Welcome to Hitters Hit Deep Dive. I've been with the PBR Nebraska team since its inception in 2016 and accepted an expanded role in 2020. With a full year under my belt, I've gotten to take a deeper look at the hitters throughout the state. 

In this series we will spotlight players who stand out and take a deeper dive into their numbers. Since the implementation of the Trackman & Blast technology to our showcases in the summer of 2020 we have been fortunate enough to have seen a great deal of talent come through the system. Today, we will take a look at the #5 prospect in the 2022 class, Creighton recruit Maddux Fleck. 

Before we get started, we'll go over and define some of the terminology being used in the piece. 

Exit Speed- this one is pretty simple, but this metric measures the speed of the ball off the bat, measured in miles per hour (mph) during batting practice.

Distance- another simple one, this metric measures how far the ball traveled or would travel if it were not obstructed, measured in feet.

Launch Angle- measures the vertical angle of the ball as it leaves the bat. Positive numbers represent balls traveling upward off of the bat and negative numbers mean the ball is traveling downward off of the bat. 

Fly Ball %-  Percentage of fly balls hit during a given set of batted ball events. Trackman defines a fly ball as any batted ball with a launch angle between 25 degrees and 49.9 degrees. 

Line Drive%-  Percentage of line drives hit during a given set of batted ball events. Trackman defines a line drive as any batted ball with a launch angle between 10 degrees and 24.9 degrees.

Hard Hit%-  Percentage of batted balls with an exit velocity of 90 MPH or higher. 

Bat Speed- The speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact, measured in MPH. The sweet spot is measured 6 inches from the tip of the bat. - Blast Motion

Hand Speed-  The speed of the handle of the bat just before impact, measured in MPH. The handle of the bat is measured 6 inches from the knob of the bat. -Blast Motion 

Rotational Acceleration- A measure of how quickly the hitter gets from the launch position to being on plane. This is measured in G-Force (g). - Blast Motion

On Plane Efficiency %- A measure of the percentage of your swing that was on the swing plane. - Blast Motion

 

TRACKMAN DATA ANALYSIS

Fleck  committed to Creighton shortly after the 2020 Midwest Futures Games.  At the event he held his own against some of the top talent in the Midwest in the 2022 & 2023 class. What the metrics show is exactly what he is as a player- spray/line drive hitter, enough juice to hit over the linebackers but keep it in front of the safeties. Let’s take a deeper dive into the numbers from August 2020.

 

 

Exit Speed-  Checking it at just under 92 MPH, Fleck may not have the highest exit velo of the players we’ve reviewed but it’s a strong number for a middle infielder in the 2022 class. We can expect to see that number continue to increase as Fleck continues to put in work and get stronger from both sides of the plate.

Batted Ball Percentages-  Fleck looks to drive the ball on a line or in the air. When looking at his line drive percentage of almost 50% you can get a sense of why he’s a tough out. Even without the eye-popping exit velocity, he is going to get a lot of hits just by squaring the ball up and hitting line drives half the time.

We looked at the MLB Statcast breakdown last week and showed how launch angle and exit velo correlated to expected batting average. Below is a screenshot of what a major league hitter would expect to see with Fleck’s average exit velocity and launch angle. A line drive is considered 10-25% launch angle, so we used 18% as an average. This is what Fleck can expect on about half of the balls he puts in play, that’s not a bad starting point.

 

 

 

BLAST CONNECTION

Trackman does a great job showing the outcomes of players swings and their batted ball events. Its data is results based, the best numbers come when you get off your best swing and make your best contact. Blast Motion technology, also implemented at the same time this summer as the Trackman, tracks the swing data of a player and can shine a light into what a player does well in their swing. When paired with Trackman data, it can paint a more complete picture of a hitter and help explain why a player is able to hit the ball harder, farther, and more consistently than others. 

 

 

First thing we noticed when looking at Flecks Blast metrics is that they are very average across the board. His bat speed peaked at 72.80 MPH while averaging 68.22 MPH showing consistency in the swing and it translated to his results with a max exit velo of 91.87 mph. The last measurable we are going to look at is the On Plane Efficiency. This tells us the percentage of the swing that stays on-plane with the incoming pitch and according to the Blast data if you average 70% or higher you are equipped to have a higher percentage of making contact. With a 60% On Plane percentage Fleck is average.  At only 5'10, 170 pounds Fleck should only see these numbers increase and he matures physically. 

 

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