Nothing tests a fan’s sanity quite like a pitcher who looks like a Cy Young winner one night and a Triple-A call-up the next. These are the guys who had all the tools in their arsenal—velocity, movement, confidence—but couldn’t string it together consistently enough to stop your blood pressure from spiking.
One start, you’re watching dominance unfold; the next, you’re questioning every decision that led you to care about baseball in the first place. Here are 25 pitchers who made inconsistency their most reliable trait.
25. Rich Harden
When he was healthy, he was electric. But his career was a constant game of will-he-won’t-he with both his control and his body.
24. Brandon Morrow
He could strike out the side or walk the bases loaded, and sometimes both in the same inning. Morrow’s stuff was always better than his results.
23. A.J. Burnett
You never knew if you were getting dominant A.J. or the guy giving up five runs in two innings. He made every fan feel like they were on a roller coaster without a seatbelt.
22. Ubaldo Jiménez
That 2010 run was legendary, and then it was just chaos after that. He had filthy movement but absolutely no idea where it was going half the time.
21. Matt Moore
Moore flashed ace potential early in his career but never found a way to sustain it. His outings always felt like flipping a coin.
20. Daniel Cabrera
He had the frame and velocity to scare hitters, but command was optional. Every five days was an adventure, and not the fun kind.
19. Edwin Jackson
He’s pitched for basically every MLB team and was a mystery with all of them. One game: shutout. Next game: batting practice.
18. Jonathan Sánchez
He threw a no-hitter and somehow still never inspired much confidence. Walks were always lurking around the corner.
17. Phil Hughes
There were flashes of brilliance, especially with the Yankees and Twins. But the inconsistency was as much a part of his legacy as the strikeouts.
16. José Quintana
Some months he looks like a mid-rotation gem, other months like a DFA candidate. You could never quite figure out who he really was.
15. Ricky Nolasco
Nolasco always had the stuff, but something never quite clicked. He’d look dominant for four innings, then unravel in the fifth.
14. Jake Odorizzi
He could get on a hot streak, then just as easily lose his groove. You always felt like you were waiting for the other shoe to drop.
13. Jeff Samardzija
The talent was always there, but consistency wasn’t. One week, he’s striking out 10, the next, he’s giving up bombs to the bottom of the lineup.
12. J.A. Happ
Happ could string together a month of excellence… and then completely fall apart. He was baseball’s version of a magic trick gone wrong.
11. Wandy Rodríguez
He’d mow down a lineup one night and then couldn’t find the zone the next. There was no predicting which version you’d get.
10. Ian Kennedy
Started as a future ace, turned into a reliever, then back again. The inconsistency spanned roles, teams, and seasons.
9. Mike Pelfrey
Pelfrey had the sinker, the frame, and the pedigree—just not the results. Watching him pitch was like watching Jenga with the bases loaded.
8. Ervin Santana
He could toss a complete-game shutout or give up four homers in two innings. And sometimes he did both in the same week.
7. Vince Velasquez
He had outings where he’d strike out 12 and look unhittable. But it always felt like a house of cards waiting to collapse.
6. Dillon Gee
Gee had moments where he looked like a future rotation staple. And then he’d completely lose the zone and unravel without warning.
5. Tyler Chatwood
Great velocity and movement, but his control was maddening. He could walk the park even when his stuff was working.
4. Joe Blanton
He was a postseason hero one year and a liability the next. His career was a masterclass in being perfectly unpredictable.
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3. Francisco Liriano
Liriano had ace-level stuff and injury-level reliability. One start he’d dominate, the next he’d be pulled by the third inning.
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2. Mike Foltynewicz
He had an All-Star level talent that showed up once in a while, but more often than not, it just stayed in hiding. He was a walking tease to Braves fans.
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1. Oliver Pérez
No one embodied inconsistency like Oliver Pérez. One moment he was unhittable, the next he couldn’t throw a strike to save his life.
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