On Saturday, February 24th, the Prep Baseball Utah staff hosted the annual Invite-Only Utah Preseason All-State at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah. This event featured over 100 prospects from the 2024 - 2028 classes and allowed our staff an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the players in attendance ahead of the high school season, as well as collect updated metrics and data on each player utilizing our series of tech partners.

This event has become a staple in Prep Baseball Utah's calendar and continues to feature some of the top upperclass prospects, both committed and uncommitted, as well as a large crop of high-end underclassmen who will be on the scene for years to come. The Utah Preseason All-State allows our staff to identify players early on in the year who deserve invites to some of our National/Regional Events such as the Future Games, Senior Future Games, Junior Future Games, West Coast ProCase and West Coast Games.

Earlier this week, we broke down the top measurable data performers from the event with our Underclass Statistical Analysis. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the underclassmen with the top pitchers, along with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:

For complete event results, click here.
To view upcoming event schedule, 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 RATE%

CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
2024 PBR Scout Day: Canes West Utah	UT	06/08	St. George, Utah (Location TBD)

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