The TrackMan Arsenal Analysis is an overview of a pitcher’s data captured by the same optically-enhanced radar technology found at Major League stadiums. 

This data has become significantly important for high school, Juco and 4-year players. College programs have evolved beyond radar velocity readings, looking deeper into a pitcher's ability to spin and move the ball. In addition to velocity, TrackMan provides pitchers with valuable data points such as spin rate, spin direction, horizontal movement, vertical movement and more. Ultimately providing feedback to college coaches, MLB scouts and the players themselves; to enhance training and also to identify prospects of interest above and beyond simple velocity readings.

At select PBR Showcases and Events, amateur players now have access to the same technology shared by professionals and are able to see how their pitching arsenal compares with those across the state and the country. The TrackMan Arsenal Analysis will highlight those metrics and explain the benefits behind the numbers. 

[For a complete glossary of terms and definitions, please CLICK HERE]

Blaine Harpenau RHP, Remsen-St. Mary’s, 2021

Ramsen-St. Mary’s Blaine Harpenau showed up to PBR Iowa’s Top Prospect Games in August and topped out at 88.4 off the mound. Not too long thereafter, the state’s 8th best pitching prospect for the class of 2021 announced his commitment to Kirkwood Community College. What will the right-hander bring to the program?

At six-foot-one, Harpenau is not a typical big bodied hurler but he uses every inch effectively. Because of a long, efficient stride, he’s able to reduce the amount of distance between his release point and the plate. This adds deception. 

According to his TrackMan data, Harpenau’s fastball extension was 7.2 feet on average. (As a comparison, the largest extension generated by pitchers at the Super 60 was 7.04 by Braden Montgomery.) At 88 miles per hour, his velocity is in the top 10% of high school arms, however, Harpenau cuts down hitters' reaction time and thereby increases the effective velocity on his fastball by reducing the distance to less than 54 feet. 

From a mid three-quarter arm slot and a 1:00 tilt at release, he imparts 2,131 RPMs of spin on his fastball, placing it in the top 25% of high school spin rate. His fastball’s movement profile shows a tweener combination of carry (17.2 inches of induced vertical break) and arm-side run (10.9 inches of horizontal movement). 

Good spin and good velo is a solid base for any pitcher. 

Harpenau’s secondary pitches -- slider, curveball and changeup -- are decent compliments to his fastball. 

Like a lot of younger pitchers, his slider and curveball blend together, moving in a similar fashion. The only difference is that the curveball is thrown 2-4 miles per hour slower than the slider. Both have an 8:15-8:30 tilt at release. To mirror his fastball, he would likely want to have a tilt closer to 7:00 to match the 1:00 tilt as the 8:00 tilt tends to be more sweeping. 

Both of Harpenau’s breaking pitches have relatively low spin rates (under 2,000 RPMs) placing them in the bottom half of high school arms. This is one reason why he doesn’t have big movement totals -- between 5-8 inches of glove-side movement and 0-3 inches of vertical drop -- but that’s not as important as creating late separation between his fastball and his breaking offerings. 

He does a good job killing spin and slowing down his changeup, thrown with 7-8 MPH velo off his fastball, giving him a good pairing. Thrown with the same arm speed and similar tilt, where Harpenau’s fastball will have some carry and run, his changeup dies and dips to the arm-side. This likely creates plenty of weak contact. 

Overall, Harpenau’s arsenal has some very good components. If there is one standout datapoint for the future Kirkwood Eagle, it is the added extension that allows him to disrupt timing of the hitter. This makes his velocity play beyond what the raw number reads. 

*Data from PBR Iowa-Top Prospect Game (2021) in August 2020

Parker Hageman has published data analysis for over a decade. In addition to co-founding Twins Daily, he has contributed to ESPN, Baseball Prospectus, Star Tribune and WCCO. He is currently an assistant coach at Chanhassen (Minn.) High School. You can follow him on Twitter at @HagemanParker.