Player stats

Knuckle curve: Average Spin 2022

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, 2022. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:33 AM UTC.

No. 1 / Knuckle curve: Average Spin / 2022

Lance McCullers Jr.

HOU

3013

Season leader

Knuckle curve: Average Spin2022 season
#	Player	Team	KC spin count	Type coverage	KC rpm
1	L. McCullers Jr.Lance McCullers Jr.	HOU	189	100.0%	3013
2	M. BrashMatt Brash	SEA	239	100.0%	2971
3	C. SchmidtClarke Schmidt	NYY	168	100.0%	2913
4	C. JavierCristian Javier	HOU	213	100.0%	2885
5	J. KellyJoe Kelly	CWS	250	100.0%	2868
6	C. KuhlChad Kuhl	COL	272	100.0%	2866
7	C. KnebelCorey Knebel	PHI	216	100.0%	2832
8	G. ColeGerrit Cole	NYY	353	100.0%	2779
9	T. MegillTrevor Megill	MIN	239	100.0%	2759
10	K. WrightKyle Wright	ATL	914	100.0%	2723
11	N. PivettaNick Pivetta	BOS	779	100.0%	2710
12	D. CeaseDylan Cease	CWS	435	100.0%	2697
13	J. DuranJhoan Duran	MIN	319	100.0%	2662
14	W. BuehlerWalker Buehler	LAD	176	100.0%	2662
15	D. RobertsonDavid Robertson	PHI	284	99.9%	2640
16	G. HillGarrett Hill	DET	110	100.0%	2633
17	A. CobbAlex Cobb	SF	369	100.0%	2610
18	R. WickRowan Wick	CHC	243	98.4%	2604
19	A. NolaAaron Nola	PHI	806	100.0%	2589
20	M. MelanconMark Melancon	AZ	266	100.0%	2587
21	G. MárquezGermán Márquez	COL	626	100.0%	2577
22	M. GroveMichael Grove	LAD	136	100.0%	2559
23	C. KimbrelCraig Kimbrel	LAD	284	100.0%	2536
24	D. PhelpsDavid Phelps	TOR	304	100.0%	2532
25	Z. GallenZac Gallen	AZ	643	100.0%	2515
26	A. GomberAustin Gomber	COL	352	100.0%	2497
27	T. DuffeyTyler Duffey	MIN	221	100.0%	2496
28	G. Otto Jr.Glenn Otto Jr.	TEX	334	100.0%	2461
29	J. LópezJorge López	MIN	218	100.0%	2449
30	K. FreelandKyle Freeland	COL	516	100.0%	2446
31	M. MinorMike Minor	CIN	182	100.0%	2437
32	M. MooreMatt Moore	TEX	477	100.0%	2434
33	J. FlahertyJack Flaherty	STL	109	100.0%	2396
34	R. StriplingRoss Stripling	TOR	196	100.0%	2377
35	V. VelasquezVince Velasquez	CWS	214	100.0%	2361
36	C. AbbottCory Abbott	WSH	186	100.0%	2291
37	C. HernándezCarlos Hernández	KC	219	100.0%	2286
38	K. CrawfordKutter Crawford	BOS	219	100.0%	2271
39	M. BaumannMike Baumann	BAL	110	100.0%	2217
40	S. BieberShane Bieber	CLE	514	100.0%	2197
41	A. LangeAlex Lange	DET	510	100.0%	2186
42	G. KirbyGeorge Kirby	SEA	279	100.0%	2179
43	D. SmylyDrew Smyly	CHC	740	95.0%	2119
44	L. GilbertLogan Gilbert	SEA	375	100.0%	2118
45	D. Lynch IVDaniel Lynch IV	KC	153	100.0%	2095
46	M. BarnesMatt Barnes	BOS	324	100.0%	2049
47	S. HjelleSean Hjelle	SF	182	100.0%	1879

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, 10:33 AM UTC.