Welcome back to the hitting side of Trackman Traits. In this series we will spotlight one player each week who stood has stood out in our "Trackman Era" and take a deeper dive into their numbers and take a look at some that really stand out. Since the implementation of the Trackman technology to our showcases during the 2020 summer we have been fortunate enough to have seen a great deal of talent come through the system. Today, we will be taking a look at the number ten first basemen in Pennsylvania's 2022 class, Wesley Parker.

Before we get started, we'll go over and define some of the terminology being used in the piece. 

Exit Velocity-  this one's pretty simple but this metric measures the speed of the ball off the bat, measured in miles per hour (mph).

Distance- another simple one, this metric measures how far the ball traveled or would travel if it was not obstructed, measured in feet.

Launch Angle- measures the vertical angle of the ball as it leaves the bat. Positive numbers represent balls traveling upward off of the bat and negative numbers mean the ball is traveling downward off of the bat. 

Fly Ball %-  Percentage of fly balls hit during a given set of batted ball events. Trackman defines a fly ball as any batted ball with a launch angle between 25 degrees and 49.9 degrees. 

Line Drive%-  Percentage of line drives hit during a given set of batted ball events. Trackman defines a line drive as any batted ball with a launch angle between 10 degrees and 24.9 degrees.

Hard Hit%-  Percentage of batted balls with an exit velocity of 90 MPH or higher. 

Bat Speed- The speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact, measured in MPH. The sweet spot is measured 6 inches from the tip of the bat. - Blast Motion

Hand Speed-  The speed of the handle of the bat just before impact, measured in MPH. The handle of the bat is measured 6 inches from the knob of the bat. -Blast Motion 

Rotational Acceleration- A measure of how quickly the hitter gets from the launch position to being on plane. This is measured in G-Force (g). - Blast Motion

On Plane Efficiency %- A measure of the percentage of your swing that was on the swing plane. - Blast Motion

 

TRACKMAN ANALYSIS

With the 2021 preseason events underway in Pennsylvania, we have already have seen plenty of talent come through the system. At the Pittsburgh Outlaws Scout Day we held earlier this week, Wesley Parker, the 6-foot-4, 225 pound first basemen stood out in a big way with the bat. Let's dive into the numbers. 

Exit Velocity- Parker showed a clear ability to make hard contact as evident by the peak exit velocity of 101.68 MPH. Velocity is king in today's game and triple-digit exit velocities is a good way to turn some heads. HIs average exit velocity was even more impressive coming in just under 98 MPH. That's real power, and his ability to do it consistently is promising. What else is promising is the jump in exit velocity we've seen from Parker since the 2020 PA State Games, where his max exit velo was 96.78 MPH, and his average was 90.62 MPH. Both of those numbers are solid, but to see Parker make those jumps is really impressive and shows the amount of work he has put in since the summer. 

Distance- The distance numbers here tell me the same thing as the exit velocity, Parker has some legit juice. His furthest hit ball traveled 368 ft so the ability to hit the ball a long way is there. His average distance of 216 ft reflects more to the approach Parker has at the plate, which is more line drive oriented. 

Batted Ball Percentages-  Having triple digit exit velocities is impressive for sure, but having a triple digit hard hit percentage is even more impressive. It doesn't get better than hitting the ball hard 100% of the time, and to me that consistency is what stands out the most. Like I stated earlier, he hits his fair share pf line drives, 50% of the time to be exact at the Pittsburgh Outlaws Scout Day and 80% of the time at the 2020 PA State Games. I love guys that hit the ball hard on a line and it generally leads to great deal of success, especially when you hit them as hard as Parker. He mixed in fly balls and ground balls 25% of the time as well at the Pittsburgh Outlaws Scout Day. Line drives will suit him well, but lifting the ball and hitting more fly balls wouldn't hurt him either. 

BLAST CONNECTION

Trackman does a great job showing the outcomes of players swings and their batted ball events. Its data is results based, the best numbers come when you get off your best swing and make your best contact. Blast Motion technology, also implemented at the same time this summer as the Trackman, tracks the swing data of a player and can shine a light into what a player does well in their swing. When paired with Trackman data, it can paint a more complete picture of a hitter and help explain why a player is able to hit the ball harder, farther, and more consistently than others. 

Parker put up big numbers across the board this week, and his Blast numbers were no different. The numbers that stood out most to me were his bat speed and hand speed. Looking at bat speed, the average high school player swings it between 57-71 MPH. Parker's average bat speed was 77.68 MPH and his max was 83.6 MPH, both just elite numbers. Looking at hand speed, it's more of the same. The average high schooler is between 20-26 MPH in this metric. Parker's average is right at the high end of this spectrum, clocking in at 25.28 MPH. He also showed the ability to crank it up to another level, reaching a max hand speed of 29.4 MPH. Along with that physical 6-foot-4, 225 pound frame, it should be no wonder where his power comes from. 

CONCLUSION

It's always great to get to see players multiple times to track their improvements and see the progress they make and Wesley Parker is another one of those guys whose work has clearly paid off. He has shown some big exit velocity jumps since the summer and he should be on everyone's radar in the 2021 season.