Pressly’s spin rate didn’t increase in Houston, although that doesn’t mean he wasn’t benefiting from a sticky substance. In August 2018, television cameras caught him spraying a substance on his left forearm in the visiting bullpen in Oakland. He then touched the forearm between nearly every pitch after he entered the game. It’s common to see pitchers touching their caps, gloves, forearms, and pants while they’re on the mound, but this was a more brazen display.
