How do these Starting Pitchers keep succeeding whilst dealing such unimpressive spin-rate pitches? Who knows, but the days of Driveline may (or may not) be numbered, but Spin Rate is just a part of the picture of what makes an effective pitcher. Note: Sinker is not considered a Spin-Rate dependent pitch, so it's not included in this article.
Grant Holmes SP ATL
The Spin: High strikeouts > High ERA. Hope you had a taste of the 15 K over 6.1 IP this weekend versus the swing at anything that moves Colorado Rockies or even the 9 K outing over 5.1 in Milwaukee. The Active Spin Rate: Holmes has pitched to some peak performances in 2025, despite the robots overwhelming 198th ranking in spin rate on his trusty slider, sitting at 31.1% Active Spin Rate. His ERA can easily balloon over 4, but with a WHIP at 1.17 and the strikeouts racking up, Holmes should find a home on your fantasy team while his Kenny Powers-style mojo is rolling. And yes, I'm just happy because I dealt Dylan Cease and Mark Vientos for Grant Holmes, Christopher Sanchez and Alec Bohm in my NL-Only League.
Clay Holmes SP NYM
The Spin: Available Wins on a good team, reliable to go 5 plus innings and a tidy ERA makes Holmes someone you should want to play on your Home Sweet Home fantasy team. However, his last several starts included Colorado twice, Pittsburgh and those White Sox (proud owners of Aaron Civale). The Active Spin Rate: While he gets outs, wins and Quality Starts with low ERA and WHIP, his most-used pitch is a Sweeper, which rates 35th overall and his next-used pitch is his Slider, which ranks 179th among qualified pitchers in Spin Rate.
David Peterson SP NYM
The Spin: Soft-tossing lefty finds something in the new David Stearns world of the Mets, highlighted by a mid 2 ERA, 1.19 WHP and massive groundball rate of 58%. When June rolls around you start to believe the bold numbers, and if you were bold enough to put Peterson on your roster, you are enjoying the good news. The Active Spin Rate: HIs second and third most-tossed pitches, the 4-Seam Fastball and Slider, rank 458th and 228th, respectively, in the Active Spin Rate world.
Sonny Gray SP STL
The Spin: Gray continues to get outs, suppress walks with a low 4.6% BB Rate, hold down a nice 1.18 WHIP and accumulate more than a K per IP pitched. 26% K Rate and a 31% Chase Rate leads to a good combo when he's on the hill. The Active Spin Rate: Despite favoring a balance of Sweeper and 4-Seam Fastball, Gray ranks 52nd and 481st, respectively. His Sweeper Active Spin Rate of 57.7% is nothing to dismiss, but his nearly 500th highest Spin Rate in the 4-Seam Fastball category points to something other than corollary. Shades of Gray, indeed.
Max Fried SP NYY
This Spin: This guy throws his four-seam fastball more than any other pitch (almost 400 more than his 2nd place Sinker, which doesn't rely on Spin Rate) and his stats: 1.89 ERA and a microscopic WHIP of 0.95. Yes, you know he's good but the reason I highlight him is that you might expect his most-thrown pitch to have some Active Spin Rate bells and whistles: Nope. His 4-seamer sits at 479th on the list, less than 10 from the bottom of ALL MLB pitchers who qualify. You don't need me to tell you that Max Fried is worth rostering, trading for or even drafting early and with confidence in 2026...but guess what: don't worry about the spin rate on his most thrown pitch.
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