Birmingham Rising Stars ID: TrackMan Files
June 29, 2024
GARDENDALE, AL - The Birmingham Rising Stars ID was held on Wednesday, June 26th at Gardendale High School in Gardendale, AL. This event was an open event hosting some talented prospects from the 2028-2029 classes in Alabama. These players went through extended pro-style workout that included batting practice using Trackman and Blast Motion, ran the 60-yard dash using Swift Performance, and much more. Pitchers were able to throw during a simulated bullpen and were able to get numbers and metrics off of our Trackman unit, such as pitch velocity, spin rate, horizontal & vertical movement & much more. There were some players who showed up and continued to build off of prior performances, but there were also some new names who jumped onto our radar with a strong showing this week.
Continuing our post-event coverage for this event, we look at the data and metrics gathered from our Trackman unit at the event. Please continue to check back over the next week, as we will release quick hits articles, other various event leaderboards, individual scouting reports, and much more on each player present at the event.
View entire event stats HERE.
MAX FASTBALL & AVERAGE SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Colson Griffin | AL | Helena | 2029 | OF | 75.7 mph |
| 2 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 74.4 mph |
| 3 | Cooper Cline | AL | Pell City | 2029 | LHP | 71.7 mph |
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Cooper Cline | AL | Pell City | 2029 | LHP | 2043 rpm |
| 2 | Colson Griffin | AL | Helena | 2029 | OF | 1965 rpm |
| 3 | Reese Ragusa | AL | Spain Park | 2029 | OF | 1638 rpm |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
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.
AVERAGE INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
| 1 | Cooper Cline | AL | Pell City | 2029 | LHP | 17.1 in |
| 2 | Colson Griffin | AL | Helena | 2029 | OF | 13.5 in |
| 3 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 12.3 in |
Induced Vertical Break: As far as deception and importance goes, fast induced vertical break (IVB) may be the most important. Induced vertical break is not what is sounds. IVB simply means the pitch is "breaking" upward from the average level a pitch falls from release to home plate. This is a stat that you want to stay away from being average at. Fortunately, this can be tweaked slightly depending on release height. To put it simply, the higher number = more "rise" the pitch has compared to average.
AVERAGE FASTBALL HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Luke Slaton | AL | Geraldine School | 2029 | LHP | -9.5 |
| 2 | Cooper Cline | AL | Pell City | 2029 | LHP | -8.7 |
| 3 | Zach Richardson | GA | Oxford | 2029 | 3B | 7.7 |
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.”
AVERAGE CURVEBALL SPIN RATE
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Colson Griffin | AL | Helena | 2029 | OF | 2048 rpm |
| 2 | Luke Slaton | AL | Geraldine School | 2029 | LHP | 1965 rpm |
| 3 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 1762 rpm |
Spin Rate: The metric calculates how fast the ball is spinning as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, reported in the number of times the pitched ball would spin per minute (“revolutions per minute” or “rpm”).
AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
| 1 | Cooper Cline | AL | Pell City | 2029 | LHP | -8.6 |
| 2 | Colson Griffin | AL | Helena | 2029 | OF | 8.6 |
| 3 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | -3.1 |
Horizontal Break: This metric measures the distance, 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.
PEAK EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 88.4 mph |
| 2 | Miller McClure | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | C | 85.5 mph |
| 3 | Sam Berry | AL | Southside High School | 2028 | 1B | 85.4 mph |
| 4 | Devier Ramos | AL | James Clemens High School | 2025 | C | 84.5 mph |
| 5 | Hudson Mitchell | AL | Hewitt Trussville | 2028 | RHP | 83.2 mph |
Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.
TOP AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (avg) |
| 1 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 81.1 mph |
| 2 | Sam Berry | AL | Southside High School | 2028 | 1B | 77.8 mph |
| 3 | Miller McClure | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | C | 77.8 mph |
PEAK ESTIMATED BATTED DISTANCE (HITTING)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Distance (max) |
| 1 | Devier Ramos | AL | James Clemens High School | 2025 | C | 316 ft |
| 2 | Miller McClure | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | C | 311 ft |
| 3 | Sawyer Downey | AL | Vestavia Hills High School | 2028 | OF | 310 ft |
| 4 | Hudson Mitchell | AL | Hewitt Trussville | 2028 | RHP | 298 ft |
| 5 | Bennett Schorfhaar | AL | Leeds | 2029 | OF | 286 ft |
Distance: This metric measures the estimated “carry flat” distance, measured in feet, meaning the distance that the ball travels before it lands, or would have landed if it were not caught or obstructed.
Upcoming Events
| SHOWCASE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Huntsville Rising Stars ID | July 2nd, 2024 | James Clemens High School (Madison, AL) |
| Huntsville Summer ID | July 2nd, 2024 | James Clemens High School (Madison, AL) |
| Tuscaloosa Rising Stars ID | July 9th, 2024 | Northridge High School (Tuscaloosa, AL) |
| Tuscaloosa Summer ID | July 9th, 2024 | Northridge High School (Tuscaloosa, AL) |
| Montgomery Rising Stars ID | July 16th, 2024 | Stanhope Elmore High School (Millbrook, AL) |
| Montgomery Summer ID | July 16th, 2024 | Stanhope Elmore High School (Millbrook, AL) |
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