Over half the top 50 wouldn't be there if they didn't have a fresh pen every game. When my rating goes above 1725, I never see a SP go past 5 anymore. The average is probably less than 5 innings at that level. It's a joke.
I'll go 7 innings with a bronze on 80 pitches, the other guy will use 100 pitches to get through 4.2. Then it's an onslaught of new RPs throwing 100 mph every inning, Neshek, or some other dude with a super slow pitch. Then I get messages after the game about how they got more hits than me, even if they lost, meanwhile they walked me 4 times and I didn't walk them at all.
Most players don't have a clue.