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Preseason All-State East: Trackman Traits Top Arms

March 11, 2021
Mason McRae
PBR Virginia/DC

The expanded usage of data, and the importance of it in regards to player development and player assessment is a legitimate, undeniable tool used by high school, college, and professional teams across the country. Today we break down some of the data from our recent Freshmen Free Central event in Richmond, VA. See which players stood out in regards to Trackman data. 

Glossary Terms Intro & Links:

Induced Vertical Break: IVB
Vertical Approach Angle: VAA 
Horizontal Break: HB
Release Speed: RS or Velo
Release Height: RH or RelHei



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Matthew Phillips

Class of 2022 / 1B

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2022
  • Primary Position: 1B
    Secondary Position: LHP
  • High School: Maury
    State: VA
  • Summer Team: DCP 2022 National
  • Height: 6-2
    Weight: 215lbs
  • Bat/Throw: L/L

 

Fastball: Threw it at 11:15, getting 17.2 inches of IVB to go with a low release height around 5.1. He also did this with below average raw spin, which means his spin efficiency is extremely high. He touched 85 mph, averaging out at 84.1 mph. Phillips’ flattest VAA came on a high fastball (3.5 plate location height) with a 4.0 degree. More important than any metric, he threw his fastball for a strike 75.0% of the time. To go with good control of the pitch, its metrics are good, and the velocity is good.

Slider: Classic sweeping breaker. Had massive HB of 15.5 inches, getting very little back/top spin (just 2.5 inches of IVB), and mostly side/gyro spin. He threw it between 3:15 and 2:15. His best slider came at 3:00 getting 17.3 inches of HB, and just 0.6 inches of IVB. Was thrown around 70 mph. Didn’t throw the pitch for a strike, but the movement is good and it’s a pitch to follow.


Curveball: Thrown a few mph slower than the slider, and more laterally getting negative VB and similar HB. It’s more of a slurve than a curve, with near equal side and top spin. It plays off the curveball quite well as it drops much more vertically at a lower speed. It has below average raw spin of 1,926 rpm, but he does a decent job optimizing it.


Changeup: Thrown at same tilt as his fastball, getting heavy lift and minimal HB (just -2.9 inches), this is called backwards movement as you ideally want heavy HB and minimal VB. But he threw the pitch for a strike every time he threw it. He showed feel for it, and that is more important than any metric. But being able to shift his axis laterally towards 9:00 could pay huge dividends.

 

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Benjamin Blair

Class of 2023 / RHP

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2023
  • Primary Position: RHP
    Secondary Position: SS
  • High School: Liberty Christian Academy
    State: VA
  • Summer Team: South Charlotte Panthers
  • Height: 6-3
    Weight: 178lbs
  • Bat/Throw: R/R

 

Fastball: Was mostly around 1:00 with a few 12:45’s and 1:15’s sprinkled in. Sat at 83.2 mph touching 84.0 mph with below average raw spin, and both side and back spin, though much more back spin. Had a long extension of 7 feet, which indirectly helped his release height be extremely low as well. Only threw it for a strike 45% of the time. He’d benefit greatly by trading some HB for VB which would come by shifting his axis vertically a touch towards 12:45 consistently.


Slider: Didn’t throw a slider for a strike, averaged 9.5 inches of IVB, and-4.6 inches of HB. Throws it at 10:30 and 11:15, which makes it sort of a hybrid between a cutter and slider. Thrown between 72.9 and 73.9 mph with very little gyro spin compared to most. 

Changeup: Had one of the best pitches all day. Threw his changeup at 74.1 mph, getting 17.5 inches of HB, and the third lowest IVB on the day, just 9.9 inches, which is optimal. His best changeup was thrown at 2:15 getting nearly 20 inches of HB and just 7.6 inches of IVB. He didn't’ throw the pitch for a strike, but so long as the pitches metrics are this good and he shows some feel for the pitch, it’ll be a massive swing-and-miss offering.



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Anthony Roszko

Class of 2022 / RHP

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2022
  • Primary Position: RHP
    Secondary Position: 1B
  • High School: Indian River
    State: VA
  • Height: 6-2
    Weight: 239lbs
  • Bat/Throw: R/R

Fastball: Threw the hardest fastball on the day at 89.2 mph. He also, on average, was at 85.8 mph. He averaged 2,357 rpm, but didn’t get much IVB because he cut his fastball six times, and we know this because they had a counter-clockwise tilt (at 11:45 and 11:30). On his most vertical axis (12:15), he had 17.2 inches of IVB. When he fixes his fastball tilt - which would also bump it’s spin efficiency - he’ll have plus velo for his age to go with a 7.4 extension, and 5.0 release height. He only threw a strike 8% of the time, but the metrics on this pitch are so good, and intriguing that with the right coach he could be great.

Curveball: Averaged out at 67.3 mph, getting heavy top and side spin. All four pitches he threw were at 7:15 and 7:30. Got equal parts movement wise with -15.5 inches of IVB, and -14.6 inches of HB. Roszko’s curveball had the most vertical drop on the day, and had the most raw spin on the day. Having 2,708 rpm on the pitch gives him a lot of movement to play with. As of now his curveball has potential. Because his fastball is more of a vertical pitch, he’d benefit from a traditional 12-6 breaking ball. To do that he’d wanna shift his axis a bit more lateral to 6:45. But first, he’ll want to throw the pitch for strikes, which he didn’t do in this session.