Around 4 or 5 weeks ago, I watched a baseball game on TV. It was a game of an international tournament. In a game, a relief pitcher went on the mound and his four-seam fastballs looked pretty good. In that game, that pitcher’s four-seamers normally touched 95 mph or 96 mph.
His performance was good in the game. However, something looked quite weird to me. Spin rate of his four-seamers didn’t touch 2100 rpm. And I’m just wondering if his four-seamer is at a low spin rate. I asked a friend who’s a scout and he indicated that the pitcher’s four-seamer is a low spin pitch.
Well, a low spin four-seamer, that made me wonder if there are many pitchers who throw a four-seamer with a low spin rate. Back in 2024, the average spin rate of four-seamers was 2298 rpm in the majors. So, to solve my doubts, I decided to check on the statcast website to see which pitchers had frequently thrown four-seam fastballs with a spin rate of 2000 rpm or lower.
Logan Gilbert is certainly an important pitcher in the Mariners rotation. He made 33 starts in 2024, posting a 3.23 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP over 208.2 innings. Last season, he threw 220 strikeouts, which ranked 6th in the majors. Gilbert used his four-seamer more than 30% of the time in 2024. Average spin rate of his four-seamers was 2034 rpm. 415 four-seamers were spinning at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower. However, average velocity of those 4-seamers was over 96 mph and opponents hit .216 against those four-seamers which spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower.
In addition, Sean Manaea had a bounce-back season in 2024. He made 32 starts and got 12 wins, both tied his career high. He owned a 3.47 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP over 181.2 innings, which is his career high. During the 2024 season, he used his four-seamer 31.1% of the time. Average spin rate of his 4-seamers was 2013 rpm and he threw 386 four-seamers that spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower. Average velocity of those 386 four-seamers was 92 mph and opponents hit .210.
Meanwhile, Ben Lively made 29 starts for the Guardians in 2024 and tossed a career-high 151 innings. He owned a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Last season, he threw his four-seamer 30.6% of the time and the average spin rate of his four-seamers was 2006 rpm. Lively threw 345 four-seamers that spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower. Average velocity of those four-seamers was 89.7 mph and opponents hit .273.
Finally, Bailey Falter and Joey Cantillo each threw 300+ four-seamers that spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower. Average velocity of Falter’s four-seamers, which spun a rate of 2000 rpm or lower, was 91.7 mph and opponents batted .221 against those four-seamers. However, opponents hit .302 against Cantillo’s four-seamers that spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower.
Looking back at the last season, there were actually pitchers who enjoyed throwing 4-seamers that didn't spin much. Logan Gilbert threw 400+ four-seamers that spun at a rate of 2000 rpm or lower, but opponents can’t hit well. Manaea didn’t throw really hard in 2024 and his four-seamer didn’t spin a lot. Nonetheless, he had a good season in 2024. Nevertheless, it seemed that opponents knew how to hit against Cantillo and Lively. And they are both pitching for the Guardians. In the 2025 season, let’s see whether those pitchers will keep throwing low-spin four-seamers. It’s just the first 2 weeks of the 2025 season, well, Manaea is now on the IL, but we can keep watching whether there will be good results from those low-spin four-seamers.
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