When Prep Baseball Report partnered with Trackman, amauter players were given the ability to have some key metrics that college and professional organizations look at in order to evaluate prospects. 

One such metric is spin rate. 

The reason spin rate is important is because research has found that the higher the spin, the higher the swing-and-miss percentages climb. 

For fastballs, depending on the tilt (the pitch’s spin axis converted into a clock reading to reflect the spin direction), a high spin rate can either counteract gravity or increase the amount of horizontal movement. 

A fastball with a 12:00 spin axis means that the pitch doesn’t fall as rapidly as the batter thinks that it should. Hitters swing at where they think the ball is going to be in the zone but it is often a few inches higher having not dropped like lower spinning fastballs tend to do, giving pitchers that “rising” fastball effect. 

For right-hander with a fastball spin axis closer to 2:00 (or 10:00 for left-handers), this means that the fastball will run or sink. The higher the spin rate, the more the pitch will move from where the hitter thinks it will be. 

But having a high spin fastball is important because we know that velocity can be built through weight training and some mechanical improvements but increasing spin has been elusive even at the highest levels. Major League teams have not been able to decode what leads to a high spin rate -- outside of applying illegal substances. Spin will increase marginally as a player matures and increases strength but at some point it levels out. 

That’s why having high spin on your fastball at a young age can be beneficial. 

So what constitutes pro grade? Trackman’s data says the averages of fastball spin rates in the three levels are this:

Here are the pitchers who demonstrated the five highest average spin rates on their fastballs at the June showcases: