Player stats

Knuckle curve: Average Spin 2020

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 knuckle curve.

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, 2020. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:14 AM UTC.

No. 1 / Knuckle curve: Average Spin / 2020

Joe Kelly

LAD

3054

Season leader

Knuckle curve: Average Spin2020 season
#	Player	Team	KC spin count	Type coverage	KC rpm
1	J. KellyJoe Kelly	LAD	105	100.0%	3054
2	T. CahillTrevor Cahill	SF	105	100.0%	2976
3	T. BauerTrevor Bauer	CIN	183	100.0%	2933
4	G. ColeGerrit Cole	NYY	206	100.0%	2803
5	L. McCullers Jr.Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	332	100.0%	2787
6	A. ScrubbAndre Scrubb	HOU	189	100.0%	2777
7	C. KuhlChad Kuhl	PIT	121	100.0%	2769
8	G. MárquezGermán Márquez	COL	309	100.0%	2728
9	R. WickRowan Wick	CHC	104	100.0%	2718
10	D. CeaseDylan Cease	CWS	101	100.0%	2680
11	R. StriplingRoss Stripling	TOR	195	100.0%	2652
12	M. MelanconMark Melancon	ATL	126	100.0%	2623
13	B. WorkmanBrandon Workman	PHI	156	100.0%	2583
14	A. CobbAlex Cobb	BAL	134	100.0%	2579
15	C. KimbrelCraig Kimbrel	CHC	113	100.0%	2542
16	A. NolaAaron Nola	PHI	306	100.0%	2499
17	A. GomberAustin Gomber	STL	128	100.0%	2490
18	K. FreelandKyle Freeland	COL	212	100.0%	2444
19	T. DuffeyTyler Duffey	MIN	188	100.0%	2442
20	Z. GallenZac Gallen	AZ	180	100.0%	2432
21	V. VelasquezVince Velasquez	PHI	105	100.0%	2387
22	S. BieberShane Bieber	CLE	325	100.0%	2352
23	J. LópezJorge López	BAL	196	100.0%	2339
24	D. HollandDerek Holland	PIT	268	100.0%	2227
25	R. RayRobbie Ray	TOR	178	100.0%	2194
26	D. SmylyDrew Smyly	SF	176	100.0%	2173
27	M. BarnesMatt Barnes	BOS	195	100.0%	2170
28	Z. GodleyZack Godley	BOS	211	100.0%	2138

KC 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 knuckle curve.

Understanding Knuckle curve: 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 knuckle curve.

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, 10:14 AM UTC.