On Wednesday, May 29th, the Prep Baseball Utah staff hosted the Utah Rising Stars ID at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. This event featured roughly 17 prospects from the 2028 - 2029 classes and allowed our staff an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the players in attendance as the majority of the players at the event prepare to join the high school ranks in the next several months.

Earlier this week, we broke down the top measurable data performers from the event with our Statistical Analysis. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers 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.”

CURVEBALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

SLIDER

VELOCITY (MAX)

SPIN RATE (AVG)

CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
2024 ProCase - West	UT	06/02	Pepperdine University
2024 Scout Day: Rawlings Tigers	UT	06/27	Skyline High School (Salt Lake City, Utah)
2024 Scout Day: CBA Utah	UT	07/02	Pine View High School (St. George, Utah)
2024 Top Prospect Games (Invite-Only)	UT	07/08	Cate Field (Salt Lake CC)
Future Games (Class of 2026/27)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports
Junior Future Games (Class of 2028/29)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports
Senior Future Games (Class of 2025)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports

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