PBR IL Scout Day - Parkland JC: TrackMan Files
September 8, 2021
The Prep Baseball Report/Parkland JC Scout Day took place on Wednesday, September 2 on the campus of Parkland College in Champaign, IL. The prospects showcased their talents in front of the PBR scouting staff, as well as MLB Scouts. Yesterday we began our analysis of the event with a look at the Statistical Analysis.
Today, we’re continuing our post-event analysis by examining the data measured by our TrackMan units. The technology is able to capture information that’s difficult to capture by the naked eye, like pitch-by-pitch metrics and batted-ball data. We’ll explain more below:
PITCHING
MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
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.
Average Fastball 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.”
Average Slider Spin Rate
Average Curveball Spin Rate
Average Changeup Horizontal Movement
HITTING
Average Exit Velocity
Exit Speed: Also according to TrackMan’s own website: “The speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.”
Peak Exit Velocity
Peak Estimated Batted Distance
For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.