Prep Baseball Report

Hitters Hit Deep Dive- Max Petersen


Brandon Winkelmann
Assistant Director of Scouting

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 #7 prospect in the 2021 class, Nebraska recruit Max Petersen. 

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.

Distanceanother 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



Max Petersen

Class of 2021 / SS

Player Information

  • Graduating Class: 2021
  • Primary Position: SS
    Secondary Position: 2B
  • High School: Lincoln Southwest
    State: NE
  • Summer Team: NE Prospects
  • Height: 6-1
    Weight: 178lbs
  • Bat/Throw: L/R


 

TRACKMAN DATA ANALYSIS

Petersen first caught our attention his freshman year of high school when we heard from multiple JV coaches about an impressive gangly middle infielder at Lincoln Southwest. He was a part of a loaded 2019 PBR Futures Games team and made his commitment to Nebraska in September of his junior year. 

We saw Petersen only a single time in game action in 2020 but caught up with him at the PBR ProCase in September.


Exit Speed-  Checking it at just over 97 MPH, Petersen showed an impressive max exit velocity during his BP round. This was about middle of the pack at the Pro Day, but his average exit velo was near the top of participants at 89.31. That average exit velo is what makes Petersen such a tough out, he is always barreling baseballs.

Distance-  Petersen showed some pop here with a furthest batted ball of 369 feet and an average distance of 239 feet. This lower average distance makes sense when looking at the line drive percentage of 60%. As you can see in the video above, Petersen was hitting line drives gap to gap throughout his round of BP.

Batted Ball Percentages-  As mentioned above, Petersen looks to drive the ball on a line. His line drive % of 60% was easily the best at the event. When you combine this with his high average exit velo it is going to result in a lot of hits. Below is a screenshot of what a major league hitter would expect to see with Petersen’s average exit velocity and launch angle. A line drive is considered 10-25% launch angle, so we used 18% as an average. It is no secret that hitting hard line drives is desirable, but the numbers below help back that up. 

The link below will allow you to choose any launch angle and exit velo to see what results you can expect. It helps gain a better understanding of the relationship of launch angle and exit velo.

Statcast Exit Velocity & Launch Angle File Breakdown 


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. 

Petersen put up some impressive Blast Motion numbers. The numbers he put up were near the top of all participants at the Pro Day. 


Petersen was a standout in a few different categories. The most impressive being hand speed, clocking in at 24.49 on average. This hand speed helps contribute to getting that bat moving and creating that high exit velo that we have been looking at throughout the article. As Petersen continues to get stronger this number will continue to increase. As his hand/bat speed increases he will see exit velo increase and with that consistent line drive % he will be even tougher out.


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