Player stats

Knuckle curve: 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 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, 2021. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:11 AM UTC.

No. 1 / Knuckle curve: Average Spin / 2021

Trevor Cahill

PIT

3022

Season leader

Knuckle curve: Average Spin2021 season
#	Player	Team	KC spin count	Type coverage	KC rpm
1	T. CahillTrevor Cahill	PIT	143	100.0%	3022
2	T. BauerTrevor Bauer	LAD	180	100.0%	3013
3	J. NelsonJimmy Nelson	LAD	180	100.0%	2930
4	C. JavierCristian Javier	HOU	140	100.0%	2925
5	L. McCullers Jr.Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	694	100.0%	2923
6	J. KellyJoe Kelly	LAD	302	100.0%	2891
7	W. BuehlerWalker Buehler	LAD	414	100.0%	2861
8	Y. DarvishYu Darvish	SD	105	100.0%	2822
9	G. ColeGerrit Cole	NYY	465	100.0%	2800
10	C. KnebelCorey Knebel	LAD	166	100.0%	2792
11	D. CeaseDylan Cease	CWS	448	100.0%	2754
12	A. ScrubbAndre Scrubb	HOU	147	100.0%	2749
13	N. PivettaNick Pivetta	BOS	568	100.0%	2735
14	C. KuhlChad Kuhl	PIT	157	100.0%	2679
15	G. MárquezGermán Márquez	COL	515	100.0%	2676
16	M. MelanconMark Melancon	SD	362	100.0%	2601
17	A. CobbAlex Cobb	LAA	251	100.0%	2574
18	C. KimbrelCraig Kimbrel	CWS	401	97.8%	2558
19	A. NolaAaron Nola	PHI	801	100.0%	2529
20	R. StriplingRoss Stripling	TOR	259	100.0%	2527
21	A. GomberAustin Gomber	COL	287	100.0%	2511
22	B. WorkmanBrandon Workman	BOS	262	100.0%	2501
23	M. MinorMike Minor	KC	411	100.0%	2493
24	T. DuffeyTyler Duffey	MIN	495	100.0%	2481
25	W. DavisWade Davis	KC	151	100.0%	2475
26	D. CoulombeDanny Coulombe	MIN	131	100.0%	2466
27	V. VelasquezVince Velasquez	SD	291	100.0%	2444
28	Z. GallenZac Gallen	AZ	263	100.0%	2438
29	K. FreelandKyle Freeland	COL	375	100.0%	2437
30	J. FlahertyJack Flaherty	STL	177	100.0%	2405
31	C. HernándezCarlos Hernández	KC	266	100.0%	2399
32	S. BieberShane Bieber	CLE	484	100.0%	2390
33	J. LópezJorge López	BAL	513	100.0%	2378
34	C. StammenCraig Stammen	SD	384	100.0%	2349
35	B. de GeusBrett de Geus	AZ	173	100.0%	2349
36	B. AndersonBrett Anderson	MIL	187	100.0%	2328
37	G. CanningGriffin Canning	LAA	117	100.0%	2324
38	J. MeansJohn Means	BAL	380	100.0%	2277
39	D. PomeranzDrew Pomeranz	SD	106	100.0%	2237
40	M. MooreMatt Moore	PHI	192	100.0%	2203
41	C. MizeCasey Mize	DET	156	100.0%	2197
42	R. RayRobbie Ray	TOR	191	100.0%	2125
43	M. BarnesMatt Barnes	BOS	445	100.0%	2111
44	L. GilbertLogan Gilbert	SEA	132	100.0%	2108
45	A. LangeAlex Lange	DET	251	100.0%	2107
46	D. SmylyDrew Smyly	ATL	897	100.0%	2096
47	D. HollandDerek Holland	DET	282	100.0%	2088
48	A. DeSclafaniAnthony DeSclafani	SF	207	100.0%	1966
49	A. BradleyArchie Bradley	PHI	142	100.0%	1950

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, 10:11 AM UTC.