SoCal Preseason All-State Upperclass Trackman Files: Fastball
January 19, 2023
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LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The SoCal Preseason All-State Uppererclass was held at Elsinore High School and consisted of players in the 2023 and 2024 classes with a few hand-selected 2025’s. These players went through extended pro-style work out that included batting practice using Trackman and Blast Motion, participated in defensive evaluations, ran the 60 yard-dash using Swift Performance, and concluded with a simulated game.
Pitchers were able to throw in simulated outings during gameplay and were able to get numbers and metrics off of our Trackman unit, such as pitch velocity, spin rate, horizontal & vertical movement & much more. There were some players who showed up and continued to build off of prior performances, but there were also some new names who jumped onto our radar with a strong showing.
Continuing off our post-event coverage for this event, we take a look back at some of the leaders from each statistical category recorded on the Trackman B1 unit. Please continue to check back over the next week, as we will release individual scouting reports on each player present at the event.
Prep Baseball Report events across the country have been powered by TrackMan’s industry-leading portable system to capture pinpoint accurate, actionable data from player performances. Prep Baseball Report and TrackMan are dedicated to recognizing talent and unleashing their potential.
At the event all pitches were monitored through the portable Trackman B1 unit. Each player threw their complete arsenal of pitches allowing us to collect metrics such as release velocity, spin rate, vertical & horizontal movement and much more.
This data goes directly into the player profiles allowing the PBR Staff, college coaches and professional scouts alike to evaluate and compare prospects on a national scale.
Here are some of the advanced metrics gathered, available for subscribers to PBR Plus (effective velocity, max & avg IVB, max & avg horizontal movement, extension avg, release height avg, zone %).
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Velocity (max)
1
Tomas Lopez
CA
Redondo Union
2023
RHP
90.0 mph
2
Owen Eisen
CA
Ocean View
2023
RHP
89.5 mph
3
Daniel Flores
CA
Birmingham Community Charter
2023
RHP
89.4 mph
4
Braden Wauschek
CA
Great Oak
2023
RHP
89.0 mph
5
Troy Cooper
CA
Hart
2024
RHP
88.2 mph
6
Joseph Norris
CA
Notre Dame
2023
RHP
87.8 mph
7
Andrew Johnson
CA
Capistrano Valley Christian
2024
RHP
87.2 mph
8
Matthew Moreno
CA
South Hills
2024
SS
86.9 mph
9
Nathan Hunter
CA
Edison
2024
SS
86.6 mph
10
Josh Hickey
CA
Yucaipa
2023
RHP
86.4 mph
Fastball 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.
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Spin Rate (max)
1
Brooks Lang
CA
LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
2023
RHP
2447 rpm
2
Andrew Johnson
CA
Capistrano Valley Christian
2024
RHP
2289 rpm
3
Owen Eisen
CA
Ocean View
2023
RHP
2264 rpm
4
Aidan Stevenson
CA
Santa Margarita
2024
3B
2245 rpm
5
Brock Wirthgen
CA
Orange Lutheran
2023
C
2235 rpm
6
Thomas Pighin
CA
Villa Park
2024
RHP
2187 rpm
7
Tyler Simkins
CA
Sunny Hills
2024
OF
2174 rpm
8
Tomas Lopez
CA
Redondo Union
2023
RHP
2169 rpm
9
Daniel Flores
CA
Birmingham Community Charter
2023
RHP
2154 rpm
10
Troy Cooper
CA
Hart
2024
RHP
2128 rpm
Fastball 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.”
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (max) |
1 | Aidan Stevenson | CA | Santa Margarita | 2024 | 3B | 23.7 in |
2 | Braden Wauschek | CA | Great Oak | 2023 | RHP | 22.0 in |
3 | Tyler Simkins | CA | Sunny Hills | 2024 | OF | 21.8 in |
4 | Troy Cooper | CA | Hart | 2024 | RHP | 21.6 in |
5 | Andrew Johnson | CA | Capistrano Valley Christian | 2024 | RHP | 21.4 in |
6 | Brooks Lang | CA | LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL | 2023 | RHP | 21.3 in |
7 | Matthew Moreno | CA | South Hills | 2024 | SS | 20.9 in |
8 | Josh Hickey | CA | Yucaipa | 2023 | RHP | 20.6 in |
9 | Joseph Norris | CA | Notre Dame | 2023 | RHP | 20.1 in |
10 | Brock Wirthgen | CA | Orange Lutheran | 2023 | C | 19.3 in |
Fastball Induced Vertical Break: Distance, measured in inches, between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate height-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate height-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release, but affected by gravity. If this number is positive, the ball broke “upwards”, or in reality dropped less than it would have due to gravity alone – it does not necessarily mean that the ball actually rose.
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
IVB (max)
1
Aidan Stevenson
CA
Santa Margarita
2024
3B
23.7 in
2
Braden Wauschek
CA
Great Oak
2023
RHP
22.0 in
3
Tyler Simkins
CA
Sunny Hills
2024
OF
21.8 in
4
Troy Cooper
CA
Hart
2024
RHP
21.6 in
5
Andrew Johnson
CA
Capistrano Valley Christian
2024
RHP
21.4 in
6
Brooks Lang
CA
LA JOLLA COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
2023
RHP
21.3 in
7
Matthew Moreno
CA
South Hills
2024
SS
20.9 in
8
Josh Hickey
CA
Yucaipa
2023
RHP
20.6 in
9
Joseph Norris
CA
Notre Dame
2023
RHP
20.1 in
10
Brock Wirthgen
CA
Orange Lutheran
2023
C
19.3 in
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UPCOMING EVENTS
SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
Inland Empire Preseason ID | CA | 01/22 | Santiago HS |
Peninsula Preseason ID |
CA | 01/22 | College of San Mateo |
South Bay Preseason ID |
CA | 01/29 | Mission College - San Jose |
East Bay Preseason ID | CA | 2/05 | Chabot College - Hayward |
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