X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Spin Rate: Using Sabermetrics For 2024 Fantasy Baseball

Eury Perez - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Rick Lucks breaks down how to use spin rate to identify pitching sleepers and busts as his series on making sabermetrics more accessible to fantasy managers continues.

Spin rate has become one of the most recognizable Statcast metrics, with supporters of a given pitcher highlighting his spin rates to make their case.

Unfortunately, the baseball world has done a lousy job of conveying what spin rate really means. The result has been a ton of fantasy managers who know spin rate exists, but few who use it to improve their rosters. This article will teach you everything you need to know to fold spin rate into your pitcher evaluations. We'll also illustrate the efficacy of spin rate using Pitch Info data from actual pitchers.

The best way to look for spin rate is to go to the Baseball Savant Leaderboard and select "Pitch Arsenals." It defaults to pitch velocity, but you can click on it to select "Average Spin" to get the information you want. If you want to look up a specific pitcher, you can instead type their name into the search bar at the top-right of the page. Active Spin is its own leaderboard category, and we look at it below as well. Let's get started!

Be sure to check all of our fantasy baseball lineup tools and resources:

 

How to Interpret Spin Rate

Spin rate is measured in RPMs, or Rotations Per Minute. Each pitch type has its own baseline numbers, so a high-spin fastball might have an average spin rate for a curve. Comparing different types of pitches by spin rate is pointless, so try to focus on how any given pitcher's offering compares to the same pitch type thrown by other arms.

So, are higher or lower spin rates better? The answer is that it depends on the type of pitch you're looking at. Let's start with fastballs.

The average spin rate for fastballs ranges from 2,100 RPM to 2,400 RPM. Heaters with spin rates above this range tend to have "late-life" and induce more whiffs than your average heater. They usually have backspin, or spin against gravity, which guides the ball weakly into the air if contact is made. This allows them to post elevated pop-up rates to complement their whiffs.

Eury Perez led all MLB starters in four-seam fastball spin with 2,635 RPM in 2023. That's a bit misleading though as not all of Perez's spin meaningfully contributed to the pitch's movement.

We have to consider "gyro spin," alternatively called "useless spin." If you've ever seen a bullet in slow motion, it rotates slightly while flying straight to its target. That rotation is gyro spin and it has no impact on where the bullet ends up. A metric called "Active Spin" measures how much spin is actually affecting a ball's trajectory.

Perez posted an Active Spin of 94.8% on his fastball last season, a number that sounds pretty good. However, the pitch ranked 199th among qualified pitchers by Active Spin. Perez's fastball had an 8.4% SwStr%, which is good but not great. It was put into the air frequently with a 58.3% FB%, but its 14.3% HR/FB led to more big flies than Perez would've liked. Perez wasted some of his RPMs.

If you're looking for a contact manager instead of a strikeout artist, you want a spin rate below the average range. Low-spin fastballs produce weakly-hit grounders and a lower slugging percentage compared to their high-spin counterparts. Ranger Suarez illustrated this approach nicely last year, as his 1,976 RPM was among the lowest among qualified pitchers. Its Active Spin of 85.5% ranked 457th among qualified pitchers, further reducing movement.

This profile offers less fantasy upside due to the lack of strikeouts but can be a great way to hit your innings minimums or maximums without jeopardizing your ratios.

 

The Importance of Active Spin

Active Spin makes Perez's fastball play down, but the inverse can also be true. For instance, Erik Swanson doesn't possess a great fastball at first glance. He averaged 93.7 mph on the radar gun last year, and its 2,266 RPM spin rate fits squarely into the average range. Its 45.6 Zone% didn't even help him get ahead in the count.

However, Swanson led MLB pitchers with an Active Spin of 99.6%. As a result, the pitch played like a high-spin heater with a 9.8% SwStr%, 53.3% FB%, and 12.5% IFFB%. It's an important weapon for the reliever.

Spin rate sometimes tells the whole story, but looking at Active Spin too provides a more complete picture of how spin affects a pitcher's performance.

 

Evaluating Spin Rate on Secondary Offerings

Breaking pitches usually want high spin rates. Unlike fastballs, breaking offerings have topspin, or spin toward the ground, which can help guide the ball down if contact is made. Breaking pitches tend to be a given pitcher's strikeout offering though, so we generally aren't looking for contact on them. Breaking ball spin rates are therefore the least important to look at but may provide interesting information at times.

