This past Saturday, the Prep Baseball Arizona staff hosted it's second Rising Stars ID of the season with the Arizona Rising Stars ID (Session II) at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. This event featured prospects from the 2028 and 2029 classes and served as an identifier for Arizona's Jr. Future Games team. The event featured over 30 prospects and allowed our staff to collect updates data and metrics via our series of tech partners.

Earlier this week, we broke down the top measurable data performers from the event with our Statistical Analysis article. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:

For complete event results, click here.
To view upcoming event schedule, click here.

FASTBALL

MAX VELOCITY (MPH)

Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.

SPIN RATE (AVG)

Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiency. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of the vertical approach angle.

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

CURVEBALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE %

SLIDER

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Mesa Summer ID	AZ	05/29	Desert Ridge High School - Mesa, AZ
2024 ProCase - West	AZ	06/02	Pepperdine University
Top Prospect Games: Upperclass (Invite-Only)	AZ	06/03	Grand Canyon University - Phoenix, AZ
Top Prospect Games: Underclass (Invite-Only)	AZ	06/10	American Family Fields of Phoenix
West Side Summer ID	AZ	06/18	Canyon View High School - Waddell, AZ
Glendale Summer ID	AZ	07/16	Apollo High School - Glendale, AZ
Future Games (Class of 2026/27)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports
Junior Future Games (Class of 2028/29)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports
Senior Future Games (Class of 2025)	NATIONAL	07/24	LakePoint Sports

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