Overall Efficiency Grade:

Mobility, Flexibility & Stability Screening

Jhonny falls into the “stiff” mover category. He’s interesting, as he is a case where his mobility doesn’t match up with his swing moves. The mis-match creates length in his swing.

UPDATE:This has been improved as of 1/29/19 from Nov 2018. Smaller, more repeatable move that better matches his mobility but keeps in consideration how his body likes to conduct energy.

His thoracic mobility is 40 degrees of rotation to the right and 45 degrees to the left. 45 degrees is the lowest side of the scale, entering the “neutral mover” category.

Scapular retraction is in the “stiff mover” category at 2.5 inches of retraction.

These metrics show us Jhonny can have a smaller, later starting loading mechanism that will increase his turn speeds and make him shorter to the ball.

Force Plate Jumps

Jhonny has minimal unilateral leg bias. Right leg dominant, but only 2% greater than left leg. His counter movement jumps produce forces at 105% of his body weight. Squat jumps produce 115% BW at take-off. These are minimal differences, but shows his body has a slower rate of force production and creates energy over a longer time period.

UPDATE 1/29/19: This has balanced out leg to leg. Had 4% left leg bias this time, but the standard deviation is 4% as well.   Squat pause jumps are still slightly more explosive which means he needs time to conduct speed.

Force Plate Swings

Below is video of the swing analysis. I will walk you through this matched up with video.

11/9/18

1/29/19

Jhonny has a long loading mechanism that creates ideal back leg force. He loads and torques the femur well. Back leg loading numbers are on the highest end of our grading scale (between 102-104% of his body weight). His back leg torqueing number is one of the highest we’ve seen at 96 Nm (over 50Nm is considered excellent).

Front leg force is slightly deficient and can be improved. There is front leg instability and the leg gives at the knee, instead of extending the knee in the initial moments of rotation. We look for the front leg numbers to double the back leg loading force, and he is short there. He is 172-185% of body weight in front leg force, while we are looking for a number over 200%.

Update 1/29/19:  Back leg metrics are still good but front leg force has improved. Seems to be wider and has cut down movement in the start. I like the moves for greater repeatability, but it has also made his front leg more productive (over 200% BW) as well as a higher rate of force production by the front leg.

The X axis timing is the speed of the leg to leg transfer. Although the transfer from back leg to front leg is fast, the front leg energy is sent up the chain in a slower manner. Jhonny needs the feeling of “punching” the ground fast and violently with his front heel to stabilize the front leg.

Update 1/29/19:  This has been improved. Front leg numbers are excellent now. Happy to see the positive changes.

KVEST Sequencing & Rotational Speeds

The 3d readings are on kinematic sequencing and rotational speeds.

Jhonny’s sequencing tends to lead with his upper body. He’s in the “stiff mover” category and using a large loading mechanism that is better suited for a “loose mover.” He would be a candidate to simplify his move and make him turn tighter. Due to the upper body firing first, he creates some length in his swing.

Lower body rotational values are 660-680 deg/sec. His weighted comparison puts him in the “average” speed category among professionals.

The hips and torso are connected; the arms and bat are connected; but those two large segments are not connected. There is room for speed gain for Jhonny. His torso speeds grade in the “average” category at 900-950 deg/sec.

His arms fire early, and with better sequencing, he’ll create better rotational velocity. Arm speeds are 1115-1235 deg/sec.

Update: 1/29/19

As mentioned, moves are better in January vs. November and speeds and sequencing are nearly the same. Wrist sensor was put further down the hand, which accounts for differences in the two graphs below.

Turns the barrel very well, keeping it connected to the body and on plane early.

Bat Sensor Data

Bat speed ranges from 66-70mph which ranks 58/96 in our organization. Hand speeds ranged from 20-22mph. Time to impact was 194-202 milliseconds. His below average time to impact numbers are due to the length of the swing and rank 83/96 in our organization.

Update 1/29/19:  In January bat speed was 67-70 but TTI improved to 177-190. That is solid improvement from November.

Summary & Recommendations

Because he is a stiff mover, Jhonny is a candidate to simplify his loading mechanism. This will make him more repeatable, produce better timing, and make him more explosive. By having a longer loading mechanism, he is actually adding slack to his swing, rather than removing it. Thus, he’s created a long swing path, demonstrated by a low ranking in the time to impact metric. A smaller loading mechanism will allow him to start his timing move later, while gaining more information about the pitch and still being more explosive.

Front leg posting numbers need improvement. I recommend front leg isolation drills in his swing and med ball overload rotations to add additional front leg stabilization.

Update 1/29/19: The summary from November below has been fulfilled. Jhonny has simplified his move and made it more repeatable, held on to rotational speeds, and reduced TTI. This should improve decision making about the ball. A fine example of carrying out the action plan.