The Thread on Lake Point Velocities...

Bingo!! 

I think Perfect Game uses GameChanger for scoring at all of their WWBA and BCS tournaments, and it produces those stats and many others.

Great to know, thanks!

Hope those are attracting as much scrutiny from participating pitchers as velocities

Prepster,

All of those things and much more are compiled.  First pitch strikes, strike percentages, type of pitch percentages, batting average against pitch types and counts, spin rates on all pitch types, location of each pitch, stride length, etc. are all filed.

Probably the thing that has gone over the best with the scouting community is the spin rates on every type of pitch.

The biggest problem with evaluating command/control is it can be misleading in short spurts.  We have seen pitchers grade out high on command for one outing and be crazy wild the next.  We have even seen pitchers walk several yet they grade out well because they just happen to be missing their spot by an inch or two.  An event we just did with lots of the top prospects in the country performing, we had an umpire that simply would not punch out a hitter.  So sometimes the actual stats are off base.

Same for first pitch strikes... There are first pitch strikes that get hammered and there are quality first pitch strikes. Sometimes that first quality pitch is called a ball. (fastball on the corner)

Anyway, I know I'm not telling you anything above that you don't already know.  We do tend to glorify velocity.  Reason is I have never had a discussion with anyone about a pitcher without velocity being mentioned.  Yet, everyone knows velocity alone is not enough. An excellent mid 80s will win more than a bad 90+.

For those that might be new around here... Prepster's son is a DI college coach/recruiter and was one of the best pitchers ever in college baseball for U of North Carolina. That qualifies as someone worth listening to.

Curious....does Trackman track run on the ball and not just drop or break? I know it does a lot with release point, velo, spin etc and wondered if that is a metric it measures as well?

PGStaff,

First of all, thanks so very much! That means so much coming from you. However, if the truth be known, whatever level of success my son's achieved might have come in spite of whatever unintended obstacles I might have tossed into his path along the way!

You put your finger on a couple of the practical limitations that came to mind when I threw the topic out there; namely, the small sample size of pitches thrown by showcase pitchers and the variations in umpires' strike zones. In fact, the latter is one of the reasons it might make sense at some point to investigate the technology that allows many of the televised games these days to provide after-the-fact strike/ball information based upon the precise zone.

A credible, effective fastball is a virtual must to be successful at high levels; so, I am not at all a member of the club that wishes that radar guns had never been invented. I just wish I heard and saw a bit more emphasis upon young pitchers learning to hit their spots consistently well at the middle and high school level.

One thing's for certain. If they make it to college as a pitcher, it's their overall command of all their pitches that will determine more than anything their ability to get college batters out; and that will correlate directly with the number of innings they're trusted to take the mound.

I thought velocity was the only thing that mattered in showcases?  You can't teach velocity.