Prep Baseball Report

TPG Performance Ends In Commitment To Fairfield For Fischer


Bruce Hefflinger
PBR New England Senior Writer

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TPG Performance Ends In Commitment To Fairfield For Fischer

To view the commitment tracker, click here.
To view the uncommitted spotlights, click here.


Josh Fischer

Class of 2021 / LHP

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2021
  • Primary Position: LHP
    Secondary Position: OF
  • High School: Hopkinton
    State: MA
  • Summer Team: Metrowest Devils - Summer 2020
  • Height: 5-9
    Weight: 180lbs
  • Bat/Throw: L/L

Statistics

Pitching
85
Max FB
(07/01/20)
82 - 85
FB
(07/01/20)
73 - 76
CB
(07/16/19)
74 - 75
CH
(07/31/19)
74 - 75
SL
(07/01/20)
Pitching
Max FB
85
FB
82 - 85
CB
69 - 70
CH
72 - 73
SL
74 - 75
Pitching
Max FB
83
FB
79 - 83
SL
72 - 74
Pitching
Max FB
84
FB
80 - 83
CB
72 - 74
CH
74 - 75
Trackman - Fastball
84.7
Velocity (max)
(07/01/20)
81.2 - 83.7
Velo Range
(07/01/20)
83.3
Eff Velocity (avg)
(07/01/20)
2196
Spin Rate (max)
(07/01/20)
1990
Spin Rate (avg)
(07/01/20)
IVB (max)
(07/01/20)
IVB (avg)
(07/01/20)
HM (max)
(07/01/20)
HM (avg)
(07/01/20)
Extension (avg)
(07/01/20)
Release Ht (avg)
(07/01/20)
Spin Score (max)
(07/01/20)
Zone %
(07/01/20)
Trackman - Fastball
Velocity (max)
84.7
Velo Range
81.2 - 83.7
Eff Velocity (avg)
83.3
Spin Rate (max)
2196
Spin Rate (avg)
1990
IVB (max)
IVB (avg)
HM (max)
HM (avg)
Extension (avg)
Release Ht (avg)
Spin Score (max)
Zone %
Trackman - Curveball
70.6
Velocity (max)
(07/01/20)
67.8 - 70.1
Velo Range
(07/01/20)
68.4
Eff Velocity (avg)
(07/01/20)
2269
Spin Rate (max)
(07/01/20)
2042
Spin Rate (avg)
(07/01/20)
IVB (max)
(07/01/20)
IVB (avg)
(07/01/20)
HM (max)
(07/01/20)
HM (avg)
(07/01/20)
Extension (avg)
(07/01/20)
Release Ht (avg)
(07/01/20)
Spin Score (max)
(07/01/20)
Zone %
(07/01/20)
Trackman - Curveball
Velocity (max)
70.6
Velo Range
67.8 - 70.1
Eff Velocity (avg)
68.4
Spin Rate (max)
2269
Spin Rate (avg)
2042
IVB (max)
IVB (avg)
HM (max)
HM (avg)
Extension (avg)
Release Ht (avg)
Spin Score (max)
Zone %
Trackman - Slider
75.6
Velocity (max)
(07/01/20)
73.4 - 75.3
Velo Range
(07/01/20)
74.6
Eff Velocity (avg)
(07/01/20)
2558
Spin Rate (max)
(07/01/20)
2227
Spin Rate (avg)
(07/01/20)
IVB (max)
(07/01/20)
IVB (avg)
(07/01/20)
HM (max)
(07/01/20)
HM (avg)
(07/01/20)
Extension (avg)
(07/01/20)
Release Ht (avg)
(07/01/20)
Spin Score (max)
(07/01/20)
Zone %
(07/01/20)
Trackman - Slider
Velocity (max)
75.6
Velo Range
73.4 - 75.3
Eff Velocity (avg)
74.6
Spin Rate (max)
2558
Spin Rate (avg)
2227
IVB (max)
IVB (avg)
HM (max)
HM (avg)
Extension (avg)
Release Ht (avg)
Spin Score (max)
Zone %
Trackman - ChangeUp
74.4
Velocity (max)
(07/01/20)
71.2 - 73.7
Velo Range
(07/01/20)
73.5
Eff Velocity (avg)
(07/01/20)
1548
Spin Rate (max)
(07/01/20)
1483
Spin Rate (avg)
(07/01/20)
IVB (max)
(07/01/20)
IVB (avg)
(07/01/20)
HM (max)
(07/01/20)
HM (avg)
(07/01/20)
Extension (avg)
(07/01/20)
Release Ht (avg)
(07/01/20)
Spin Score (max)
(07/01/20)
Zone %
(07/01/20)
Trackman - ChangeUp
Velocity (max)
74.4
Velo Range
71.2 - 73.7
Eff Velocity (avg)
73.5
Spin Rate (max)
1548
Spin Rate (avg)
1483
IVB (max)
IVB (avg)
HM (max)
HM (avg)
Extension (avg)
Release Ht (avg)
Spin Score (max)
Zone %

TPG Performance Ends In Commitment To Fairfield For Fischer

HOPKINTON, Ma. - The initial interest from Fairfield came at a camp in January.

