On Feb. 20, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to the Bo Dome in Lockport, Ill., to host the annual Lockport Preseason ID. The 220+ player event was loaded with talent and there are many more names, not mentioned below, that showed well and will be highlighted in the weeks to come. 

Last week, we took a closer look at some of the immediate standouts who caught our attention with our Quick Hits. Yesterday we published our Statistical Analysis, where we broke down the stat leaders from the more traditional categories. Today, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers of the event with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below: 

TRACKMAN

FASTBALL

VELOCITY (MAX)

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Velocity (max)
1	Daniel Strohm	IL	Geneva	2022	LHP	87.0 mph
2	Ryan Mickenbecker	IL	Plainfield North	2024	RHP	87.0 mph
3	Jake Perrino	IL	Benet	2023	RHP	86.8 mph
4	Daniel Giusto	IL	Lincoln-Way East	2023	RHP	86.0 mph
5	Lucas Bormann	IL	York	2023	RHP	85.6 mph
6	Devan Tupper	IL	Normal University	2024	RHP	85.3 mph
7	Collin Jennings	IL	Marist	2023	OF	84.7 mph
8	Aiden O'Hara	IL	Brother Rice	2023	RHP	84.6 mph
9	Nate George	IL	Minooka	2024	OF	84.6 mph
10	Colton Kachinsky	IL	Lincoln-Way West	2023	LHP	84.6 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%

 

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CURVEBALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

 

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SLIDER

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

 

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CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.

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