Prep Baseball Report

Upperclass Preseason All-State: Blast Breakdown


Chris Fuller
Kentucky Director of Scouting

At the 2021 Upperclass Preseason All State Showcase, our Blast Motion Sensors collected data on all 75+ position players, allowing to better understand the swing mechanics. Blast is the global leader in swing analysis and used by nearly every MLB organization. Key hitting metrics and Blast Motion Scores will also live inside player profiles at PrepBaseballReport.com for the benefit of college coaches and recruiters, which will help prospects advance to the next level. Following a Prep Baseball Report event, players will receive access to BlastConnect in the Blast App, that unlocks critical insights and actionable data from their performance.

Key Terms

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. Blast measures Bat Speed by the peak speed of the barrel at impact. From an evaluation standpoint, it's usually the first thing we look at. Bat Speed is a prerequisite for success at the next level. The results of a player's bat speed can also vary based on the environment and contact point. For example, you usually see an increase in a player's average bat speed in environments like showcase batting practice where the majority of players are consistently catching the ball out in front, allowing the bat to gain speed, while also trying to display their strength. The ability to take that information and compare the datasets to different environments is always best practice. We want variable based model mindsets, not fixed. Either way, Bat Speed is a great representation of a player's raw power.
*HS avg 60-70 mph

Rotational Acceleration: Measures how quickly your bat accelerates into the swing plane. It is strongly encouraged to measure Bat Speed and Rotational Acceleration side by side. The quicker your rotational acceleration, the more power you will have and the more time you have to adjust to pitch locations. Having a high Rotational Acceleration gives the hitter a tremendous advantage at the plate. Having the ability to quickly accelerate into their Bat Speed equips the hitter to be able to make later decisions on pitches, which makes the hitter less vulnerable to off-speed pitches and fastballs with high spin. The player with high rotational acceleration can utilize their bat speed more efficiently.Measured in Gs.  For more info: Rotational Acceleration 

On-Plane Efficiency: Measures the percentage of your swing where the bat is on the swing plane. Your vertical bat angle at contact establishes the plane for that swing. Plane is a great indicator for making more consistent contact on the barrel of the bat. For more info: On Plane Efficiency 
*Ideal Efficiency %: 70% or Higher    Range: 65%-85%

Peak Hand Speed: the observed maximum speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge. For more info: Peak Hand Speed *MLB Range: 23-29 mph MiLB Range: 22-28 mph College Range: 21-27 mph

*Per Blast Motion

CLICK HERE for the full Blast stats

max bat speed

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (max)
1 Vincent Ethington KY Lexington Christian Academy 2021 3B 87.6 mph
2 Reed Marcum KY South Laurel 2021 C 79.3 mph
3 Paul Osting KY Trinity 2024 OF 78.3 mph
^ Zach Taylor KY Paintsville High School 2022 RHP 78.3 mph
4 Jake Bennett KY St Xavier 2022 C 77.7 mph
5 Elijah Underhill KY Christian County 2023 OF 77.5 mph
6 Gunner Collins KY Paintsville 2022 3B 76.5 mph
^ Braden Mundy KY Owensboro Catholic 2022 C 76.5 mph
7 Logan Woolums KY East Jessamine 2022 C 76.2 mph
8 Joshua Simpson KY Nelson County 2022 3B 75.9 mph
9 Chase Armstrong KY Trinity 2022 1B 75.5 mph
10 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 75.4 mph

average bat speed

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (avg)
1 Vincent Ethington KY Lexington Christian Academy 2021 3B 79.6 mph
2 Zach Taylor KY Paintsville High School 2022 RHP 76.1 mph
3 Reed Marcum KY South Laurel 2021 C 75.6 mph
4 Elijah Underhill KY Christian County 2023 OF 74.5 mph
5 Jake Bennett KY St Xavier 2022 C 74.3 mph
6 Joshua Simpson KY Nelson County 2022 3B 73.9 mph
7 Paul Osting KY Trinity 2024 OF 73.7 mph
8 Gunner Collins KY Paintsville 2022 3B 73.3 mph
9 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 72.8 mph
10 Kruise Newman KY Logan County 2021 RHP 72.6 mph

