Zito's fastball has hovered between 84 miles per hour (135 km/h) and 88 miles per hour (142 km/h).
He augments it with a circle changeup and a curveball that he uses as a strikeout pitch.
His curveball was voted the best in the Major Leagues in a player poll conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2005.
Alex Rodriguez once stated that he had never seen anything like Zito's curveball, commenting: "It's such a high one, and it drops three to four feet.
You might as well not even look for it because you're not going to hit it."

Since mid-2004, Zito has added a two-seam fastball and a cutter–slider hybrid to his arsenal.
In the 2009 season, this cutter-slider became a prominent part of his repertoire, being used more frequently than his changeup.
Zito's diminished velocity at the start of the 2007 season (his fastball velocity slowed to 83–85 miles per hour (134–137 km/h)) and loss of command were the key mechanical reasons for his struggles that year, as he more often got behind in the count and had to rely more on his fastball.
During the 2009 season, Zito made changes to his delivery, lowering his arm slot from an over the top angle to a three quarters delivery.
This change helped his fastball velocity go back up to the 86–89 miles per hour (138–143 km/h) range as well as sharpening the break of his curveball.
However, in 2011, he was once again in the 84–87 miles per hour (135–140 km/h) range with his fastball.
In 2012, Zito relied mostly on his two-seam fastball and cutter, and reduced his reliance on the four-seamer, which was the slowest four-seamer in MLB among starting pitchers that year, at 84.6 miles per hour (136.2 km/h).

Addressing his finesse pitching style, Zito said, "My fastball is set up by my offspeed, that's no secret.
So if I can command my fastball to both sides of the plate and throw most of my offspeed for strikes, I'll get them to miss the barrel.
That's what I'm going for."
Zito's fastball has hovered between 84 miles per hour (135 km/h) and 88 miles per hour (142 km/h). He augments it with a circle changeup and a curveball that he uses as a strikeout pitch. His curveball was voted the best in the Major Leagues in a player poll conducted by Sports Illustrated in 2005. Alex Rodriguez once stated that he had never seen anything like Zito's curveball, commenting: "It's such a high one, and it drops three to four feet. You might as well not even look for it because you're not going to hit it."
Since mid-2004, Zito has added a two-seam fastball and a cutter–slider hybrid to his arsenal. In the 2009 season, this cutter-slider became a prominent part of his repertoire, being used more frequently than his changeup. Zito's diminished velocity at the start of the 2007 season (his fastball velocity slowed to 83–85 miles per hour (134–137 km/h)) and loss of command were the key mechanical reasons for his struggles that year, as he more often got behind in the count and had to rely more on his fastball. During the 2009 season, Zito made changes to his delivery, lowering his arm slot from an over the top angle to a three quarters delivery. This change helped his fastball velocity go back up to the 86–89 miles per hour (138–143 km/h) range as well as sharpening the break of his curveball. However, in 2011, he was once again in the 84–87 miles per hour (135–140 km/h) range with his fastball. In 2012, Zito relied mostly on his two-seam fastball and cutter, and reduced his reliance on the four-seamer, which was the slowest four-seamer in MLB among starting pitchers that year, at 84.6 miles per hour (136.2 km/h).
Addressing his finesse pitching style, Zito said, "My fastball is set up by my offspeed, that's no secret. So if I can command my fastball to both sides of the plate and throw most of my offspeed for strikes, I'll get them to miss the barrel. That's what I'm going for."
Barry Zito