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
Rank	Hitter	High School	MPH	Play Result
1	Shane Benes, ss/3b/rhp	Westminster Christian Academy, Town and Country, Mo.	108.1	Foul
2	Blake Wiggins, 3b/c	Pulaski Academy, Little Rock, Ark.	106.3	Foul
3	Ty Buck, 3b	Red Wing (Minn.) HS	103.9	Single
4	Bobby Bradley, 3b/1b	Harrison Central, Gulfport, Miss.	103.0	Home Run
5	Brian Gonzalez, 1b/lhp	Archbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.	102.9	Double
6	Shane Benes, ss/3b/rhp	Westminster Christian Academy, Town and Country, Mo.	102.9	Out
7	Jacob Gatewood, ss/3b	Clovis (Calif.) HS	102.4	Out
8	Justin Smith, of	Bartram Trail HS, St. Johns, Fla.	101.9	Double
9	Jacob Barfield, 3b/rhp/1b	Pearland (Texas) HS	101.7	Foul
10	Gareth Morgan, of	North Toronto Collegiate, Toronto, On.	101.7	Single
11	R.J. Bates, of	Oak Hills HS, Victorville, Calif.	101.3	Single
12	Justin Smith, of	Bartram Trail HS, St. Johns, Fla.	101.3	Double
13	Griffin Helms, c	Norcross HS, Duluth, Ga.	101.2	Single
14	Chandler Avant, 2b/ss	Pike Libertal Arts HS, Troy, Ala.	101.1	Single
15	Cadyn Grenier, ss/rhp	Bishop Gorman, Henderson, Nev.	101.1	Single
16	Taylor Lane, 2b/ss	IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.	100.8	Out
17	Brendan Rodgers	Lake Mary, Longwood, Fla.	100.7	Double
18	Joseph Freiday Jr., c/1b	Bridgewater-Raynham HS, Bridgewater, Mass.	100.6	Out
19	Jackson Lueck, c/of	Orangewood Christian Academy, Longwood, Fla.	100.6	Double
20	Corey Herndon, 1b/rhp/3b	Christian Brothers, Marion, Ark.	100.5	Home Run
21	Dylan Busby, ss/of/3b	Sarasota (Fla.) High	100.3	Foul
22	Daniel Reyes, of	Mater Academy, Miami Springs, Fla.	100.3	Single
23	Ethan Skender, of/mif	Metamora (Ill.) HS	100.3	Single
24	Colton Shaver, c/rhp	Jordan HS, Riverton, Utah	100.1	Home Run
25	Desmond Lindsay, 1b/3b	Out Of Door Academy, Bradenton, Fla	100.0	Out

Trackman also records batted ball distance and hang time.

FARTHEST HIT BALLS
Rank	Batter	High School	Distance	Speed off Bat	Hang Time (sec)	PlayResult
1	Colton Shaver, c/rhp	Jordan HS, Riverton, Utah	420	100.1	5.4	Home Run
2	Cole Daily, ss/2b	Sacred Heart Griffin, Springfield, Ill.	385	93.3	4.7	Home Run
3	Jacob Gatewood, ss/3b	Clovis (Calif.) HS	381	94.9	5.3	Triple
4	Reese Cooley, of	Fleming Island HS, Orange Park, Fla.	381	95.5	5.2	Out
5	Brandon Elmy, of/1b/rhp	Venice (Fla.) HS	376	94.5	5.0	Out
6	Lorenzo Hampton, of/rhp	Monsignor Pace, Opalocka, Fla.	374	95.3	4.8	Out
7	Blake Wiggins, 3b/c	Pulaski Academy, Little Rock, Ark.	373	91.1	5.0	Double
8	Noah Hughes, 3b/rhp	Jackson Prep, Ridgeland, Miss.	373	100.0	6.0	Out
9	Drew Lugbauer, c	Arlington HS, Pleasant Valley, N.Y.	373	96.1	5.3	Home Run
10	Nick Bottari, c/1b	Montverde (Fla.) Academy

 