max hand speed

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (max)
1 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 27.0 mph
2 Thomas Nettles KY Trinity 2022 SS 26.2 mph
3 Logan Woolums KY East Jessamine 2022 C 25.9 mph
^ Matt Klein KY Trinity 2022 C 25.9 mph
4 Zach Taylor KY Paintsville High School 2022 RHP 25.8 mph
5 Hayden Collins KY Lexington Christian Academy 2022 3B 25.2 mph
6 Braden Mundy KY Owensboro Catholic 2022 C 24.9 mph
^ Brady Morse KY Danville 2022 RHP 24.9 mph
7 Joey Howard KY Henry Clay 2023 RHP 24.5 mph
^ Nate Tencza KY Trinity 2022 C 24.5 mph
8 Logan Wilson KY Dixie Heights 2022 3B 24.3 mph

average hand speed

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (avg)
1 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 26.2 mph
2 Zach Taylor KY Paintsville High School 2022 RHP 25.0 mph
3 Matt Klein KY Trinity 2022 C 24.4 mph
4 Logan Woolums KY East Jessamine 2022 C 24.2 mph
5 Thomas Nettles KY Trinity 2022 SS 23.8 mph
6 Brady Morse KY Danville 2022 RHP 23.4 mph
7 Logan Wilson KY Dixie Heights 2022 3B 23.4 mph
8 Hayden Collins KY Lexington Christian Academy 2022 3B 23.2 mph
9 Joey Howard KY Henry Clay 2023 RHP 22.8 mph
10 Matthew Maggard KY Lexington Christian 2022 2B 22.7 mph

max rotational acceleration

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (max)
1 Logan Wilson KY Dixie Heights 2022 3B 31.0 g
2 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 30.4 g
3 Dylan Ecken KY Ballard 2022 OF 27.8 g
^ Logan Woolums KY East Jessamine 2022 C 27.8 g
4 Braden Pingel KY Calloway County 2023 OF 26.8 g
5 TJ Pierson KY Ryle 2022 1B 26.5 g
6 Kamren Clark KY Ballard 2022 C 26.3 g
^ Jacob Hayes KY Paul Laurence Dunbar 2022 3B 26.3 g
7 Grayson Collins KY Lexington Christian 2022 OF 26.1 g
8 Matthew Maggard KY Lexington Christian 2022 2B 25.8 g
9 Thomas Nettles KY Trinity 2022 SS 25.7 g

average rotational acceleration

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (avg)
1 Patrick Forbes KY Bowling Green 2022 RHP 27.2 g
2 Logan Wilson KY Dixie Heights 2022 3B 24.3 g
3 Logan Woolums KY East Jessamine 2022 C 24.0 g
4 Braden Pingel KY Calloway County 2023 OF 22.7 g
5 Thomas Nettles KY Trinity 2022 SS 21.6 g
6 Matthew Maggard KY Lexington Christian 2022 2B 21.5 g
7 Vincent Ethington KY Lexington Christian Academy 2021 3B 21.2 g
8 Dylan Ecken KY Ballard 2022 OF 21.1 g
9 Kamren Clark KY Ballard 2022 C 21.1 g
10 Cooper Smith KY Saint Xavier 2023 SS 20.8 g

on-plane efficiency

Rank Name State School Class Pos On Plane Eff (avg)
1 Cole Reynolds KY Somerset 2022 SS 84 %
2 Nolan Millay KY Apollo 2021 OF 84 %
3 Brady Willis KY Trinity 2022 OF 84 %
4 Cooper Smith KY Saint Xavier 2023 SS 83 %
5 Cameron Dunn KY Frederick Douglass 2023 SS 82 %