Prep Baseball Report

Canadian College/University Showcase: Pitching Data Dive


Cam Black-Araujo
Assistant Director, Canada

On Saturday, February 8th, the Prep Baseball Ontario staff hosted the annual Canadian College & University Showcase, our first showcase of the 2025 season, at The Yard Athletic Centre in Cambridge, Ontario, home of the Midwestern Ontario Bearcats.

This sold out event featured 65+ prospects in the 2025 and 2026 classes and they had the chance the run through a pro-style workout infront of college coaches from roughly 15 programs, including 12 from Ontario, two from the United States (Genesee CC, Michigan-Deaborn) and Prairie Baseball Academy out of Alberta.

All player ran through a full workout that included batting practice and bullpens captured on our TrackMan and over the next several days we'll be highlighting top performers from the event within our post-event analysis. Stay locked into our social media channels over the next several days as we continue to push out video, leaderboards and more.

Earlier this week, we broke down the top measurable data performers from the event with our Statistical Analysis article. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:

For complete event results, click here.
To view Class of 2025 Commitment Board, click here.

To register for the Toronto Rising Stars ID (Mar. 31), click here.
To register for the Pitcher-Only Future Games Trials (Apr. 12), click here.
To register for the Future Games Trials (Apr. 18), click here.
To register for the Future Games Trials II (Apr. 21), click here.


FASTBALL

MAX VELOCITY (MPH)

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

SPIN RATE (AVG)

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.

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.

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (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.”

STRIKE ZONE %

CURVEBALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

SLIDER

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE %

CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

Upcoming Events

Showcase State Date Location
2025 Ontario Nationals Scout Day ON 03/21 Blue Chip Sports Training
2025 Ontario Blue Jays Scout Day ON 03/29 Athlete's Turf
2025 Toronto Rising Stars ID ON 03/31 The Yard Multi-Sport Training Facility
2025 Pitcher Only Future Games Trials ON 04/12 Pro Teach Baseball
2025 Ontario Future Games Trials ON 04/18 Athlete's Turf Inc.
2025 Ontario Future Games Trials II ON 04/21 Athlete's Turf Inc.
2025 18U Best of the West ON 04/30 Norbrock Stadium (Kamloops, BC)
2025 13U Best of the West ON 05/01 Norbrock Stadium (Kamloops, BC)
2025 15U Best of the West ON 05/01 Norbrock Stadium (Kamloops, BC)

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