I was listening to the latest episode of The Wheelhouse yesterday and was fascinated by Jerry Dipoto’s discussion of spin rate. (You definitely need to start listening if you haven’t already.) He used Nick Vincent as the primary example of a pitcher who generates outstanding spin rate on their fastball to out-produce what might be expected based on a pitch’s raw characteristics. We’ve known for a while that the Mariners have targeted pitchers with “rising” fastballs—more specifically, high-spin four-seam fastballs—so to hear it straight from Dipoto’s mouth was a nice confirmation. A number of times during the conversation, Nick Rumbelow’s name came up as Dipoto discussed some of the other pitchers he’s targeted with impressive Statcast numbers.
What we know and don’t know about Nick Rumbelow
