SoCal Preseason All-State Upperclass Trackman Files: Fastball

Pitchers were able to throw in simulated outings during gameplay 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.

Continuing off our post-event coverage for this event, we take a look back at some of the leaders from each statistical category recorded on the Trackman B1 unit. Please continue to check back over the next week, as we will release individual scouting reports on each player present at the event.

Prep Baseball Report events across the country have been powered by TrackMan’s industry-leading portable system to capture pinpoint accurate, actionable data from player performances. Prep Baseball Report and TrackMan are dedicated to recognizing talent and unleashing their potential.

At the event all pitches were monitored through the portable Trackman B1 unit. Each player threw their complete arsenal of pitches allowing us to collect metrics such as release velocity, spin rate, vertical & horizontal movement and much more.

This data goes directly into the player profiles allowing the PBR Staff, college coaches and professional scouts alike to evaluate and compare prospects on a national scale.

Here are some of the advanced metrics gathered, available for subscribers to PBR Plus (effective velocity, max & avg IVB, max & avg horizontal movement, extension avg, release height avg, zone %).

Fastball 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.

Fastball 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.”

​​Fastball Induced Vertical Break: Distance, measured in inches, between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate height-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate height-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release, but affected by gravity. If this number is positive, the ball broke “upwards”, or in reality dropped less than it would have due to gravity alone – it does not necessarily mean that the ball actually rose.