“I threw very well there,” Josh Fischer reflected. “They said they’d stay in touch but they needed to see me throw live before deciding if they’d offer or not. But this is a different year.”

No high school season delayed the process before the Hopkinton incoming senior was back on the mound at the PBR New England Top Prospect Games in early July.

“I got a lot of strikeouts,” the second-ranked uncommitted 2021 left-handed pitcher in New England related. “After I was done I had a good feeling. They gave me a zoom call and gave me an offer. I said yes within a few hours. I talked to my pitching coach and my head coach and they’d been saying it was the perfect fit for me.”

Fischer understood the implications of pitching at the Top Prospect Games.

“My goal was to get people out,” the 52nd-rated New England senior-to-be said. “I knew if I did my job I’d be fine. The less thinking as a pitcher the better you’ll do. I saw the Top Prospect Games as just any other game. But afterward I thought about what was at stake. That was crazy.”

After all, Fischer had liked what he saw at Fairfield back in January.

“My dad and I arrived an hour early and drove around campus,” Fisher related about the camp six months ago. “It was absolutely beautiful. We looked at the baseball field and I thought to myself, this is where I want to play. Everything about Fairfield felt right for me.

“Before going there I was thinking it was just another camp. But as soon as I got there it felt right. Then I met all the coaches and loved them.”

The desire to play baseball in college began at the end of eighth-grade school year for Fischer.

“I saw that baseball was the sport for me and I quit football and basketball,” Fischer noted. “I decided to do cross country which was good for baseball.”

The realization that playing at the next level could happen came soon after for Fischer.

“Sophomore year I got a starting role,” the eighth-ranked New England 2021 LHP pointed out. “That summer I took everything serious because junior year is when I had to shine.”

However, interest began before summer ended after Fischer pitched as a member of Team Select at the Future Games.

“After my first PBR is when colleges started taking an interest in me,” Fischer noted. “It was a very cool experience meeting kids from all over the country. There were players from Louisiana, Texas, Oregon and Illinois all on my team and I faced Team Arizona. After that interest began.

“Being a lefty is a big part of it,” Fischer said of what colleges like Fairfield relish in him. “They love my two-seam which runs away from right-handed batters. My slider had a 2550 rate at the Top Prospect Games and they loved that about me. Fairfield also said my change had really improved.”

There is more that stood out about the 5-9 180-pounder.

“They love my work ethic and dedication to the sport,” Fischer said.

Improvement has been the result of those traits.

“Last spring the change was my worst pitch, but over the summer I changed my grip and it’s very good now. I can throw it in any count.

“Another thing I’ve been working on is my overall control. I’ve gotten a lot better throwing inside against right-handed batters. But I still need to improve my overall velocity. For a lefty and my size 85 is impressive, but I want to push and reach 90 before I get to Fairfield. My goal is 87-88 this summer. If I hit that milestone, then I want to hit 90.”

Being part of the high-school program at Hopkinton has proven to be beneficial according to Fischer.

“Coach (Steve) Simoes has helped me so much,” Fischer said. “People talk about five tools of baseball but we bring a sixth tool. Camaraderie makes everyone better. Humility, how we present ourselves and our work ethic.

“A lot of kids in D-I baseball are good, but how you present yourself and with mental willpower you can be better than everyone you’re facing.”

Bowdoin College was the second choice for Fischer with another Division III school in the northeast, Amherst College, number three.

“I really liked the coaches there,” Fischer said about his other schools of interest.

But Fairfield, a member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference located two hours from his Hopkinton home, proved to be the perfect fit in the end for Fischer, who carries a 4.1 weighted GPA and is looking at a major in computer science.

“I was talking to like 20 coaches but none gave me an offer “ Fischer related. “Then Fairfield offered. Now I have to work even harder to make the Fairfield coaches know they made the right decision to offer me. But I can’t wait to get the next four years started.”