St. Louis Top Prospect Games Upperclass: TrackMan Files
June 29, 2022
On Tuesday, June 21st, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri, to host the St. Louis Top Prospect Games: Upperclass event. This invite-only event featured 40+ noteworthy uncommitted 2023 and 2024 prospects from the state, and it’s been a staple on our summer calendar since 2017.
For more information from this event, including a full look at all the player’s in attendance, click HERE.
Earlier this week we highlighted some of the day's standout prospects within our 'Quick Hits' and followed that up with a Stat Story that spotlighted which players found themselves atop the leaderboards from this event. Today, with the help of our tech partners, we'll dive deeper into the numbers collected by analyzing the pitch metrics and batted ball data captured throughout the day.
Read below to see which prospects' popped from a data standpoint on our TrackMan units.
MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
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.
Average Fastball Horizontal Movement
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.”
Average Slider Spin Rate
Average Curveball Spin Rate
Average Changeup Horizontal Movement
Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)
Exit Speed: Also according to TrackMan’s own website: “The speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.”