Prep Baseball Report

2023 Top Underclass Games: TrackMan Pitching Leaders


Brandon Hall
Mid-Atlantic Scouting Director

On Sunday October 28th, PBR was at NC State's Dail Park to host the Top Prospect Games: Underclass.  The event featured perhaps the most talented underclass field of talent that PBR has put together for one event.  With over 50 of the top players in the state on one field, we thought we would have a great day... and we did.

The day opened with the position players going through some athletic testing with Swift Athletics.  Players had the chance to run on a laser timed 60 yard on turf.  With Swift, PBR Scouts were able to collect the 60yd time, plus a 10yd split and a 30yd split.  With younger athletes, the 10yd and 30yd give a great glimpse and a players explosiveness out of the gate and a top end run speed, even if they cannot maintain that top end speed through the 60 yd course.  Players also went through some jumping test with Swift.  Players were tested in the vertcial jump as well as a 4-jump RSI.

Following the athletic testing, each hitter took multiple rounds of BP.  During BP, TrackMan was used to get ball flight information off the bat.  BLAST sensors were used to get readings on each hitter with their swing prior to contact.  Following BP, players went through a defensive workout at their primary defensive positions with PBR scouts taking metrics on arm strength.

After the player workouts, the event concluded with two controlled scrimmages.  Pitchers threw to live hitters in game situations that were controlled by PBR Scouts.  While the workout gives PBR Scouts and coaches a lot of information to digest, the game setting allows players to continue to show their skill set and to apply their tools in a competitive fashion.

Top Prospect Games: Underclass - Notes
+ 4 Players ran sub 6.90 in the sixty
+ 18 players ran sub 7.20 in the sixty
+ 20 players saw their peak run speed above 19mph
+ 19 players ran sub 4.00 in the thirty yard split
+ 12 players saw a max vertical jump of 30in or more
+ 10 players posted a BLAST Bat Speed Max of 75mph or higher
+ 12 players posted an average exit velocity above 85mph through their two rounds.
+ 99.9mph was the top exit velocity recorded on Sunday
+ 22 players posted an exit velocity of 90mph or higher
+ 5 catchers posted a velocity out of the crouch of 79mph or better

CLICK HERE to see the full roster and stat breakdown from the Top Prospect Games: Underclass

TrackMan Pitching Leaders

FASTBALL STATS

Peak Velocity


Average Effective Velocity

Effective velocity is taking into account the velocity of each pitch, its release distance, the pitches time to the plate / hitting area, and the pitches movement.  With all of this information, Effective Velocity is allowing coaches and scouts to more accurately compare how a pitch is affecting a hitter.


Peak Spin Rate


Average Spin Rate


Average Induced Vertical Movement

Induced vertical movement tracks how the ball rides through the zone, or sinks through the zone.  For the purpose of this board we are tracking which fastballs showed the most ride, typically leading to more swing and miss opportunities


Average Horizontal Movement

Horizontal movement is often referred to as run.  This measurement does not distinguish between early and late movement, just the overall amount the ball tracks to the arm side out of the hand.


Peak Spin Score

The Spin Score is a measurement linking velocity and spin.  It is calculated by dividing the spin rate by the velocity of each pitch.  


CURVEBALL STATS

Peak Velocity


Peak Spin Rate


Average Spin Rate


Average Induced Vertical Movement

This is a measurement of how much the ball drops from its original position and trajectory.  It does not measure how late the movement happens.  This can be referred to as depth on a breaking ball.


Average Horizontal Movement


Peak Spin Score

SLIDER STATS

Peak Velocity


Peak Spin Rate


Average Spin Rate


Average Induced Vertical Movement


Average Horizontal Movement


Peak Spin Score

CHANGEUP STATS

Peak Velocity


Average Induced Vertical Movement


Average Horizontal Movement