Prep Baseball Report

Preseason ProCase: Positional Data Dive


Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Jan. 31, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff hosted the Preseason ProCase at Rhino Sports Academy in Shorewood, Ill. This event featured 20 prospects, most of whom are Illinois natives and few from Wisconsin, and allowed our staff as well as the MLB scouts in attendance the opportunity to get an in-depth look at the players in attendance.

Yesterday, we looked at the top measurable data performers from the event, found in our Statistical Analysis, where we broke down the stat leaders from the more traditional categories. Today, we will take a further in-depth look at the top positional prospects with the help from our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:

SYNCRO ATHLETIC TESTING

60-YARD DASH

10-YARD SPLIT

Run Speed (Max)

Jump Height (Max)

Traditionally, the 60-yard dash has been the in-event standard to help measure a player's speed tool. We implemented three timing gates at the 10 and 30 yards, to capture athletes’ quickness, explosiveness and reaction time. From there, we will calculate an athlete’s top-end speed in miles per hour. While the measurement still has its utility, the 10-yard split has started to become more and more applicable in determining the player's burst and reaction time in-game, whether that's in the outfield or on the basepaths.


TRACKMAN

EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)

EXIT VELOCITY (AVG.)

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.

BATTED BALL DISTANCE (MAX)

SWEET SPOT%

Sweet Spot percentage: This metric is determined by how often the player produces a batted ball during the session with a launch angle between 8 to 32 degrees.


BLAST MOTION

HAND SPEED (AVG.)

Hand Speed: The observed speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge.

BAT SPEED (AVG.)

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. The sweet spot of the bat is measured six inches from the tip of the bat.

ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION (AVG.)

Body Rotation: A swing that has the appropriate relative contributions of body and bat rotations is an efficient and Powerful swing that maintains proper sequencing. An efficient baseball swing is one in which the body creates the initial movements, which is then transferred to the arms and out to the bat, thereby maximizing Bat Speed through this proximal-to-distal kinematic sequencing movement pattern.

VIZUAL EDGE

EDGE SCORE

The Edge Score is a comprehensive score out of 100 that takes the core-six visual skills into account, providing athletes, parents, coaches and scouts with a benchmark number for assessing an athlete’s overall visual ability. In general the higher the Edge Score, the higher chance of athletic success. Think of the Edge Score as the 'Sixth Metric' in the standard Five-Tools that make up a ball player.

The average Edge Score for the 2020 MLB Draft Class was 79.3 (of hitters who completed a Vizual Edge test). MLB players we've worked with typically show stronger scores, with elite hitters scoring consistently above 87.0 on their Edge Score.\

+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.

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