Welcome to the hitting side of Trackman Traits. In this series we spotlight standout players and take a deeper dive into their numbers to see what really stands out. Since the implementation of the Trackman and Blast technologies to our showcases, we have been fortunate to have seen a great deal of talent come through the system including approximately 270 players in this year’s Preseason All-State Showcase. Over the coming weeks we will be shining a spotlight on some of the standout performers. Today we will be taking a look at 2022 1B KJ Stanfield.

Before we get started, we’ll go over and define some of the terminology being used in this piece:

Exit Velocity – This metric measures the speed of the ball off the bat, measured in miles per hour (MPH).

Distance – 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 the bat and negative numbers mean the ball is traveling downward off the bat.

Fly Ball % - Percentage of fly balls hit during a given set of batted balls 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.

Ground Ball % - Percentage of ground balls hit during a given set of batted ball events. Trackman defines a ground ball as any batted ball with a launch angle below 9.9 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.

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

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

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

 

One of the best things about the Preseason event is that we inevitably get some players coming to our events for the first time. KJ Stanfield is a player that we’ve been aware of for a while at PBR Kentucky, but this was our first chance to collect some data on KJ and he did not disappoint. Listed at 6-3, 228LBS, KJ moves well for his size, playing both baseball and football at Danville HS. He runs a 7.65 60-yard dash and is solid enough defensively to hold down first base. Where KJ really stands out though is at the plate, so let’s talk about why.

When it comes to the results-based data collected with Trackman, Stanfield’s exit velocity jumps out right away. His max exit velocity of 97.6 mph and his average EV of 89.6 mph landed him 4^th and 9^th respectively in our Upperclass Preseason event. These numbers come as no surprise. It’s easy to tell when watching Stanfield hit, the ball jumps off of his bat. His max distance at the event was 331 ft, which is a sign that he can hit the ball out of the ballpark, but I think there is definitely more in the tank, a topic we will discuss more later. Another statistic that really stands out about Stanfield is his Hard Hit %, which captures the percentage of balls hit at or above 90 mph. Stanfield posted an elite 66.7%, showing his ability to consistently find the barrel and punish pitches.

Taking a look at the Blast Metrics there few things that stand out, his rotational acceleration, his bat speed, and the consistency in his metrics. Taking a look first at his rotational acceleration, Stanfield maxes out at 22.8 g, well above the average for a high school hitter. This means KJ excels at getting from the start of his swing to on-plane quickly, allowing him to wait longer before having to make a swing decision. This gives him more time to recognize breaking balls and hunt out the pitches he wants. Once Stanfield starts his swing, he falls well above average in terms of bat speed as well with a max of 72.5 mph, allowing him to quickly generate power when combined with his above average hand speed. Something interesting that I found while looking at Stanfield’s swing metrics is how small the gap is between his max and average outputs, less than 3 mph for bat and hand speed and less than 3 g for his rotational acceleration. He is getting off very consistent swings at the plate and given that each of those metrics falls above average to elite, he’s constantly getting off really good swings.

Now, I mentioned earlier that I believe there is more in the tank for Stanfield so let’s discuss why. Stanfield makes hard contact the majority of the time, but a large percentage of his batted balls (55.6%) are ground balls.  A good way to contextualize launch angle is the Sweet Spot % metric, which measures the percentage of batted balls with launch angles between 8 and 32 degrees. Stanfield ranks very low in this metric, finding the “sweet spot” only 33.3% of the time, and even when he does, his average LA of 13.76 degrees means he lives in the lower portion of that range. Stanfield plays at Danville HS, which if you’ve ever been you know has a reputation for its small dimensions. Per KHSAA, Danville’s hitters combined for 86 HR in 44 games and yet KJ only had one last year despite playing in 42 games. Given that Stanfield already has all the tools at the plate, if he can find a way to get the ball in the air more consistently, look for his power production to take a huge jump moving forward.

Stanfield established himself as a mainstay at first base on a loaded Danville roster last season. With the loss of both Christian Howe and Ethan Wood, he will be relied on more heavily for his offensive output in the middle of the order as Danville tries to make their way back to state. Given his huge power potential at the plate, Stanfield has a good chance to take a big step forward this high school season and at the next level as a power hitting first baseman, and will certainly be a player worth keeping an eye on this spring.