Rapsodo’s technology - used by top college baseball programs to improve player performance - provides unprecedented insight into MLB draft prospects
Rapsodo, the company known for giving athletes the tools they need to play like never before, announces a new collaboration with ESPN to provide exclusive player data and data visualizations on the top prospects to the network’s 2024 MLB Draft coverage.
By integrating Rapsodo data and data visualizations, ESPN will offer fans a comprehensive and behind-the-scenes look at player performance, showcasing how top prospects measure up as they get drafted by MLB teams.
Rapsodo’s technology is used by top NCAA Division I baseball programs across the country, providing real-time insights for pitchers, hitters, and coaches, allowing players to benchmark and improve performance. For some, that means making it to the pros.
Jac Caglianone (Florida), Chase Burns (Wake Forest), Vance Honeycutt (North Carolina) and Brody Brecht (Iowa) have all used Rapsodo throughout their college careers, and all are projected as first-round draft picks. Blake Burke, who just won the national championship with Tennessee, also regularly uses Rapsodo’s technology.
Hitters rely on Rapsodo’s advanced metrics, like distance, exit velocity, launch angle, total spin and spin direction, while pitchers utilize velocity, release points, spin rate, horizontal and vertical breaks, seam orientation and seam-shifted wake. Players can also use the instant video replay function with data overlay during practice to work on mechanics or save for later to zero-in on what led to optimal performance.
College players aren’t the only ones using Rapsodo’s technology; the biggest names in the MLB are too. Shohei Ohtani uses Rapsodo’s PRO 3.0 baseball flight monitor to track both his hitting and pitching metrics. Jac Caglianone may follow in Ohtani’s footsteps to become MLB’s next two-way player.
Rapsodo’s new PRO 2.0 was designed for college, high school and academy programs, providing the same metrics that MLB players rely on, but at a more accessible price point.
“It’s incredibly rewarding to see players who have used Rapsodo for years fulfill their dream of being drafted by an MLB team,” Rapsodo GM of North America Katrina Hartwell said. “Our mission is to help players at all levels improve their game and reach their goals, whether it’s making a competitive travel team, playing college ball, getting on the radar of pro scouts, or perhaps becoming the next Shohei Ohtani.”
The MLB Draft takes place July 14 to 16.
