Jr. Future Games Trials: Pitching Data Dive
April 3, 2024
On Monday, April 1st the Prep Baseball Ontario staff hosted the first Junior Future Games Trials across the nation at the The Athlete Matrix in Mississauga, Ontario. The Jr. Future Games serve as the main identifier for Canada's lone JFG team heading to LakePoint Sports in late July and the team will feature players from the true 2028 and 2029 classes. The Jr. Future Games allows our staff to identify the next wave of players coming through the country and allows the players an opportunity to compete against top players in America, as well as give them a look at the Future Games event taking place on the complex at the samee time.
This event featured roughly 28 positional players from the across the province in the 2028 class and allowed our staff an opportunity to get an in-depth look at the players, as well as collect metrics via our tech partner TrackMan.
Earlier this week, we broke down the top measurable data performers from the event with our Statistical Analysis and Hitting Data Dive. 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 upcoming event schedule, click here.
FASTBALL
MAX VELOCITY (MPH)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Hunter Bartha | ON | West Niagara | 2028 | SS | 78.5 mph |
| 2 | Evan Harding | ON | St. Thomas of Villanova (Tentative) | 2028 | RHP | 78.4 mph |
| 3 | Jake Lamb | ON | Holy Name | 2028 | LHP | 78.2 mph |
| 4 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 77.3 mph |
| 5 | Austin Burton | ON | Westheights | 2028 | C | 76.2 mph |
| 6 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 76.2 mph |
| 7 | Lorenzo Castro | ON | Senator O'Connor College School | 2028 | RHP | 76.0 mph |
| 8 | Carson Walsh | ON | SMCS | 2028 | 3B | 75.2 mph |
| 9 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 72.7 mph |
| 10 | Adam DeCarolis | ON | St Margaret Mary ES | 2028 | 3B | 72.5 mph |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
SPIN RATE (AVG)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Hunter Bartha | ON | West Niagara | 2028 | SS | 2118 rpm |
| 2 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 1988 rpm |
| 3 | Lorenzo Castro | ON | Senator O'Connor College School | 2028 | RHP | 1982 rpm |
| 4 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 1979 rpm |
| 5 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 1956 rpm |
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.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
| 1 | Carson Walsh | ON | SMCS | 2028 | 3B | 19.1 in |
| 2 | Prescott Sutherland | ON | Bill Crothers | 2028 | C | 18.3 in |
| 3 | Evan Harding | ON | St. Thomas of Villanova (Tentative) | 2028 | RHP | 18.2 in |
| 4 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 17.8 in |
| 5 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 17.5 in |
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.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 17.2 |
| 2 | Colt McGuire | ON | Oakville Trafalgar | 2028 | LHP | -16.7 |
| 3 | Carson Walsh | ON | SMCS | 2028 | 3B | 14.1 |
| 4 | Jake Lamb | ON | Holy Name | 2028 | LHP | -13.7 |
| 5 | Adam DeCarolis | ON | St Margaret Mary ES | 2028 | 3B | 12.9 |
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 %
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
| 1 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 57 % |
| ^ | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | 57 % |
| 2 | Adrien Lublin | ON | Markham District | 2028 | RHP | 50 % |
| ^ | Jesse Decimelli | ON | Woodbridge college | 2028 | OF | 50 % |
CURVEBALL
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 2246 rpm |
| 2 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 2172 rpm |
| 3 | Austin Burton | ON | Westheights | 2028 | C | 2118 rpm |
| 4 | Stefan Castellanos | ON | St Padre Pio | 2028 | OF | 1970 rpm |
| 5 | Adam DeCarolis | ON | St Margaret Mary ES | 2028 | 3B | 1913 rpm |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
| 1 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | -7.8 in |
| 2 | Adam DeCarolis | ON | St Margaret Mary ES | 2028 | 3B | -6.2 in |
| 3 | Jake Lamb | ON | Holy Name | 2028 | LHP | -5.4 in |
