The hot topic of the moment in MLB is undoubtedly the topic of banned substances that pitchers use to alter the ball, improve their grip, and gain an advantage from it.to the batters, which the Major Leagues are already imposing a heavy hand to stop pitchers from doing that, having how he shows to have suspended several minor league pitchers and sending a message to those who allegedly cheat like Gerrit Cole of the Yankees and Trevor Bauer of the Dodgers.
Someone who has also been accused of cheating is the ace of the New York Mets and probably the best pitcher of the last era, Jacob DeGrom, who was defended by his teammates on Twitter after a video of the right-wing apparently smearing something went viral in the hands, presumably being prohibited substances.
The truth is the way in which you can determine whether or not a pitcher is suspected of using prohibited substances is in the spin rate of his pitches, a statistic that MLB provides through Baseball Savant and StatCast, since a dramatic increase in the revolutions per minute in throws is only possible by cheating.
According to StatCast data, Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer have increased their spin rate since 2017 by an average of 313 and 537 rpm respectively, while Jacob DeGrom has since increased their spin rate by only 72 rpm, which is a not-so-pronounced increase and more natural than Cole and Bauer’s upward curve in the same period.
The truth is that without a doubt, DeGrom is probably and statistically the best pitcher in all of the Major Leagues and without using substances of dubious origin.
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