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Jordan Walker: Home Run Statcast Analysis Source link

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images No one can deny that the first round of World Baseball Classic play was dramatic; we got the first two walk-off home runs in tournament history, and on the same day no less! The second capped a thrilling comeback win for Puerto Rico over Panama, in San Juan, in front of one of the loudest home crowds you’ll ever see. I say “one of” because our Matt Martell was in the…

Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images FanGraphs now has a Statcast Bat Tracking section available on both the player pages and the leaderboards. The following stats are included, with basic definitions from the MLB Statcast glossary. Please refer to the linked Statcast glossary page for more in-depth descriptions of the statistics. Bat Speed (BatSpd): “How fast the sweet spot of the bat is moving, in mph, at…

International scouting, in this framing, is not romance or rumor. It is a notebook job done in public. The World Baseball Classic puts evaluators in big league parks with real pressure, unfamiliar opponents, and crowds that make a two strike pitch feel heavier than spring training.

The piece emphasizes three lenses scouts chase in March: one carrying tool that survives elite competition, decision making when the stadium demands a swing, and a realistic pathway to an MLB deal. Statcast context matters now too, because the tournament increasingly carries the same tracking language clubs use every day, and that data can turn a good look into a louder internal argument.

From there it spotlights ten profiles that could jump in valuation: teenage pitcher Joseph Contreras from Brazil, power bat Andrew Fischer for Italy, pitcher Elmer Rodríguez for Puerto Rico, and center fielder Druw Jones for the Netherlands under unusual spotlight. Australia’s Travis Bazzana is framed as a timing conversation, while Jo Hsi Hsu (Chinese Taipei) brings upper 90s urgency. Korea’s Hyun Min Ahn and Do Yeong Kim add loud tools, and Japan’s Atsuki Taneichi and Teruaki Sato close as proof tests under the brightest expectations.

The piece starts with the automated ball strike challenge system and why it changes more than umpiring. A catcher is managing a resource, a hitter is budgeting challenges, and broadcasts even adjust presentation so players do not get free hints from strike zone graphics.

From there it lays out three fronts for modern evaluation: the body, the game, and the brain. The ten building blocks range from phone based computer vision that travels with scouts, to simulator tools that make timing measurable, to tracking systems such as Hawk Eye and Statcast that turn every rep into evidence. It also covers defense models, pitch design forecasting, and injury risk scoring, then shifts into in house language model layers that let staff query old reports and video without digging through thousands of files.

The conclusion is the warning label. Comparison models can standardize what a perfect swing should look like, and governance issues like data rights, privacy, and bias will decide who wins the next edge. The best clubs still scout the person. Tech just forces the human voice to be specific.

The running game is back, and this ranking treats pop time like a weapon instead of trivia. It explains pop time as the full chain from catch to throw arriving at second, then builds the list using three filters: raw pop time, enough tracked attempts to prove it repeats, and Statcast catcher defense results such as throwing run value and caught stealing impact.

The top of the board is about speed with evidence. Patrick Bailey sits first with elite quickness and real volume, followed by J.T. Realmuto, with Luis Torrens right behind them. The middle of the list shows how different profiles get there: Shea Langeliers brings workload and a cannon, Henry Davis brings arm strength, and Rafael Marchan shows big tools with lighter usage.

The through line is deterrence. A fast, clean exchange changes what runners even try, and that changes how pitchers call games. Teams are stocking speed, but catchers are training footwork like infielders. By 2026 the steal is less a thrill than a wager, and the best batteries keep changing the math.

Coors Field is still the one park that makes a routine fly ball feel like a prank. The piece breaks down the physics and the design at altitude: thinner air means less drag, the ball holds its speed longer, and the Rockies counter with huge gaps that turn contact into extra bases. Pitch movement shifts too, so breaking balls lose bite and pitchers start living on command and nerves.

The humidor story shows why Denver stays weird. Colorado installed MLB’s first modern humidor in 2002, storing balls at controlled temperature and humidity to calm the extremes. It helped, but it did not move the mountain. Statcast era park factor work still pegs Coors as an offense booster even deep into the humidor years.

The most interesting section is the evaluation problem. Hitters can build habits that play in Denver and die on the road. Pitchers can guide instead of attack after one bad inning. The moonshot ledger at the end is the proof: Coors keeps producing distances that look fictional, even with modern tracking watching every inch. 

Hitting for the cycle still feels like baseball cheating itself for one night, because the triple remains the gatekeeper. The tracker opens with the 2026 season starting March 25 at Oracle Park, Giants versus Yankees, with Netflix carrying the standalone opener, and it uses that stage to frame how a cycle can appear out of routine chaos.

The page lays out what it will log as cycles happen in 2026. Each entry will capture opponent, ballpark, final score, hit order, and timing, then add Statcast and sprint speed context to explain the hardest ninety feet. It also notes MLB’s Elias based count of 350 total cycles and flags how record keeping keeps evolving, including Negro Leagues integration and ongoing research.

To set the tone, it runs through memorable modern cycles, from Trea Turner’s speed burst to Brock Holt’s postseason first, Christian Yelich going six for six, and Elly De La Cruz detonating a 116.6 mile per hour double inside his feat. The point is simple: somewhere in 2026, the next one will form.