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Perfect Game WWBA World Championship TrackMan Data



The innovative company TrackMan had its military grade 3-D Doppler radar tracking systems set up at five of the thirteen fields at Perfect Game’s WWBA World Champion in Jupiter Fla. The system precisely measures the location, spin, angles, release height and distance, velocity and trajectory of a ball in flight, among other measurables. Trackman and Perfect Game have reached a partnership (more on that Friday) and the two were kind enough to share some of the information with Baseball America. In total, TrackMan gathered data on 426 pitchers and 769 hitters, but not every team played on one of the five fields with the TrackMan systems. Here are the leaders in a number of different categories, including hitter’s exit velocity off the bat, fastball velocity and breaking ball spin rate, throughout the premier, and best attended, event of the showcase circuit.

Video of some of the players is also attached in the post, but the video does not always display the batted ball or pitch that placed the player on the event leaderboard.

The table below contains the 25 hardest hit balls of the event, regardless of the end result. Shortstop Shane Benes (first and sixth) is the only player to have two batted balls that finished in the top 10, and outfielder Justin Smith was the only other player with two batted balls in the top 25.

HIGHEST EXIT SPEED
RankHitterHigh SchoolMPHPlay Result
1Shane Benes, ss/3b/rhpWestminster Christian Academy, Town and Country, Mo.108.1Foul
2Blake Wiggins, 3b/cPulaski Academy, Little Rock, Ark.106.3Foul
3Ty Buck, 3bRed Wing (Minn.) HS103.9Single
4Bobby Bradley, 3b/1bHarrison Central, Gulfport, Miss.103.0Home Run
5Brian Gonzalez, 1b/lhpArchbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.102.9Double
6Shane Benes, ss/3b/rhpWestminster Christian Academy, Town and Country, Mo.102.9Out
7Jacob Gatewood, ss/3bClovis (Calif.) HS102.4Out
8Justin Smith, ofBartram Trail HS, St. Johns, Fla.101.9Double
9Jacob Barfield, 3b/rhp/1bPearland (Texas) HS101.7Foul
10Gareth Morgan, ofNorth Toronto Collegiate, Toronto, On.101.7Single
11R.J. Bates, ofOak Hills HS, Victorville, Calif.101.3Single
12Justin Smith, ofBartram Trail HS, St. Johns, Fla.101.3Double
13Griffin Helms, cNorcross HS, Duluth, Ga.101.2Single
14Chandler Avant, 2b/ssPike Libertal Arts HS, Troy, Ala.101.1Single
15Cadyn Grenier, ss/rhpBishop Gorman, Henderson, Nev.101.1Single
16Taylor Lane, 2b/ssIMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.100.8Out
17Brendan RodgersLake Mary, Longwood, Fla.100.7Double
18Joseph Freiday Jr., c/1bBridgewater-Raynham HS, Bridgewater, Mass.100.6Out
19Jackson Lueck, c/ofOrangewood Christian Academy, Longwood, Fla.100.6Double
20Corey Herndon, 1b/rhp/3bChristian Brothers, Marion, Ark.100.5Home Run
21Dylan Busby, ss/of/3bSarasota (Fla.) High100.3Foul
22Daniel Reyes, ofMater Academy, Miami Springs, Fla.100.3Single
23Ethan Skender, of/mifMetamora (Ill.) HS100.3Single
24Colton Shaver, c/rhpJordan HS, Riverton, Utah100.1Home Run
25Desmond Lindsay, 1b/3bOut Of Door Academy, Bradenton, Fla100.0Out

Trackman also records batted ball distance and hang time.

FARTHEST HIT BALLS
RankBatterHigh SchoolDistanceSpeed off BatHang Time (sec)PlayResult
1Colton Shaver, c/rhpJordan HS, Riverton, Utah420100.15.4Home Run
2Cole Daily, ss/2bSacred Heart Griffin, Springfield, Ill.38593.34.7Home Run
3Jacob Gatewood, ss/3bClovis (Calif.) HS38194.95.3Triple
4Reese Cooley, ofFleming Island HS, Orange Park, Fla.38195.55.2Out
5Brandon Elmy, of/1b/rhpVenice (Fla.) HS37694.55.0Out
6Lorenzo Hampton, of/rhpMonsignor Pace, Opalocka, Fla.37495.34.8Out
7Blake Wiggins, 3b/cPulaski Academy, Little Rock, Ark.37391.15.0Double
8Noah Hughes, 3b/rhpJackson Prep, Ridgeland, Miss.373100.06.0Out
9Drew Lugbauer, cArlington HS, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.37396.15.3Home Run
10Nick Bottari, c/1bMontverde (Fla.) Academy

 

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Trackman measures a pitcher’s peak velocity and average velocity throughout their outing. The column on the far right side is the difference between the pitcher’s average and peak velocity. Righthanders Sean Reid-Foley and Grant Holmes finished with the smaller difference between the two measurements, which shows the ability to hold their velocities. The top four velocities all belonged to Florida pitchers, and seven of the top 20 come from the Sunshine State. Lefthander Kodi Medeiros was the only southpaw to make the list dominated by 19 righthanders. Two 2015 righthanders, Donnie Everett and Kyle Molnar, made the top 10.

