Campus Fall Tour - UNLV: Pitching Data Dive
November 12, 2024
On Saturday, November 9th, the Prep Baseball Nevada staff hosted it's final showcase of the 2024 season with the Campus Fall Tour - UNLV hosted on the campus of the University of Nevada - Las Vegas at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event featured just a dozen players from the Las Vegas area but it was a strong, talented group that are all still uncommitted.
We had prospects in the 2025 - 2027 classes with all players running through a full workout alongside our tech partners TrackMan, Blast Motion, VALD Performance and Physical/Athletic Testing.
Fall ID/Campus Tour Events serve as one final chance for players to showcase their gains and development over the past year before baseball slows down to close out 2024.
Yesterday we began our post-event coverage within our 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:
For complete event results, click here.
To register for Las Vegas Preseason ID - Sess. 1 (Jan. 21), click here.
To register for Las Vegas Preseason ID - Sess. 2 (Jan. 22), click here.
To register for the Reno Preseason ID (Feb. 2), click here.
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.)
Upcoming Events
Showcase | State | Date | Location |
Las Vegas Preseason ID - Session 1 | NV | 01/21 | UNLV - Las Vegas, NV |
Las Vegas Preseason ID - Session 2 | NV | 01/22 | UNLV - Las Vegas, NV |
Reno Preseason ID | NV | 02/02 | University of Nevada - Peccole Park |
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