Player stats

Curveball: Average Spin 2021

How fast the ball spins, measured in turns per minute. Only measured pitches are included. More spin is not always better. Uses pitches recorded as curveball.

Season

At least 100 pitches of this type with a spin measurement in this season. Recorded pitch types. Usage divides by all delivered pitches, including unknown types. Speed is in mph, spin in rpm and extension in feet. Averages use measured pitches only. Whiffs divide misses by swings. Data through December 31, 2021. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:11 AM UTC.

No. 1 / Curveball: Average Spin / 2021

Seth Lugo

NYM

3261

Season leader

Curveball: Average Spin2021 season
#	Player	Team	CU spin count	Type coverage	CU rpm
1	S. LugoSeth Lugo	NYM	208	100.0%	3261
2	R. PresslyRyan Pressly	HOU	234	100.0%	3224
3	G. RichardsGarrett Richards	BOS	279	100.0%	3144
4	C. StrattonChris Stratton	PIT	347	100.0%	3123
5	L. SimsLucas Sims	CIN	195	100.0%	3109
6	R. StephensonRobert Stephenson	COL	151	100.0%	3085
7	C. MortonCharlie Morton	ATL	1098	100.0%	3051
8	T. ThorntonTrent Thornton	TOR	226	100.0%	3046
9	T. GlasnowTyler Glasnow	TB	181	100.0%	2997
10	T. AntoneTejay Antone	CIN	188	100.0%	2995
11	P. MatonPhil Maton	HOU	284	100.0%	2991
12	A. VothAustin Voth	WSH	266	100.0%	2990
13	P. EspinoPaolo Espino	WSH	419	100.0%	2984
14	B. RaleyBrooks Raley	HOU	110	100.0%	2949
15	P. JohnsonPierce Johnson	SD	705	100.0%	2886
16	S. NewcombSean Newcomb	ATL	107	100.0%	2877
17	F. ValdezFramber Valdez	HOU	644	100.0%	2873
18	C. BurnesCorbin Burnes	MIL	469	100.0%	2866
19	A. MisiewiczAnthony Misiewicz	SEA	272	100.0%	2860
20	K. HendricksKyle Hendricks	CHC	322	100.0%	2844
21	A. WainwrightAdam Wainwright	STL	1029	100.0%	2838
22	A. CivaleAaron Civale	CLE	308	100.0%	2823
23	T. NanceTommy Nance	CHC	123	100.0%	2822
24	C. SadlerCasey Sadler	SEA	183	100.0%	2819
25	A. ReyesAlex Reyes	STL	105	100.0%	2811
26	J. MusgroveJoe Musgrove	SD	697	100.0%	2808
27	J. BrubakerJT Brubaker	PIT	202	100.0%	2801
28	P. SandovalPatrick Sandoval	LAA	146	100.0%	2799
29	B. AbreuBryan Abreu	HOU	119	100.0%	2791
30	J. SuarezJosé Suarez	LAA	347	99.2%	2761
31	S. GraySonny Gray	CIN	505	100.0%	2752
32	M. DiplánMarcos Diplán	BAL	138	100.0%	2752
33	J. StaumontJosh Staumont	KC	380	100.0%	2733
34	J. TaillonJameson Taillon	NYY	453	100.0%	2731
35	Y. GarcíaYimi García	HOU	173	100.0%	2729
36	S. StrasburgStephen Strasburg	WSH	109	100.0%	2718
37	R. HillRich Hill	NYM	939	100.0%	2714
38	E. MarshallEvan Marshall	CWS	123	100.0%	2712
39	C. FlexenChris Flexen	SEA	395	100.0%	2711
40	A. BriceAustin Brice	BOS	106	100.0%	2695
41	J. ArrietaJake Arrieta	SD	269	100.0%	2690
42	J. TomlinJosh Tomlin	ATL	231	100.0%	2687
43	M. AndrieseMatt Andriese	SEA	108	100.0%	2678
44	M. ScherzerMax Scherzer	LAD	276	100.0%	2661
45	C. HolmesClay Holmes	NYY	136	100.0%	2659
46	L. LuetgeLucas Luetge	NYY	189	100.0%	2658
47	M. FriedMax Fried	ATL	656	100.0%	2650
48	J. LoáisigaJonathan Loáisiga	NYY	221	100.0%	2646
49	B. WoodruffBrandon Woodruff	MIL	480	100.0%	2641
50	S. McClanahanShane McClanahan	TB	338	100.0%	2639

CU rpm: How fast the ball spins, measured in turns per minute. Only measured pitches are included. More spin is not always better. Uses pitches recorded as curveball.

Understanding Curveball: Average Spin

How fast the ball spins, measured in turns per minute. Only measured pitches are included. More spin is not always better. Uses pitches recorded as curveball.

Formula: Sum of recorded spin rates ÷ pitches with spin measurements

Read rates alongside playing time. A small sample can produce an extreme result, and a missing value is different from zero.

Season rankings use regular-season records. A player has one combined row across teams; the team label identifies the associated team, not a separate team stint.

Source: MLB statistics and MLBDB derived measures. Formulas describe the measure above. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:11 AM UTC.