FASTBALL VELOCITY
RankPitcherHigh SchoolTop MPHAvg MPHDifference
1Sean Reid-Foley, rhpSandalwood HS, Jacksonville94.793.31.4
2Cre Finfrock, rhpMartin County HS, Jensen Beach, Fla.94.592.42.1
3Keith Weisenberg, rhpOsceola HS, Seminole, Fla.94.591.43.1
4Touki Toussaint, rhpCoral Springs (Fla.) Christian HS94.292.41.8
5Donnie Everett, rhp/1bClarksville (Tenn.) HS94.290.33.9
6Grant Holmes, rhpConway (S.C.) HS94.292.51.7
7Zach Shannon, rhpAnderson HS, Cincinnati, Ohio94.192.61.4
8Kyle Molnar, rhpAliso Niguel HS, Aliso Viejo, Calif.93.687.26.4
9Gabriel Gonzalez, rhpArbor View HS, Las Vegas93.589.83.8
10Scott Blewett, rhpBaker High, Baldwinsville, N.Y.93.588.74.9
11Blake Bivens, rhpGeorge Washington HS, Sutherlin, Va.93.490.92.5
12Weston Davis, rhpManatee HS, Bradenton, Fla.93.391.12.2
13Gray Fenter, rhpWest Memphis (Ark.) HS93.290.13.1
14Brendan Spagnuolo, rhpChaminade HS, Massapequa, N.Y.93.290.82.3
15Brandon Murray, rhpHobart (Ind.) HS93.191.51.6
16Kodi Medeiros, lhpWaiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii93.090.72.2
17Anthony Molina, rhpAmerican Heritage, Pembroke Pines, Fla.92.990.22.7
18Jake Nelson, rhpHopkinton (N.H.) HS92.990.52.3
19Brad Deppermann, rhpEast Lake High, Palm Harbor, Fla.92.891.01.8
20Maddux Conger, rhpStephenville (Texas) HS

 

Breaking ball spin rate is critical because it correlates with movement and break, as well as deception. The more a breaking ball rotates, the harder it is for a hitter to see the seams of the baseball, which makes the pitch look more like a fastball. Data collected at the major league level shows that higher spin rates produce higher whiff rates. According to 2010 numbers, for example, a below-average spin rate produced a swinging strike rate of eight percent, an average spin rate was 10 percent and an above-average spin rate was 12 percent, while the best curveballs (2,700 RPMs or more) finished with 15 percent. The average 2010 major league curveball had a spin rate of 2,450 and Justin Verlander had the highest curveball spin rate at 3,004. Please note that RPMs are not the sole indicator of a breaking ball’s prowess, which is also dependent upon launch angle of the pitch and proper tilt, among other things.

CURVEBALL SPIN RATE
RankPitcherHigh SchoolMPHRPM
1Mike Soroka, rhpErnest Manning HS, Calgary, Alb.742,931
2Fernando Guerrero, rhpElizabeth (N.J.) HS762,850
3Touki Toussaint, rhpCoral Springs (Fla.) Christian HS752,788
4Alex Gironda, rhpSanta Monica (Calif.) HS722,749
5Parker Mushinski, lhpArgyle (Texas) HS742,744
6Andres Nunez, rhpArchbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.762,670
7Wesley Rodriguez, rhpGeorge Washington, Bronx, N.Y.742,646
8Grant Holmes, rhpConway (S.C.) HS822,582
9Pearson McMahan, rhpMiddleburg HS, Fernandina Beach, Fla.692,569
10Aaron Soto, lhpArchbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.672,567
11James McArthur, rhpNew Braunfels (Texas) HS712,565
12Jacob Craver, lhpWest Stokes, King, N.C.732,554
13Patrick Sandoval, lhpMission Viejo (Calif.) HS752,553
14Donnie Everett, rhp/1bClarksville (Tenn.) HS772,552
15Eric Luecht, rhpHuntley (Ill.) HS712,524

 

Slider spin rate follows the same principles as curveball spin rate, which is detailed above.

SLIDER SPIN RATE
RankPitcherHigh SchoolMPHRPM
1Kyle Molnar, rhpAliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Calif.792,890
2Garett King, rhpOrange County (Calif.) Lutheran752,591
3Bret Mathis, lhpBosqueville HS, Waco, Texas722,514
4Josh Roberson, rhpNorth Davidson HS, Clemmons, N.C.782,508
5Rylan Thomas, rhp/3bWest Orange HS, Winter Garden, Fla.792,507
6Tyler Carr, rhpLake Placid (Fla.) HS762,496
7Bryan Pall, rhpCarl Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.842,471
8Alex Destino, lhpNorth Buncombe High, Weaverville, N.C802,471
9Kodi Medeiros, lhpWaiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii782,465
10Matthew Tepedino, rhpMainland Regional HS, Linwood, N.J.752,449

The top 10 fastball spin rates are below. The more a ball spins the less it sinks. High-spin fastballs sink less and tend to generate more swinging strikes. Hitters sometimes describe a fastball that “hops” or “jumps” or “rises.” These are likely high-spin fastballs that sink less than the average fastball. Conversely, low spin fastballs tend to sink more and generate more ground balls.

FASTBALL SPIN RATE
RankPitcherHigh SchoolMPHRPM
1Fernando Guerrero, rhpFernando Guerrero, rhp892545
2Michael Bono, rhp/3b/ofBuchanan HS, Clovis, Calif.872537
3Alec Bridges, lhpConcordia Lutheran HS, Tomball, Texas852482
4Rylan Thomas, rhp/3bWest Orange HS, Winter Garden, Fla.862436
5Ryan Day, rhp/ssLos Osas HS, Phelan, Calif.882432
6Grant Holmes, rhpConway (S.C.) HS922432
7Call Graham, rhpSouth Sumter, Chiefland, Fla.872423
8Stetson Woods, rhpLiberty HS, Madera, Calif.882411
9Ryder Ryan, rhp/3bNorth Mecklenburg, Huntersville, N.C.882404
10Kodi Medeiros, lhpWaiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii912398

 

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