Baseball was back in North Carolina on Sunday May 31st.  With over 60 players in attendance, and the event being run in waves of approximately 10 players to promote social distancing, PBR Scouts were very impressed with some of the performances.  The Summer Kickoff ID featured North Carolina's first full Tech event with TrackMan and Blast running throughout the event gathering advanced analytics and basic numbers on pitchers and hitters.

The entire event took place at Ultimate Performance in Matthews, NC.  PBR has run several events out of this massive facility.  The layout allows for catchers to make a full length throw to 2B, for outfielders to show off their arm strength with a 60 yard throw, and for infielders to work across a full length diamond.  Offensively, the hitters are able to workout in a 60'x60' cage, seeing the ball fly off the barrel.

The day consisted of a pro-style workout.  Pitchers were up first, throwing controlled bullpens with TrackMan gathering velocity, spin rate, release metrics and movement metrics.  As the position players began their day, they ran a laser timed 30, took reps at their defensive position, and rolled through multiple offensive stations.  For the position players, a radar gun was used to measure arm strength from their positions.  The catchers were able to make full length throws to 2B so scouts could get pop times.  As the hitters progressed to their offensive stations, they were able to collect a static exit velocity off of a tee and then during the live BP portion, Blast gathered pre-contact metrics like batspeed and rotational acceleration.  Ball flight metrics like exit velocity, launch angle, distance, and hang time were collected by TrackMan.

Below we begin our deep dive into all of the information from the summer's first PBR of NC event.  Today we will look at some of the basic statistics gathered with radar guns and stop watches.  These stats have appeared in PBR post-event stories for the past several years and in an effort to continue to compare today's players to the past, many of these numbers will continue to be collects.  Later this week we will take a look at some of the advanced metrics that Blast and TrackMan are able to pump out.

CLICK HERE to see the full roster and stats from the 2020 Summer Kickoff ID

Summer Kickoff ID - By the Numbers

• 63 Total Players in Attendance
• 2021 - 2024 graduating years represented
• 15 players ran a sub 4.05 laser timed 30 yard dash
• 10 position players showed arm strength above 85 mph from their position
• 4 catchers posted pop times of 2.11 or better
• 13 hitters showcased a static exit velocity off of a tee of 88mph or higher
• 13 pitchers touched 85 or higher in their bullpens
• 2 arms bumped 90 mph
• 13 hitters posted a live BP exit velocity of 85 or higher
• 4 hitters posted a live BP exit velocity of 90 or higher
• 3 hitters posted a live BP hard hit percentage of 70% or higgher
• 355' marked the furthest ball hit on the day in BP
• 93.8mph marked the hardest hit ball on the day in BP
• 90.8mph was the top fastball thrown
• 2851 rpm was the top spin rate on a Curveball
• 2615 rpm was the top spin rate on a slider
• -2.87 (LHP) to 2.75 (RHP) - Range of release from the middle of the rubber, in feet of all pitchers at the event

 

Statistical Leaders: Summer Kickoff ID

 

THE 30 YARD DASH

With the event being held indoors and a spring layoff, PBR's staff decided to run a laser timed 30 yard dash instead of a sixty.  The summer season is starting back and the 30 provides a slightly safer alternative as players are just getting back into form.  At Ultimate Performance there is plenty of room to run a full thirty on the laser timer, giving coaches and scouts another metric to measure players against. 

Fifty-one players ran the 30 with eight running 4.00 or better.  4.19 was the median run time of the players at the event.  Below are the top times from the Summer Kickoff ID.

(Note: The chart lists this category as Home to First, however this was a straight 30 yard dash from a steal break.)

 

EXIT VELOCITY (Off a Tee)

Fifty-one offensive players went through multiple rounds off of a tee to gauge their exit velocity.  Players were afforded the opportunity to use their bat and bats supplied by Mizuno.  Ten players posted an exit velocity of 90 mph or higher with the top bolt getting to 98 mph.  The median exit velocity posted came in at 83 mph.

 

POSITIONAL VELOCITY – INFIELDERS

With the indoor setup at Ultimate Performance, infielders were able to simulate a full length ground ball, working through an exchange and make a throw of approximately 140 feet to a target.  PBR scouts were able to watch the catch, footwork, hands, exchange, and release while gathering information off of a radar gun to give us a feel for arm strength.  Scouts were also able to see carry and accuracy on throws.  Thirty-six infielders worked out for scouts present.  The median reading for the group checked in at 80 mph across the diamond.  Below are the top positional velocities for infielders from the Summer Kickoff ID.

 

POSITIONAL VELOCITY – OUTFIELDERS

Outfielders were able to take a full ground ball off of a fungo, playing through the ball and working to a throw that was approximately 60 yards in distance, at a target.  With the space Ultimate Performance provided, scouts in attendance were able to see outfielders work through the ball, transition the baseball into a throw.  Carry and accuracy were paired with a gun reading to give feedback on the arm strength of each outfielder.  Below are the top outfielder positional throws.  The median throw was measured at 83 mph from the fifteen outfielders participating.

 

CATCHER POP TIMES & POSITIONAL VELOCITY

In the pro-style workout, catchers workout from behind home plate, making multiple throws to 2B, simulating a stolen base attempt.  Scouts again are looking for a quick, clean transition to the release as well as carry and accuracy on the throw.  For catchers, evaluators will put a stopwatch on the “pop time” or the time the ball hits their glove to the time the ball hits the MIF’s glove at 2B.  Coaches can also time the transition from when the ball hits the catchers glove to when he is able to release his throw.  PBR scouts add the radar gun to put a number on the arm strength out of the crouched position.  The top pop time in the workout was a 1.97, with a median time from the group of 11 catchers of 2.13.  The top positional velocity checked in at 78 mph out of the hand, while the median for the group clocked in at 72 mph.

 

MAX FASTBALL

Pitchers threw a controlled bullpen for scouts at Ultimate Perofrmance as part of the Summer Kickoff ID.  In total, thirty-four arms threw on the day.  TrackMan was used to track and verify all velocity readings. A Stalker Pro SII was also used to flash velocities to an LED board for the player videos, and so the pitcher had some feel for his performance.  The top fastball came from 2022 RHP Michael Colonna who bumped 90.8 mph on the TrackMan.   From the 34 arms, 17 worked at 83 or higher.  The median fastball for the day was 83.