From Data to Development: The Science Behind Premier Pitching and Performance

Baseball skill development has evolved more in the last 10 years than it had in the past 50 years combined. Every pitcher wants to throw harder and create more spin all while commanding the strike zone. What most fail to realize is that chasing numbers alone does not always lead to sustained success. Longevity in baseball requires a blend of physical and mechanical to create processes and systems that preserve individual performance strengths while maintaining health. Since its inception in 2014, Premier Pitching and Performance has utilized a combination of data, experience, and an unwillingness to accept the status quo to cultivate respect amongst all levels of the game. 

What Separates PPP from the field? The What, How and Why.

For us here at PPP, player development comes down to understanding three key elements of performance: what, how, and why. We feel that the ability to quantify the what and how continues to become easier as technology emerges in a way to allow for a more efficient blend of objective data and coaching experience. However, it is our view that identifying the ‘why' for each athlete to then combine with “what” and “how” truly separates PPP from other industry leaders. 

When an athlete shows up to assess at PPP, we first set out to identify what has helped the athlete have success to this point. Do they already have elite velocity? Command? Spin? Durability? Is it a combination of those factors? What about an outlier pitch or a deceptive delivery? This critical evaluation step helps to distinguish their skill separator. Through the balance of a detailed subjective assessment, comprehensive ball flight analysis via a TrackMan and Edgertronic combo along with a synthesis of available game statistical analysis, clues begin to emerge to help outline both the superpower and the kryptonite.  

Our next step is to uncover the how of the athlete. KinaTrax markerless motion capture assessments provide our staff with objective markers to outline the path the athlete takes toward getting the baseball from the hand into the strike zone. It supplies comprehensive biomechanical data by reporting a combination of kinematics (positions, velocities, accelerations, joint angles) and kinetics (forces/torques) to paint a picture of where the athlete is at in space during the entirety of the pitching delivery. Edgertronic cameras give valuable insight into ball release that streamlines identification and training of individual pitch characteristics. This first combination of what and how determines the skill fingerprint – a unique compilation from which skill staff can cultivate a plan of attack.

The final piece, albeit one harder to scale, is the why. Human beings are the most complex organism on the planet. We are a blend of physical, psychological, and emotional components – a byproduct of our biology and environment. By truly listening to an athlete upon intake, we can begin to understand psychological and emotional pieces of their personality that help shape their self-perception as baseball players. It begins the process of identifying effective coaching techniques for skill development and player education. You are the sum of your successes, failures, and goals. Our job is to address all 3.

We then transition into our physical, movement, and force/power assessments. These provide us with insight into both output and movement strategy. How is the athlete structurally built? What range of motion access do they have? What is the quality of that range of motion? Are they exceptionally strong or do they need to rely on efficient, fast-twitch techniques? What does their weight-room training age look like? Communication and understanding of this final, critical piece amongst all player development staff provides the starting point for athlete physical and skill programming. It links the individual person to the sport-specific skill. This efficient and effective communication is all made possible by Boost – our athlete management software that houses the what, why, and how all in one place.