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At The Yard Podcast: New Episode LIVE now!

Novato, CA. - 

Players attending this and all Preseason ID events in Californa undergo a Pro-Style workout beginning firsts with official measurements for their height, weight and grip strength. From there they are run through athletic testing on the VALD platforms (60 yard dash and Jump testing). As well, all position players undergo a defensive workout/evaluation (OF/Corner INF/Middle INF/1B/Catcher) to showcase their defensive actions with video and arm strength recorded. The position players workout concludes with On-Field Batting Practice utlizing Trackman Technologies and Blast Motion to provide valuable data feedback on the player's offensive tools, as well as  video. Finally, each event finishes with bullpen sessions for all pitcher in attendance. Each pitcher who takes the mound are assesed by Trackman Technologies to gather data on their pitches from velocity, spin rates, movement patterns and more, plus video being recorded. 

Today, we take a look at some of the top performers from our first Preseason ID event of the year at Novato High School.

For all information on the players in attendance please click here: North Bay ID

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QUICK HITS

1. '27 C - Giovanni Castaing - Novato High School

- Gio didn't have to go far for this event considering it was right in his backyard at Novato High School. Castaing has been to a couple Prep Baseball events before and has surely impressed eveyone on the staff. The defensive workout displayed his INF Velo at 81 MPH, showed smooth actions especially since his primary is a C. Behind the plate he was working in the 2.00-2.13 range and was up to 74 MPH. He has the ability to play multiple positions so he is very valuable. The offensive numbers took a jump with having the max EV of 97.3 MPH and an average EV of 90.0 MPH, also led the event in average bat speed of 70.9 MPH. The ball was coming off his bat hot and continued to produce line drives. Doesn't surprise me since his offensive numbers as a freshman on Varsity were as solid as they were, the kid is strong! Expect to see Gio increase his numbers in the near future.

2. '27 OF - Dominic Myung - The King's Academy

- The San Jose native came out hot as he boasted the top 60 YD Dash with a 7.10 (1.75 10YD split). The top speed was 19.5 MPH. With a vertical of 22.4, Dom's athleticism was displayed all over the field whether he was hitting or on defense. Using his 50% sweet spot rate had him produce a max EV of 91.8 MPH. Lots of line drives were hit on front of the Prep Baseball staff. Dom had an above average on plane efficiency score at 83 and an AVG of 71.2. The highest Vizual Edge score of the day was by Dom at 83.32. We will definetley see more of Dom in the future as he progresses as a player.

3. '26 C - Cole Roth - Washington High School

- Cole put on probably the best displays of hitting on the day during the hitting portion of the workout. The farthest ball hit of the day was from Roth at 374 FT. What was really impressive was the 83% sweet spot rate with an AVG EV of 89.9 MPH and a max EV of 94.5 MPH. The hands are quick, resulting in his max bat speed of 71.4 MPH and max hand speed of 21.3 MPH. The defensive workout is where Cole also made a statement. A loose arm and quick release his pop times were bewteen a 2.00-2.12 with a C velo of 79 MPH, whic was the event best. This was the first time I had ever seen Roth in person and I was impressed with his overall athleticism, I'm sure with a solid year at Washington he will turn some heads around.

4. '27 1B Michael Scarpa - Valley Christian (San Jose) -

- I'd like to highlight the impressive performance of the 1B from Valley Christian HS. His hitting ability is truly remarkable, and the data supports this assessment. He achieved a max hand speed of 23.4 MPH and a max bat speed of 72.9 MPH, all while maintaining a 67% hard hit rate. His exit velocities are also noteworthy, reaching a maximum of 94.6 MPH and an average of 90.3 MPH. Additionally, Scarpa's power was on full display as he hit the second farthest ball of the event, launching it 368 feet to right field. He consistently found the barrel and sprayed the ball effectively across the field. During the infield workout, he demonstrated smooth actions at 1B, though his arm strength at the corner could be improved. Overall, I'm a big fan of this left-handed hitter in the 2027 class. He shows a confident approach at the plate and doesn't miss opportunities to make solid contact.

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POSITIONAL TOOLS

TOP 60-TIMES

MAX INF VELOCITY

MAX OF VELOCITY

MAX C VELOCITY

TOP POP-TIMES

TRACKMAN

We'll continue to roll out the data we gathered from this event, starting with the analytics we have at our disposal from our TrackMan units.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & AVERAGE 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 CURVEBALL & SLIDER SPIN RATE

AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

MAX & AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY

MAX DISTANCE

SWEET SPOT %

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. Sweet spot percentage can be used in concert with hard-hit rate -- the percentage of a player's batted balls that have an exit velocity of 90 mph or higher. Per MLB glossary.

BLAST MOTION

With the help of our Blast Motion sensors, we're analyzing the swing metrics measured at this event.

HAND SPEED (PEAK & AVERAGE)

Hand Speed: The observed speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge.

BAT SPEED (PEAK & AVERAGE)

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 (AVERAGE)

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.

ON-PLANE EFFICIENCY %

On-Plane Efficiency %:measures the percentage of your swing where the bat is on the swing plane. Your Vertical Bat Angle (VBA) at contact establishes the plane for that specific swing. A high % is a great indicator of making consistent contact and barreling balls. Blast recommends an average of 70% or higher, with a range in the 65% to 85%.

Upcoming Events

Showcase	State	Date	Location
Sacramento Preseason ID	CA	02/09/25	McBean Park
Orange County Rising Stars ID	CA	03/02/25	Mater Dei High School
Inland Empire Rising Stars ID	CA	03/30/25	Corona High School
Los Angeles Rising Stars ID	CA	04/27/25	O'Malley Field

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