Player stats

Knuckle curve: Average Spin 2023

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, 2023. Data refreshed Sep 9, 2026, 10:27 AM UTC.

No. 1 / Knuckle curve: Average Spin / 2023

Matt Brash

SEA

2983

Season leader

Knuckle curve: Average Spin2023 season
#	Player	Team	KC spin count	Type coverage	KC rpm
1	M. BrashMatt Brash	SEA	107	100.0%	2983
2	J. KellyJoe Kelly	LAD	121	100.0%	2940
3	C. JavierCristian Javier	HOU	215	100.0%	2937
4	C. SchmidtClarke Schmidt	NYY	517	100.0%	2930
5	T. MegillTrevor Megill	MIL	167	100.0%	2811
6	G. ColeGerrit Cole	NYY	396	100.0%	2783
7	Y. DarvishYu Darvish	SD	147	100.0%	2769
8	D. RobertsonDavid Robertson	MIA	267	100.0%	2722
9	J. DuranJhoan Duran	MIN	282	100.0%	2697
10	A. CobbAlex Cobb	SF	405	100.0%	2668
11	J. LambertJimmy Lambert	CWS	107	100.0%	2647
12	D. CeaseDylan Cease	CWS	495	100.0%	2641
13	C. KimbrelCraig Kimbrel	PHI	357	100.0%	2603
14	A. NolaAaron Nola	PHI	972	100.0%	2591
15	K. WrightKyle Wright	ATL	271	100.0%	2546
16	A. GomberAustin Gomber	COL	362	100.0%	2521
17	M. GroveMichael Grove	LAD	195	100.0%	2520
18	B. KellerBrad Keller	KC	172	100.0%	2519
19	J. FlahertyJack Flaherty	BAL	511	100.0%	2495
20	J. LópezJorge López	BAL	207	100.0%	2488
21	C. RagansCole Ragans	KC	197	100.0%	2478
22	H. BrownHunter Brown	HOU	647	100.0%	2472
23	Z. GallenZac Gallen	AZ	733	100.0%	2463
24	G. CanningGriffin Canning	LAA	274	95.7%	2406
25	K. FreelandKyle Freeland	COL	426	100.0%	2386
26	C. HernándezCarlos Hernández	KC	115	100.0%	2375
27	C. AbbottCory Abbott	WSH	332	100.0%	2369
28	M. BaumannMike Baumann	BAL	272	100.0%	2366
29	R. StriplingRoss Stripling	SF	140	100.0%	2361
30	M. MooreMatt Moore	MIA	169	98.7%	2347
31	G. KirbyGeorge Kirby	SEA	323	100.0%	2343
32	L. GilbertLogan Gilbert	SEA	391	100.0%	2324
33	S. BieberShane Bieber	CLE	266	100.0%	2239
34	K. CrawfordKutter Crawford	BOS	249	100.0%	2237
35	L. WeaverLuke Weaver	NYY	266	100.0%	2235
36	J. SorianoJosé Soriano	LAA	276	96.5%	2225
37	J. BritoJhony Brito	NYY	151	100.0%	2168
38	D. SmylyDrew Smyly	CHC	1187	100.0%	2119
39	M. BarnesMatt Barnes	MIA	193	100.0%	1961
40	J. PaxtonJames Paxton	BOS	333	100.0%	1929
41	S. HjelleSean Hjelle	SF	221	100.0%	1894

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, 10:27 AM UTC.