On Sunday February 22, the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout tour rolled through the Sollenberger Sports Center on the campus of Messiah College. Located in Mechanicsburg, PA, the Messiah Falcons are members of the NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic Conference. The weather has wreaked havoc on their early season schedule, making a venue such as the 90,000 square foot Solleberger Sports Center tremendously
valuable.

Velocity was a common theme across our morning and afternoon sessions. We measure velocity in three areas: pitch velocity (fastball velocity is the most commonly talked about), raw velocity (position players may use any footwork or arm stroke they wish in order to generate as much velocity as possible), and bat exit velocity (a measure of speed as the ball exits the bat).

2016 RHP Hayden Seig

There were twelve instances, turned in by eleven different players, of velocity reaching at least 83 mph. 2016 RHP Hayden Seig (Mechanicsburg HS – Mechanicsburg, PA) was the only player to record multiple qualifying velocities, with marks of 85 mph in the bat exit velocity and 83 mph in fastball velocity. The 6-foot-5 and 200 pounder also plays first base, and would seem to have two-way potential — though he only pitched and took batting practice at this workout.

The top bat exit velocity was turned in by 2017 C/2B Owen Deflitch (Hershey HS – Hummelstown, PA), with a mark of 86 mph. After Hayden Seig at 85 mph, 2018 OF Jordan King (Century HS – York, PA) was the only other qualifier at 83 mph.

With a top bolt of 84 mph, 2016 3B/RHP Bayley Jamanis (Lancaster Catholic HS – Lancaster, PA) led the fastball velocity category. Hayden Seig was in the mix for the top spot here again at 83 mph, and also featured among the better breaking balls on the day — along with Bayley Jamamis. 2016 RHP Jeremiah Stitt (Carlisle HS – Carlisle, PA) used arm speed to run his fastball up to 83 mph, and also showed glimpses of a quality breaking ball into the low 70s.

The only other player to appear among the leaders in two major measurables was 2016 OF Austin Wacker (Cumberland Valley HS – Mechanicsburg, PA). At 6.99 he was the only runner to post a sub-seven 60 yard dash, and with a raw velocity of 85 mph he was just one tick short of his second category lead.

2017 SS Kristopher Kremer (Hershey HS – Hershey, PA) led all arms with a raw velocity of 86 mph. At 5-foot-9 and 150 pounds Kremer may be slight in stature, but there was nothing slight about his skills at this workout — in addition to raw arm strength, he showed advanced fielding ability along with right-handed bat speed.

At 85 mph raw velocity were 2015 SS Jarod Mattocks (Troy Area HS – Alba, PA) and Austin Wacker, with a trio of players on their heels at 83 mph: 2016 SS James Barber (Cumberland Valley HS – Enola, PA), 2018 3B Justin Williams (Cumberland Valley HS – Mechanicsburg, PA) and 2017 C Caleb Danehower (Lampeter-Strasburg HS – Lancaster, PA). Danehower was the only catcher to post a sub-two second pop time, with a low of 1.97.

The Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Tour is rolling through all 50 states. Tryouts are held for players ages 12-14 and 14-18. Don’t miss your opportunity to Be Discovered.

Find an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout near you and register online or call (800) 641-4487.