Prep Baseball Report

The Winter Pulse: Weeks 2 & 3


By Andy Sroka
National Managing Editor, Scouting

Throughout this winter showcase season, we’ll be taking the time to put into perspective the highlight-worthy performances that elevate prospects from our open Preseason ID events into need-to-know prospects within their regions or even the entire nation.

So, in this series, we’ll be spending some time highlighting the prospects who participated in recent Preseason ID events and performed like some of the best players in their backyards.

UPCOMING PRESEASON ID EVENTS

Date Event Location
Saturday, Jan. 24 Knoxville PID Knoxville, TN
Saturday, Jan. 24 Asheville PID Asheville, NC
Sunday, Jan. 25 Northern Arizona PID Flagstaff, AZ
Sunday, Jan. 25 Charlotte PID Charlotte, NC
Sunday, Jan. 25 Maryland PID Columbia, MD
Sunday, Jan. 25 Inland Empire PID Corona, CA

Find more upcoming Prep Baseball events here.

The leaderboards below contain statistics from 18 Preseason ID-branded showcases that took place between Jan. 10-19 in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.


TOP 60-YARD DASH


TRACKMAN HITTING LEADERS

EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)

EXIT VELOCITY (AVG.)

Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.

Sweet Spot percentage: This metric is determined by how often the player produces a batted ball during the session with a launch angle between 8 to 32 degrees.


BLAST MOTION LEADERS

BAT SPEED (AVG.)

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. The sweet spot of the bat is measured six inches from the tip of the bat.

ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION (AVG.)

Body Rotation: A swing that has the appropriate relative contributions of body and bat rotations is an efficient and Powerful swing that maintains proper sequencing. An efficient baseball swing is one in which the body creates the initial movements, which is then transferred to the arms and out to the bat, thereby maximizing Bat Speed through this proximal-to-distal kinematic sequencing movement pattern.

(Carter Bourque; 1/15/26)


VIZUAL EDGE LEADERS

EDGE SCORE

The Edge Score is a comprehensive score out of 100 that takes the core-six visual skills into account, providing athletes, parents, coaches and scouts with a benchmark number for assessing an athlete’s overall visual ability. In general the higher the Edge Score, the higher chance of athletic success. Think of the Edge Score as the 'Sixth Metric' in the standard Five-Tools that make up a ball player.

The average Edge Score for the 2020 MLB Draft Class was 79.3 (of hitters who completed a Vizual Edge test). MLB players we've worked with typically show stronger scores, with elite hitters scoring consistently above 87.0 on their Edge Score.


TRACKMAN PITCHING LEADERS

FASTBALL

VELOCITY (MAX)

HIGHEST SPIN RATE (AVG.)

Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.

Average 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 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.

HIGHEST HORIZONTAL BREAK (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.”


BREAKING BALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

(Kahne Andrews; 1/15/26)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL BREAK (AVG.)


CHANGEUP

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL BREAK (AVG.)


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