Welcome to the Launchpad: Jr. Future Games Bring the Next Generation to LakePoint

Welcome to the ultimate proving ground for the future of baseball. The Future Games is the most highly anticipated event in the country hosted at LakePoint Sports in Emerson, GA. Following the standout performances of the 2027 and 2028 classes, the spotlight now shifts to the true rising stars: the 2030 and 2031 graduates competing in the Junior Future Games. From July 23rd to the 26th, the best young talent in the nation is getting a rare early taste of the premier showcase environment.

For Team NC, featuring the top identified young players from North Carolina, the journey started Thursday with a pro-style workout, giving players the chance to update their numbers and gauge their skills vs. the best in the country. Navigating a rain delay that pushed their Friday matchup to Saturday against Team Texas, Team NC capped off an intense week with a grueling Sunday double-header against Kansas and Minnesota. With an astounding 495 college coaches passing through the gates this week, these young athletes aren't just playing games—they are setting the stage for their future on the nation’s biggest platform.

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JUNIOR FUTURE GAMES DATA DIVE - PITCHERS

FASTBALL

MAX FASTBALL 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 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, and it’s also important to consider the pitch’s velocity as well as its release height when evaluating IVB measurements against each other.

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.”

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.

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CURVEBALL

HIGHEST AVG. SPIN RATE

HIGHEST AVG. IVB

HIGHEST AVG. HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

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SLIDER

HIGHEST AVG. SPIN RATE

HIGHEST AVG. IVB

HIGHEST AVG. HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

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CHANGEUP

HIGHEST AVG. HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

HIGHEST AVG. IVB

HIGHEST STRIKE ZONE RATE%

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+ Click here to view the event statistics in its entirety.

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