Huntsville Rising Stars ID: Trackman Files
July 5, 2024
MADISON, AL - The Huntsville Rising Stars ID was held on Tuesday, July 2nd at James Clemens High School in Madison, AL. This event was an open event hosting some talented prospects from the 2028-2029 classes in Alabama. These players went through extended pro-style workout that included batting practice using Trackman and Blast Motion, ran the 60-yard dash using Swift Performance, and much more. Pitchers were able to throw during a simulated bullpen and were able to get numbers and metrics off of our Trackman unit, such as pitch velocity, spin rate, horizontal & vertical movement & much more. There were some players who showed up and continued to build off of prior performances, but there were also some new names who jumped onto our radar with a strong showing this week.
Continuing our post-event coverage for this event, we look at the leaders from each Trackman category from the event. Please continue to check back over the next week, as we will release quick hits articles, other various event leaderboards, individual scouting reports, and much more on each player present at the event.
View entire event stats HERE.
MAX FASTBALL & AVERAGE SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Tristan Blalock | AL | James Clemens High School | 2029 | RHP | 83.9 mph |
| 2 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 82.5 mph |
| 3 | Hudson Oliver | AL | Guntersville High School | 2028 | OF | 81.7 mph |
| 4 | Lawson Price | AL | Madison County | 2028 | SS | 78.9 mph |
| 5 | Will Blackwell | AL | Saint James Academy | 2029 | RHP | 78.3 mph |
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 2356 rpm |
| 2 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 2089 rpm |
| 3 | Tristan Blalock | AL | James Clemens High School | 2029 | RHP | 1988 rpm |
| 4 | Hudson Oliver | AL | Guntersville High School | 2028 | OF | 1930 rpm |
| 5 | Lawson Price | AL | Madison County | 2028 | SS | 1894 rpm |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
AVERAGE INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
| 1 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 19.3 in |
| 2 | Jackson Collins | AL | Bob Jones | 2028 | SS | 18.0 in |
| 3 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 16.0 in |
| 4 | Cole Snowden | AL | Huntsville High School | 2029 | 1B | 15.5 in |
| 5 | Grayson Miller | AL | LINDSAY LANE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY | 2029 | RHP | 15.1 in |
Induced Vertical Break: As far as deception and importance goes, fast induced vertical break (IVB) may be the most important. Induced vertical break is not what is sounds. IVB simply means the pitch is "breaking" upward from the average level a pitch falls from release to home plate. This is a stat that you want to stay away from being average at. Fortunately, this can be tweaked slightly depending on release height. To put it simply, the higher number = more "rise" the pitch has compared to average.
AVERAGE FASTBALL HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Cole Snowden | AL | Huntsville High School | 2029 | 1B | 20.7 |
| 2 | Nolan Nicholson | AL | Huntsville High School | 2029 | 3B | 20.4 |
| 3 | Chase Harris-Lambert | AL | Madison Academy | 2029 | RHP | 19.7 |
| 4 | Lawson Price | AL | Madison County | 2028 | SS | 16.8 |
| 5 | Brody Gowan | AL | New Hope High School | 2029 | SS | 15.5 |
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
AVERAGE CURVEBALL SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Will Blackwell | AL | Saint James Academy | 2029 | RHP | 2176 rpm |
| 2 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 2164 rpm |
| 3 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 2085 rpm |
Spin Rate: The metric calculates how fast the ball is spinning as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, reported in the number of times the pitched ball would spin per minute (“revolutions per minute” or “rpm”).
AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Nolan Nicholson | AL | Huntsville High School | 2029 | 3B | 23.4 |
| 2 | Tristan Blalock | AL | James Clemens High School | 2029 | RHP | 21.5 |
| 3 | Cole Snowden | AL | Huntsville High School | 2029 | 1B | 17.7 |
Horizontal Break: This metric measures the distance, measured in inches, between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.
PEAK EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 92.7 mph |
| 2 | Hudson Oliver | AL | Guntersville High School | 2028 | OF | 90.6 mph |
| 3 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 90.2 mph |
| 4 | Bryson Hodge | AL | James Clemens | 2028 | OF | 89.4 mph |
| 5 | Brody Blevins | AL | Westbrook Christian | 2027 | SS | 89.3 mph |
Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.
TOP AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (avg) |
| 1 | Brody Blevins | AL | Westbrook Christian | 2027 | SS | 86.4 mph |
| 2 | Hudson Oliver | AL | Guntersville High School | 2028 | OF | 84.7 mph |
| 3 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 83.7 mph |
PEAK ESTIMATED BATTED DISTANCE (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Distance (max) |
| 1 | Brody Blevins | AL | Westbrook Christian | 2027 | SS | 344 ft |
| 2 | Drew Jackson III | AL | TUSCALOOSA COUNTY | 2028 | LHP | 335 ft |
| 3 | Hudson Oliver | AL | Guntersville High School | 2028 | OF | 333 ft |
| 4 | Lawrence Guthrie | TN | Lincoln County | 2029 | C | 319 ft |
| 5 | Bryson Hodge | AL | James Clemens | 2028 | OF | 299 ft |
Distance: This metric measures the estimated “carry flat” distance, measured in feet, meaning the distance that the ball travels before it lands, or would have landed if it were not caught or obstructed.
Upcoming Events
| SHOWCASE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Tuscaloosa Rising Stars ID | July 9th, 2024 | Northridge High School (Tuscaloosa, AL) |
| Tuscaloosa Summer ID | July 9th, 2024 | Northridge High School (Tuscaloosa, AL) |
| Montgomery Rising Stars ID | July 16th, 2024 | Stanhope Elmore High School (Millbrook, AL) |
| Montgomery Summer ID | July 16th, 2024 | Stanhope Elmore High School (Millbrook, AL) |
+ Follow on Twitter: @PBR_Alabama
+ Follow on Instagram: @PBR_Alabama
+ Follow on Facebook: PBR Alabama
+ Click HERE to create a free profile.
+ Click HERE to purchase a subscription which gives you access to additional information on the site.
Related Content: