Pitching Data Dive: Las Vegas Top Prospect Games
May 30, 2026
LAS VEGAS, NV - The Las Vegas Top Prospect Games has officially wrapped up, bringing together more than 140 prospects from the 2027, 2028, and 2029 graduating classes. The event gave players a chance to update their Prep Baseball profiles, compete alongside some of the top players in the state, earn invitations to future premier events, and continue gaining exposure through the Prep Baseball platform.
The event featured a full evaluation including laser-timed 60-yard dash testing, offensive and defensive workouts, and data collection through TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Vizual Edge. Pitchers threw live innings against hitters, showcasing their stuff in a game environment while generating valuable metrics. Hitters took those workout numbers into live at-bats, showing how their tools and offensive abilities held up against quality pitching.
Players were evaluated by Prep Baseball's scouting staff throughout the day, with standout performances coming in both the workout and live game portions.
BELOW IS A LOOK AT THE TOP TRACKMAN PITCHING METRICS FROM THE LIVE GAMEPLAY PORTION
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 higher 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/changeups for creating depth. It also has 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.
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.