| 4 | Stefan Castellanos | ON | St Padre Pio | 2028 | OF | -5.0 in |
| 5 | Austin Burton | ON | Westheights | 2028 | C | -4.8 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Jake Lamb | ON | Holy Name | 2028 | LHP | 14.0 |
| 2 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 13.8 |
| 3 | Austin Burton | ON | Westheights | 2028 | C | -13.7 |
| 4 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | -13.5 |
| 5 | Stefan Castellanos | ON | St Padre Pio | 2028 | OF | -13.3 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
| 1 | Evan Harding | ON | St. Thomas of Villanova (Tentative) | 2028 | RHP | 100 % |
| 2 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 50 % |
| ^ | Hunter Bartha | ON | West Niagara | 2028 | SS | 50 % |
SLIDER
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Lucas Soloway | ON | Upper Canada College | 2028 | 1B | 1808 |
| 2 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 1783 |
| 3 | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | 1645 |
| 4 | Colt McGuire | ON | Oakville Trafalgar | 2028 | LHP | 1401 |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
| 1 | Colt McGuire | ON | Oakville Trafalgar | 2028 | LHP | 4.1 in |
| 2 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 3.6 in |
| 3 | Lucas Soloway | ON | Upper Canada College | 2028 | 1B | 2.0 in |
| 4 | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | 1.6 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Lucas Soloway | ON | Upper Canada College | 2028 | 1B | -9.0 |
| 2 | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | -7.6 |
| 3 | Colt McGuire | ON | Oakville Trafalgar | 2028 | LHP | 6.1 |
| 4 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 3.6 |
STRIKE ZONE %
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
| 1 | Hudson Frey | ON | St. Anne Catholic | 2027 | LHP | 75 % |
| 2 | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | 50 % |
CHANGEUP
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | -17.6 |
| 2 | Carson Walsh | ON | SMCS | 2028 | 3B | 15.3 |
| 3 | Hunter Bartha | ON | West Niagara | 2028 | SS | 15.2 |
| 4 | Jake Andersen | ON | Royal St. George's College | 2028 | SS | 14.6 |
| 5 | Lucien Kovalcik | ON | Ecole Kenwood French Immersion | 2028 | RHP | 14.0 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
| 1 | Grant Ridgeway | ON | none | 2028 | OF | 100 % |
| 2 | Austin Burton | ON | Westheights | 2028 | C | 75 % |
| 3 | Luca Tibbits | ON | St. Josephs Catholic | 2028 | 3B | 66 % |
| ^ | Lucas Soloway | ON | Upper Canada College | 2028 | 1B | 66 % |
| ^ | Prescott Sutherland | ON | Bill Crothers | 2028 | C | 66 % |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| 2024 Team Ontario Scout Day | ON | 04/17 | The Dugout |
| 2024 Ontario Blue Jays Scout Day | ON | 04/18 | The Athlete Matrix |
| 2024 Terriers Scout Day | ON | 04/24 | King's Christian Collegiate |
| 2024 18U Best of the West | ON | 05/01 | Norbrock Stadium (Kamloops, BC) |
| 2024 15U Best of the West | ON | 05/01 | Norbrock Stadium (Kamloops, BC) |
| 2024 Canadian Trials | ON | 05/09 | TNXL Academy - Ocoee, FL |
| 2024 New England Academic Games (Invite Only) | ON | 07/09 | Yale |
| Future Games (Class of 2026/27) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| Junior Future Games (Class of 2028/29) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| Senior Future Games (Class of 2025) | NATIONAL | 07/24 | LakePoint Sports |
| 2024 Toronto Summer Open | ON | 07/30 | Dan Lang Field |
| 2024 Midwest Super Sophomore Games (Invite Only) | ON | 08/02 | Indiana University - Bart Kaufman Field |
| Improve My Profile with Game Video (Ontario) | ON | 08/29 | Ontario |
RELATED CONTENT
- ON Ontario Blue Jays Scout Day: Quick Hits 4/25/24
- ON Ontario Blue Jays Scout Day: Statistical Analysis 4/22/24
- ON Team Ontario Scout Day: Statistical Analysis 4/21/24
- ON Spring Future Games Trials II: Hitting Data Dive 4/13/24
- ON Spring Future Games Trials II: Pitching Data Dive 4/13/24
- ON Spring Future Games Trials II: Statistical Analysis 4/13/24
- ON Jr. Future Games Trials: Pitching Data Dive 4/03/24
- ON Jr. Future Games Trials: Hitting Data Dive 4/03/24