Prep Baseball Report

Fall Underclass Trials: TrackMan Pitching Analysis


Phil Kerber
Georgia Scouting Director



This summer, 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 Fall Underclass Trials, when pitchers took the mound, every pitch was logged via TrackMan Portable units. Key metrics were collected on many of the top uncommitted players in the country. Today, we share leaderboards of velocity, spin rates, extension and movement.

TrackMan Pitching Data

Fastball Max Velocity & Spin Rate

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 Extension (Fastball)

Extension: The measurement of the release point relative to the rubber, reported in feet. Essentially, a higher extension can create an advantage for pitchers as they shorten the time in which the ball is traveling from their hand to home.

Average Fastball Horizontal Movement

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 Fastball Induced Vertical Movement

Induced Vertical Break: Outline on TrackMan's own website: "... 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.

Curveball Velocity Range & Max Spin Rate

Slider Velocity Range & Max Spin Rate

Complete TrackMan Data

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