Changeups and knucklers are generally most effective with low spin rates, so they move more. However, pitchers may run into issues if an offspeed pitch's lack of spin helps batters differentiate it from the rest of their arsenal.

There are enough variables in play that spin rate should never be considered alone. Instead, start with Pitch Info and then use spin rate to confirm if a given pitch can sustain its elite performance or if it was probably a fluke. The table below provides a baseline to compare repertoires to:

 

Conclusion

To summarize, fastballs can be good with high or low spin rates, but higher spin tends to translate better to fantasy. Breaking pitches typically benefit from higher spin rates. Changeups want as little spin as possible to maximize their movement. Finally, gyro spin can distort spin rate readings, meaning that you should always combine spin rate with other metrics in your analysis. Stay tuned to learn more about how analytics can help you dominate your fantasy baseball leagues in 2024!



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy baseball app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, sleepers, prospects & more. All free!



More Sabermetrics & Statcast for Fantasy Baseball




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Rashee Rice11 mins ago

Taking Part In Offseason Program
21 mins ago

Concerns About Tetairoa McMillan's Lack Of Effort
Jahan Dotson29 mins ago

Eagles Decline Fifth-Year Option On Jahan Dotson
MLB41 mins ago

Rockies-Royals Rained Out On Wednesday
Zach Eflin51 mins ago

To Throw A Side Session Later This Week
Justin Martinez57 mins ago

"All Indications" Justin Martinez Will Be Available On Wednesday
Zack Wheeler1 hour ago

Records Nine Strikeouts
Jared Jones1 hour ago

To Undergo MRI This Week
Luis Rengifo2 hours ago

Returns On Wednesday
Chandler Simpson2 hours ago

Sitting Out Versus Lefty
Joc Pederson2 hours ago

Taking A Seat Versus Southpaw
Leody Taveras2 hours ago

Sitting Out On Wednesday
Brandin Podziemski2 hours ago

Upgraded To Available
Cam Davis3 hours ago

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Corey Seager3 hours ago

Goes On 10-Day Injured List With Hamstring Strain
Michael Porter Jr.3 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Minnesota Vikings3 hours ago

Vikings Waive NaJee Thompson, Trevor Reid
Adam Svensson3 hours ago

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Jonathan Aranda3 hours ago

Sitting Against Southpaw
Jake Fromm3 hours ago

Lions Release Jake Fromm
Logan O'Hoppe3 hours ago

Out Against Pirates
Seattle Seahawks3 hours ago

Cameron Young Let Go By Seattle
Detroit Lions4 hours ago

Detroit Makes Kerby Joseph The Highest-Paid Safety In League History
Davion Mitchell4 hours ago

Moves Into Starting Lineup Wednesday
Seiya Suzuki4 hours ago

Scratched On Wednesday With Wrist Soreness
Brandin Podziemski4 hours ago

Picks Up Questionable Tag
Al Horford4 hours ago

Starts Game 2
Michael Porter Jr.5 hours ago

Practices On Wednesday
Jayson Tatum5 hours ago

Out On Wednesday
Isaiah Stewart5 hours ago

May Miss Another Game Thursday
NYI5 hours ago

Cal Clutterbuck Announces Retirement
Pavel Zacha5 hours ago

Recovering From Small Procedure
Will Smith5 hours ago

Out With Sore Wrist On Wednesday
Connor Wong5 hours ago

Likely To Go On Rehab Assignment This Weekend
Nikolaj Ehlers5 hours ago

To Miss At Least Two More Games
Lucas Giolito6 hours ago

Could Make Season Debut Next Thursday
Miro Heiskanen6 hours ago

Still Out On Wednesday
Blake Snell6 hours ago

To Be Shut Down From Throwing, Might Go For More Imaging
John Klingberg6 hours ago

Enters Oilers Lineup For Game 2
Grayson Rodriguez6 hours ago

Has Mild Lat Strain, To Resume Throwing In A Couple Weeks
Evander Kane6 hours ago

