IL/WI Underclass Games: Trackman Files

On Tuesday, July 20, the PBR Illinois staff hosted the Underclass Games at Triton College in River Grove. The invite-only event featured some of the top players from Illinois and Wisconsin in the Class of 2024.

Shortly after the event's conclusion we published our Quick Hits piece, highlighting a few rapid standouts that stood out either during the workout portion or in game play. Earlier today we looked at a few noteworthy statistical performances inside our traditional stat story.

Now, 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:

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

Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)

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)

Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)

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

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