Prep Baseball Report

Tucson Summer Review: TrackMan Files (Pitching)


Paul Panaccione
Arizona Scouting Director

On Sunday, Aug. 22, the annual Tucson Summer Review was hosted at Grand Canyon University. An open event rounding out the summer in the Valley for 2022-2025 graduates. Talents were on display in front of the PBR Arizona staff, while data was being recorded by state-of-the-art technology. 

Today, our post event coverage continues as we analyze pitching data collected from our TrackMan unit on site. TrackMan Portable combines the best of video and radar technology to output the most accurate data in every environment.

+ Click here to view full event stats

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 Break

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 Break

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Arizona Fall Underclass Showcase AZ 10/03 Grand Canyon University
Arizona Fall Upperclass Showcase AZ 10/17 Grand Canyon University