To Make Season Debut Wednesday Night
Edwin Díaz6 hours ago

Edwin Diaz Leaves With Left-Hip Cramping On Wednesday
Gabriel Landeskog6 hours ago

Likely To Play In Game 3
Cam Smith6 hours ago

Absent From Astros Lineup
Will Smith6 hours ago

Resting At Wrigley
Denver Broncos7 hours ago

Broncos Not Expected To Trade Up In Round 1
Houston Texans7 hours ago

Texans Trying To Move Up In Round 1 Of NFL Draft
Atlanta Falcons7 hours ago

James Pearce Jr., Mike Green Potential Top Targets For Falcons
Dallas Cowboys8 hours ago

Cowboys Could Add Wide Receiver Help With No. 12 Pick
New Orleans Saints8 hours ago

Saints Likely To Address Defense With No. 9 Pick?
8 hours ago

Rams Eyeing Trade Up For Tyler Warren, Colston Loveland?
Patrick Mahomes8 hours ago

Itching To Get Explosive Passing Game Back
Chris Olave9 hours ago

Saints Picking Up Chris Olave's Fifth-Year Option
Derek Carr9 hours ago

Saints Hope To Have Clarity On Derek Carr Soon
10 hours ago

Chiefs Talk With TreVeyon Henderson
Los Angeles Rams10 hours ago

Rams Not Ruling Out Acquiring Jalen Ramsey
Dallas Cowboys10 hours ago

Micah Parsons Taking Part In Offseason Program
Anthony Richardson10 hours ago

Working On His Footwork
Kayshon Boutte10 hours ago

A Trade Candidate?
Jaren Jackson Jr.13 hours ago

Posts Team-High 26 Points In Tuesday's Loss
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander13 hours ago

Notches 27 Points Despite Poor Shooting
Max Greyserman13 hours ago

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Pascal Siakam13 hours ago

Scores Team-High 24 Points In Game 2 Win
Giannis Antetokounmpo14 hours ago

Posts Big Double-Double In Game 2 Loss
Lee Hodges14 hours ago

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA14 hours ago

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Julius Randle14 hours ago

Leads Timberwolves In Scoring In Game 2
Gary Woodland14 hours ago

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Luka Dončić14 hours ago

Luka Doncic Nets 31 Points In Lakers Win
Max McGreevy14 hours ago

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard14 hours ago

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Jock Landale14 hours ago

Unavailable For Game 2
Sam Stevens14 hours ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Jae'Sean Tate14 hours ago

Remains Out Wednesday
Nicolai Hojgaard14 hours ago

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
John Tavares14 hours ago

Collects Two Points In Overtime Win
Christiaan Bezuidenhout14 hours ago

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Frederik Andersen14 hours ago

Posts 40th Postseason Win
Akshay Bhatia14 hours ago

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young14 hours ago

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Kirill Kaprizov14 hours ago

Leads Wild To Valuable Road Win
Matthew Tkachuk15 hours ago

Returns With Three-Point Performance
Erik Van Rooyen15 hours ago

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Anthony Cirelli15 hours ago

Suffers Undisclosed Injury Tuesday
Gabriel Vilardi15 hours ago

May Return To Jets Lineup Thursday
John Klingberg15 hours ago

Ready To Return To Action
Evander Kane15 hours ago

Could Be An Option For Game 2
Andrew Novak1 day ago

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin1 day ago

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore1 day ago

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark1 day ago

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama1 day ago

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa1 day ago

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry1 day ago

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
Terry Rozier1 day ago

Ruled Out For Wednesday
Damian Lillard1 day ago

Will Have His Minutes Monitored Tuesday
Jayson Tatum1 day ago

Listed As Doubtful For Game 2
Derek Forbort1 day ago

Recovering From Surgery
Martin Fehérváry1 day ago

Martin Fehervary To Miss Postseason Following Knee Surgery
Luke Glendening1 day ago

Available For Start Of Playoffs
Mitchell Chaffee1 day ago

Available Tuesday
Cody Glass1 day ago

Good To Go Tuesday
Brenden Dillon1 day ago

Won't Play In Game 2
Damian Lillard1 day ago

Cleared To Play Tuesday
Nikola Jokić2 days ago

Nikola Jokic Posts 19th Postseason Triple-Double
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF