Overall Efficiency Grade: 59.875/100

Mobility, Flexibility & Stability Screening

Jason is in the “loose” mover category. He has a number of physio issues that are typical in developing, tall, athletes. His frame indicates that with strength gains, he could move from the “loose” mover category to “neutral.”

Pelvic control during isolation is lacking. The lack of motor control shows weak lower abdominals and lower back. The ability to tilt the pelvis allows for faster energy transfer from the legs to core. To add, pelvic disassociation is lacking. Pelvic disassociation relates to the torque of the swing. It is being able to stabilize one large body segment, while moving another large body segment independently.

Jason has very tight ankles and lacks dorsiflexion by 3 inches with both feet to be considered a “passed” screen. This makes him a higher candidate for ankle sprains.

Thoracic rotation was 75-80 degrees either direction. This is “hyper-mobile” which shows that Jason is going to have to have a large, long, loading mechanism in order to take the slack out of his core. Scapular retraction is on the higher side of “neutral” at 6 inches. To add, the scapular region is under-developed, as I could get 4 fingers under both of his scaps when he was in a relaxed position.

Jason shows leg instability, failing the single leg balance test. This could limit his front leg posting ability during rotation.

Internal and external rotation of the shoulders was “normal.” Shoulder flexion is mobile. All cervical and wrist movements were a “pass.”

Force Plate Swings

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

Jason uses a knee lift style that overloads to the outside part of his back foot. He gets to 100% of his body weight in his back leg load, but because of the overload, he quickly loses it as his back knee extends early in the stride process. Consequently, the real loading number is slightly lower than ideal (93% BW). He torques his back leg 50 Nm to start his load and increases the torque to 60 Nm during his positive move. This is well beyond the 40 Nm of desired torque.

The front leg post is a power drain in his swing. Front leg z and x forces dissipate over a longer period of time. Jason lands heavy on his front foot – landing at 186% of his BW. However, the actual front leg force during rotation is 163% of BW. This is well short of the desired 200% BW. Tendencies show that lower front leg posting numbers lead to underperforming rotational velocities.

His x axis indicates a “flutter” graph on his front foot/leg. Rather than the front foot/leg forcefully and rapidly sending energy into his core, is slowly braces into the ground, again reducing the stability and force capable in his leg.

KVEST Sequencing & Rotational Speeds

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

The 3D graphs show excessive rotation in the torso. 47 degrees of inward turn during the stride, causes his front arm to begin the sequence of the swing early. The lack of sequencing means there is rotational speed loss up the chain of the body. His hips and core are connected, and his arms and bat are connected. However, the hips and thorax are not connected to the arms and bat. Hip speed numbers at 687-718 degrees per second rank in the “average” to “good” categories. Torso rotational speeds of 902 deg/sec to 1063 deg/sec also rank in the “average” to “good” categories.

Getting into a correct scap load instead of turning his torso will take the slack out of his hyper-mobile torso and allow for proper sequencing and better energy transfer.

Bat Sensor Data

Bat speed ranges were from 67-76 mph on well struck balls. If using a diamond kinetics sensor, 76 mph would rank extremely high amongst professional players. His time to impact on the same sensor ranged from 167-176 milliseconds. The 167 time would also be well above average amongst professional players.

Summary & Recommendations

Jason is a loose mover that with a proper strength program could possibly move closer to the “neutral” mover range. He shows bat speed and explosiveness that grade favorably against current professionals. He has several physio issues with stability and functional strength that indicate he still hasn’t reached his swing speed capabilities.

Mechanical inefficiencies are due to an overload to the back side, and poor front leg stabilization and use during heel plant. He over-torques his torso as a mechanism to remove slack from his hyper-mobile thorax instead of using a scapular load to stretch the core.