Upperclass Preseason All-State: Pitching Data Dive
February 10, 2026
QUEEN CREEK, AZ – On Sunday, February 8, 2026, the Prep Baseball Arizona staff was at Casteel High School in Queen Creek, Arizona for the Upperclass Preseason All State Showcase. The event brought together over 120 of the top upperclass prospects from the 2026 through 2027 classes and served as an early season checkpoint as players prepared for the upcoming spring.
Each participant received a full Prep Baseball profile update that included a headshot, video, showcase metrics, and advanced data. With profiles accessed by college programs nationwide, the event provided meaningful exposure while giving our staff an important early look at some of the top talent in the state as we gear up for an exciting season.
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We now take a look at the top Trackman Pitching metrics from the bullpen sessions.
FASTBALL
MAX VELOCITY
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
HIGHEST AVG. SPIN RATE
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.
HIGHEST AVG. IVB
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, cutters, and changeups as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Changeups with lower IVB indicate more depth. IVB simply means the pitch is "breaking" upward or downward from the average level a pitch falls from release to home plate. This is a stat that you want to stay away from being average at. Fortunately, this can be tweaked slightly depending on release height.
HIGHEST AVG. 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.”
HIGHEST STRIKE ZONE RATE%
For some context, in 2023 MLB pitchers averaged an In Zone% of around 49 percent in live game settings measured across all pitch types, according to Statcast.