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
Rank	Pitcher	High School	Top MPH	Avg MPH	Difference
1	Sean Reid-Foley, rhp	Sandalwood HS, Jacksonville	94.7	93.3	1.4
2	Cre Finfrock, rhp	Martin County HS, Jensen Beach, Fla.	94.5	92.4	2.1
3	Keith Weisenberg, rhp	Osceola HS, Seminole, Fla.	94.5	91.4	3.1
4	Touki Toussaint, rhp	Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian HS	94.2	92.4	1.8
5	Donnie Everett, rhp/1b	Clarksville (Tenn.) HS	94.2	90.3	3.9
6	Grant Holmes, rhp	Conway (S.C.) HS	94.2	92.5	1.7
7	Zach Shannon, rhp	Anderson HS, Cincinnati, Ohio	94.1	92.6	1.4
8	Kyle Molnar, rhp	Aliso Niguel HS, Aliso Viejo, Calif.	93.6	87.2	6.4
9	Gabriel Gonzalez, rhp	Arbor View HS, Las Vegas	93.5	89.8	3.8
10	Scott Blewett, rhp	Baker High, Baldwinsville, N.Y.	93.5	88.7	4.9
11	Blake Bivens, rhp	George Washington HS, Sutherlin, Va.	93.4	90.9	2.5
12	Weston Davis, rhp	Manatee HS, Bradenton, Fla.	93.3	91.1	2.2
13	Gray Fenter, rhp	West Memphis (Ark.) HS	93.2	90.1	3.1
14	Brendan Spagnuolo, rhp	Chaminade HS, Massapequa, N.Y.	93.2	90.8	2.3
15	Brandon Murray, rhp	Hobart (Ind.) HS	93.1	91.5	1.6
16	Kodi Medeiros, lhp	Waiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii	93.0	90.7	2.2
17	Anthony Molina, rhp	American Heritage, Pembroke Pines, Fla.	92.9	90.2	2.7
18	Jake Nelson, rhp	Hopkinton (N.H.) HS	92.9	90.5	2.3
19	Brad Deppermann, rhp	East Lake High, Palm Harbor, Fla.	92.8	91.0	1.8
20	Maddux Conger, rhp	Stephenville (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
Rank	Pitcher	High School	MPH	RPM
1	Mike Soroka, rhp	Ernest Manning HS, Calgary, Alb.	74	2,931
2	Fernando Guerrero, rhp	Elizabeth (N.J.) HS	76	2,850
3	Touki Toussaint, rhp	Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian HS	75	2,788
4	Alex Gironda, rhp	Santa Monica (Calif.) HS	72	2,749
5	Parker Mushinski, lhp	Argyle (Texas) HS	74	2,744
6	Andres Nunez, rhp	Archbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.	76	2,670
7	Wesley Rodriguez, rhp	George Washington, Bronx, N.Y.	74	2,646
8	Grant Holmes, rhp	Conway (S.C.) HS	82	2,582
9	Pearson McMahan, rhp	Middleburg HS, Fernandina Beach, Fla.	69	2,569
10	Aaron Soto, lhp	Archbishop McCarthy, Miramar, Fla.	67	2,567
11	James McArthur, rhp	New Braunfels (Texas) HS	71	2,565
12	Jacob Craver, lhp	West Stokes, King, N.C.	73	2,554
13	Patrick Sandoval, lhp	Mission Viejo (Calif.) HS	75	2,553
14	Donnie Everett, rhp/1b	Clarksville (Tenn.) HS	77	2,552
15	Eric Luecht, rhp	Huntley (Ill.) HS	71	2,524

 

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

SLIDER SPIN RATE
Rank	Pitcher	High School	MPH	RPM
1	Kyle Molnar, rhp	Aliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Calif.	79	2,890
2	Garett King, rhp	Orange County (Calif.) Lutheran	75	2,591
3	Bret Mathis, lhp	Bosqueville HS, Waco, Texas	72	2,514
4	Josh Roberson, rhp	North Davidson HS, Clemmons, N.C.	78	2,508
5	Rylan Thomas, rhp/3b	West Orange HS, Winter Garden, Fla.	79	2,507
6	Tyler Carr, rhp	Lake Placid (Fla.) HS	76	2,496
7	Bryan Pall, rhp	Carl Sandburg HS, Orland Park, Ill.	84	2,471
8	Alex Destino, lhp	North Buncombe High, Weaverville, N.C	80	2,471
9	Kodi Medeiros, lhp	Waiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii	78	2,465
10	Matthew Tepedino, rhp	Mainland Regional HS, Linwood, N.J.	75	2,449

 

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
Rank	Pitcher	High School	MPH	RPM
1	Fernando Guerrero, rhp	Fernando Guerrero, rhp	89	2545
2	Michael Bono, rhp/3b/of	Buchanan HS, Clovis, Calif.	87	2537
3	Alec Bridges, lhp	Concordia Lutheran HS, Tomball, Texas	85	2482
4	Rylan Thomas, rhp/3b	West Orange HS, Winter Garden, Fla.	86	2436
5	Ryan Day, rhp/ss	Los Osas HS, Phelan, Calif.	88	2432
6	Grant Holmes, rhp	Conway (S.C.) HS	92	2432
7	Call Graham, rhp	South Sumter, Chiefland, Fla.	87	2423
8	Stetson Woods, rhp	Liberty HS, Madera, Calif.	88	2411
9	Ryder Ryan, rhp/3b	North Mecklenburg, Huntersville, N.C.	88	2404
10	Kodi Medeiros, lhp	Waiakea HS, Hilo, Hawaii	91	2398