PBR IL - Rock Valley Scout Day: Trackman Files

October 19, 2021
By: Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Tuesday, October 12, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to Rockford, Illinois, to host the Rock Valley College Scout Day. There were 25+ prospects from the Golden Eagles’ roster that participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff, all of which are still uncommitted.

Earlier today we published a Statistical Analysis, bringing you a quick statistical analysis of those that participated in the event, as well as a quick nugget on which players stood out.

Now 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. Below we'll look at which players had noteworthy batted ball and pitch metric data.

MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Velocity (max)
1	Steven Kleyheeg	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	87.6 mph
2	Michael Spano	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	87.2 mph
3	Ryan Wilwers	Rock Valley JC	2019	RHP	86.8 mph
4	Kody Kleve	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	86.5 mph
5	Drew Burkholder	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	86.4 mph
6	AJ Hamilton	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	85.7 mph

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Spin Rate (max)
1	Michael Spano	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	2412 rpm
2	Drew Burkholder	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	2281 rpm
3	Steven Kleyheeg	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2234 rpm
4	Ryan Sell	Rock Valley JC	2021	LHP	2225 rpm
5	Kody Kleve	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2212 rpm

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

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	HM (avg)
1	Kaileb Lyon	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	15.9
2	Jimmy Fairley	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	15.5
3	Ryan Sell	Rock Valley JC	2021	LHP	-14.9
4	Michael Spano	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	12.2

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

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Spin Rate (avg)
1	Steven Kleyheeg	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2306
2	Kody Kleve	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2299

Average Curveball Spin Rate

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Spin Rate (avg)
1	Michael Spano	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	2333 rpm
2	Kody Kleve	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2264 rpm
3	Steven Kleyheeg	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	2202 rpm

Average Changeup Horizontal Movement

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	HM (avg)
1	Trevor Samuelson	Rock Valley JC	2019	LHP	-15.9
2	James Akers	Harlem	2020	RHP	15.8
3	Jimmy Fairley	Rock Valley JC	2020	RHP	15.5
4	Kaileb Lyon	Rock Valley JC	2021	RHP	15.3
5	Ryan Wilwers	Rock Valley JC	2019	RHP	14.6

Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Exit Velocity (avg)
1	Lucas Rick	Rock Valley JC	2021	1B	86.1 mph
2	Payton Matthews	Rock Valley JC	2021	OF	85.9 mph

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 (Hitting)

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Exit Velocity (max)
1	Lucas Rick	Rock Valley JC	2021	1B	96.6 mph
2	Payton Matthews	Rock Valley JC	2021	OF	93.8 mph
3	Ethan Glossa	Herkimer County CC	2021	C	92.9 mph

Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)

Rank	Name	School	HS Grad Year	Pos	Distance (max)
1	Ethan Glossa	Herkimer County CC	2021	C	355 ft
2	Matthew Cusumano	Rock Valley JC	2019	C	344 ft
3	AJ Christoffer	Rock Valley JC	2020	OF	340 ft
4	Evan Tocmo	Rock Valley JC	2020	OF	326 ft
5	Matt Heinrich	Wausau East	2021	OF	325 ft

For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.