Idaho State Games: Pitching Data Dive
June 9, 2024
The Idaho State Games kicked off an exciting Summer season that featured a depth of talent has forced us to break up our Quick Hits feature into Upperclass and Underclass groups to make sure we all players to receive proper recognition. At the two day Idaho State Games, players received an unrivaled amount of data, including, Swift Performance Athletic Testing, Vizual Edge Analysis, TrackMan Analyzed Batting Practice Sessions, Blast Motion Analyzed Batting Practice Sessions, TrackMan Analyzed Pitcher Evaluations and Prep Baseball Verified Height / Weight / Grip Strength Testing. This event allowed players to show their developed skill through objective data collection, followed by Live Game Play to allow for in-game action to also be tracked and highlighted.
Complete Idaho State Games Stats - HERE
Earlier this week we began our post-event coverage within our Upperclass Quick Hits and Statistical Analysis articles. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:
FASTBALL
MAX VELOCITY (MPH)
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
SPIN RATE (AVG)
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.
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiency. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of the vertical approach angle.
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
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.”
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
CURVEBALL
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
STRIKE ZONE %
SLIDER
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
STRIKE ZONE %
CHANGEUP
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
STRIKE ZONE %
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Spokane Summer ID | ID | 06/26 | Whitworth University - Spokane, WA |
| Future Games (Class of 2026/27) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| Junior Future Games (Class of 2028/29) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| Senior Future Games (Class of 2025) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| Kalispell Summer ID | ID | 08/11 | Kalispell, MT |