As the ace of the Rockies’ rotation so far this year, right-hander Chad Bettis has been a craftsman of control, keep hitters off balance to the tune of a 4-1 record and 2.05 ERA, thanks in part to a devastating changeup.
And as the 29-year-old explained, the success of that changeup depends largely on spin rate, a Statcast metric that calculates the revolutions per minute on a pitch after it’s released.
“My lowest spin rate of the year so far is 1,117 (revolutions per minute), and last game against New York, the lowest I got were a few around 1,200,” Bettis said.