Prep Baseball Report

Underclass Trials: TrackMan Files


Diego Solares
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

On Wednesday, June 23, the PBR Wisconsin staff hosted the Underclass Trials, our first showcase of the summer in the Badger State and an annual staple on our calendar. This open event served as an identifier to all members of high school classes 2023-25, serving as an up-close look for future invite-only events, like the PBR Future Games, among others.

We began our post-event coverage today by breaking down those who stood out from a traditional statistical standpoint inside our statistical analysis.

Today, with the help of our partners at TrackMan, we'll look at all the pitch metrics and batted ball data gathered from this event.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & 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.”

PEAK EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)

PEAK ESTIMATED BATTED DISTANCE (HITTING)

For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.

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