Prep Baseball Report has partnered with TrackMan to use the company’s portable ball-tracking system at high school baseball showcases across the U.S. TrackMan’s performance data will be posted to each player’s individual profile at PrepBaseballReport.com for coaches and college recruiters to access.
TrackMan’s portable unit consists of a 3D Doppler radar that typically hangs from the roof of ballparks. Pitching metrics tracked include ball release speed, release height, spin rate, spin axis, vertical break, and pitch location of each pitch; hitters will be able to view data such as the speed at which the ball leaves their bat, launch angle, distance traveled, and contact depth. Players will be able to view their data on the TrackMan app after each PBR event.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have these units at most Prep Baseball Report events across the country,” Prep Baseball Report president Sean Duncan said in a statement. “For the players, they will receive unmatched access to their data so they can understand and improve their skills. This is such an incredible benefit for both the players and our scouting staff.”
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The TrackMan app can also integrate with high speed cameras that allow players to view video clips and 3D visuals of each pitch augmented alongside TrackMan data. Last week, PBR signed a deal with bat sensor maker Blast Motion.
“Smart combinations of technologies applied the right way will mitigate or fully eliminate weaknesses while also improving the strengths,” TrackMan CTO Frederik Tuxen said.
TrackMan is installed in MLB ballparks to track ball flight data for the league’s Statcast system, though MLB will reportedly switch to Hawk-Eye cameras to fuel Statcast this upcoming season. TrackMan’s radar system will perhaps best be remembered for powering the automated strike zone that MLB trialed at Atlantic League ballparks last summer. NBC has also used TrackMan to track ball flights during field goals on Sunday Night Football.
