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The expanded usage of data, and the importance of it in regards to player development and player assessment is a legitimate, undeniable tool used by high school, college, and professional teams across the country. Today we break down some of the data from our recent  Preseason All-State RVA workout. See which players stood out in regards to Trackman data. 

Glossary Terms Intro & Links:

Induced Vertical Break: IVB
Vertical Approach Angle: VAA 
Horizontal Break: HB
Release Speed: RS or Velo
Release Height: RH or RelHei

 

Fastball - Gets plus VB from an over-the-top slot, got up to 24.8 inches of VB, the third-most of the event. Averaged 21.3, the second-most at the event. Threw it hard, at 85.2, and touched 85.8. 

Changeup: Really good feel for pronation given his high slot, able to push his axis 45 minutes counter-clockwise to create fade in the pitch’s shape. Got as much as 18.1 inches of HB on one CH, and averaged 16.5. Has large velocity separation from fastball, and threw it at 73.4.

Curveball: Gets some drop, but majority of spin on the pitch is sidespin and so some of the drop is induced by gyro-centric spin that creates depth on the pitch even with just -3.7 inches of VB. Threw it at 69.7,  touched 70.6.

 

Fastball - Has above average VB, but low spin efficiency as he tends to cut the pitch; as evident by his HB being close to zero and averaging out at 5.2. But he throws from a low release height, and has plus velocity, so he’s able to create some lift on his pitch and had a VAA above -4.0 degrees on numerous of his elevated heaters. Even with a really good, flat shape, there’s still some room for improvement with potential improvements to the short-form movement.

Slider: Gets to the side of it well, and throws it from 9:15 to get primarily sidespin. Does a good job of killing lift on the pitch to lower the spin efficiency and create depth as well as some transverse spin that contributes to later movement on the shape. Threw it at 73.0, and hit 74.4.

Changeup: Plays like a splitter, he doesn’t throw it with a ton of spin and throws it a full hour clockwise from his fastball to get an even amount of back/side spin on the pitch. He showed feel for the pitch and threw every changeup in the zone and had some late SSW traits on the pitch due to its lower spin efficiency and his ability to kill lift on it.

Fastball - Averaged out at 82.4, hit 83.2 with an extremely low release. Combines his low release with a feel for back spinning the ball; which creates a flat pitch shape and will enable it to play up in the zone for whiffs. Had above average VB (17” on average, max of 19”), and long extension of 7 feet.

Slider - Classifies as a sweeping CB, has a ton of movement thanks to his ability to over-supinate the pitch and create sweep (which is true spin), as well as the high-spin (average of 2,658, max of 2,716 rpm) traits. It gets both heavy drop and heavy sweep on the pitch and was able to throw it in the zone, the third-most of any slider pitch at the event. Has the potential to be a real out pitch as the velo progresses. Threw it up to 69.6, averaged 69.1.

Changeup: Had one of the largest spin direction differences between FB/CH at the event. He pushed his axis an hour and 15 minutes clockwise and was able to nearly reverse his fastballs shape. He was able to drop his VB 8.3” off of his FB, and raise his HB 8” while throwing it 6.3 mph slower. He got as much as 16.9” of HB on the pitch.