cristian Javier 103 | Andrew Miller Legend 125 | Jacob Misiorowski Prime 2025 130 | Andrew Kittredge Prime 2025 92 | Satchel Paige Legend 125 | Mike Mussina Legend 94 | Luke Little 96 | Catfish Hunter Legend 125 |
| 2 | 108 | Base Ball by Beck_Buskirk | Aaron Civale Prime 2025 99 | Stephen Strasburg Prime 2022 105 | Cade Smith Prime 2025 125 | Andre Pallante 99 | Leroy Matlock Legend 99 | Andrés Muñoz Prime 2025 125 | Dallas Keuchel Prime 2025 101 | Noah Schultz Prime 2025 99 | Greg Maddux Legend 125 |
| 3 | 108 | Base Ball by Beck_Buskirk | Aroldis Chapman Prime 2025 99 | Stephen Strasburg Prime 2022 105 | Cade Smith Prime 2025 125 | Andrés Muñoz Prime 2025 104 | Leroy Matlock Legend 99 | Andrew Abbott Prime 2025 125 | Dallas Keuchel Prime 2025 101 | Felix Bautista 96 | Greg Maddux Legend 125 |
| 4 | 107 | Benjamin Petruzzi by Benjamin | Luis Castillo Prime 2025 99 | Yennier Cano 99 | Rob Dibble Legend 125 | Jacob Misiorowski 132 | Emmanuel Clase Prime 2025 93 | Don Sutton Legend 125 | Brady Singer 50 | Cade Smith Prime 2025 85 | Roy Oswalt Legend 115 |
| 5 | 107 | Cam Wilson by Carson_Morris | Cristopher Sánchez Prime 2025 99 | Cristian Javier 103 | Mason Miller Prime 2025 125 | Jacob deGrom 99 | Darren O'Day Legend 98 | Jose Alvarado 125 | Dontrelle Willis Legend 65 | Bailey Ober 99 | Bob Gibson Legend 125 |
| 6 | 107 | Cam Wilson by Carson_Morris | Joe Nathan Legend 99 | Cristian Javier 103 | Rich Gossage Legend 122 | Garrett Crochet Prime 2025 99 | Leroy Matlock Legend 99 | Emmanuel Clase 125 | Max Fried Prime 2025 95 | Bailey Ober 99 | Cy Young Legend 125 |
| 7 | 107 | Tex Banks | Kris Bubic Prime 2025 99 | Logan Webb 105 | Darren O'Day Legend 120 | Jacob Misiorowski 125 | Brandon Webb Legend 94 | Eric Gagne Legend 125 | Brusdar Graterol 50 | Justin Martinez Prime 2025 78 | Cliff Lee Legend 112 |
| 8 | 107 | John Pitcher | Matthew Liberatore Prime 2025 90 | Camilo Doval 99 | Felix Bautista Prime 2025 125 | Jacob Misiorowski 125 | Hilton L. Smith Legend 91 | Hurston Waldrep Prime 2025 125 | Landen Roupp 54 | Zack Kelly 78 | Gaylord Perry Legend 125 |
Most-used player in each slot across the top 40 builds:
| Slot | Most used (top 40) | Best value seen |
|---|---|---|
| Ground Ball | Eury Perez (5), Luis Castillo (2), Tanner Bibee (2) | 108 |
| Break | Cristian Javier (5), Stephen Strasburg (2), Yennier Cano (2) | 106 |
| Strikeout | Rob Dibble (4), Eric Gagne (4), Andrew Miller (3) | 125 |
| Velocity | Jacob Misiorowski (12), Jacob deGrom (2), Justin Martinez (2) | 132 |
| Command | Leroy Matlock (5), Darren O'Day (2), Logan Webb (2) | 99 |
| Clutch | Devin Williams (4), Blake Treinen (3), Satchel Paige (2) | 130 |
| Defense | Bubba Chandler (3), Dallas Keuchel (2), Leroy Matlock (2) | 101 |
| Frame | Bailey Ober (4), Luke Little (2), Noah Schultz (2) | 99 |
| Stamina | Greg Maddux (8), Bob Gibson (3), Cy Young (3) | 125 |
Tips
- Relievers for rates, starters for Stamina. A closer's Strikeout or Clutch value beats almost any starter's; a starter's Stamina beats any closer's. Mix them.
- Do not waste a card on Defense or Frame unless it is elite. Below 73 Defense or below 6'3" the slot weighs 0.4. Put the leftover there.
- Stamina decides the career, not just the OVR. A 99-Strikeout, 40-Stamina build is a closer with 900 career strikeouts. Cy Youngs and 3,000 K need 150+ innings a year.
- Boost a starter in a 1.2 slot. Primes exist only for current players; check the ⚡ button lights up before you count on it.
- Chase the ring at Free Agency if the Hall is the goal: rings are 2.5 points each and unlock the 3,000-K auto-induction path.
Leaderboard
Sorted by OVR; also sortable by Strikeouts, WAR, Wins, Rings and Cy Youngs. Real-world record holders appear as purple star rows on the stat sorts for scale (Nolan Ryan's 5,714 K) without taking a rank. The daily challenge alternates with Build a Batter by calendar day.
Questions people ask
What are the slot weights in Build a Pitcher?
Strikeout, Ground Ball and Command 1.2; Velocity, Break, Stamina and Clutch 1.1; Defense and Frame scale from 0.4 to 1.3 with their own value (a 73 glove is almost weightless, an 85+ glove counts 1.3).
How do you get more strikeouts in Build a Pitcher?
The Strikeout slot: K/9 is roughly 0.145 per point of Strikeout. Relievers like Rob Dibble and Eric Gagne have the best values in the pool. Career totals also need Stamina, because innings multiply the rate.
How do you win a Cy Young in Build a Pitcher?
High WAR, low ERA and big strikeout totals as a starter, with a bonus that only switches on above 92 build OVR. A 90 build averages a little over one Cy Young per career.
What makes the Hall of Fame automatic for a pitcher?
64 career WAR, 3 Cy Youngs, 4,000 strikeouts with 50 WAR, or 3,000 strikeouts with 2 rings and 46 WAR.
What is the highest OVR in Build a Pitcher?
109, as of 2026-08-25, out of 96,113 builds posted.
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