What is a Slammer Score?
A true, objective marker of athlete development in baseball.
The first rendition of the Slammer Score was created to objectively benchmark the development of a baseball athlete. To do this, we are taking into consideration athletic performance and raw indicators of baseball ability captured with a Rapsodo.
Until now, parents and coaches in the amateur baseball world have largely been flying blind on the developmental progress of their athletes. The Slammer Score provides a unique roadmap for each athlete to help them reach the peak of their abilities and will provide each parent and their athlete with a full map of their athletic development when all is said and done.
What goes into a Slammer Score?
There have never been more data tools in amateur sports than there are today.
Unfortunately, alongside the increase in data tools, there hasn’t been an increase in education or best ways to apply that data to development.
The Slammer Score takes the data inputs and makes them mean something. Instead of undertaking the dizzying task of scouring the internet for information you may not find - trust that the Slammer Score is a simple and honest way to process all of the data inputs and provide a concise look at where an athlete is in relation to their peers. So, what goes into the first rendition of the Slammer Score?
Rapsodo Hitting
Contrary to what Twitter tells you popular belief, there is much more to hitting a baseball than producing high exit velocities. While hitting it hard is important, our BP Quality tool scores every swing recorded on a Rapsodo for its launch zone (groundball, line drive, fly ball, pop up); it’s spin rate (in search of not too much or too little); it’s spin direction (in search of perfect backspin to optimize carry); and of course, exit velocity. The tool allows us to quantify contact quality and provide objective recommendations on approach, all while tracking progress over time.
More balls hit with backspin, more balls hit hard, and/or more line drives can make the Swing Score go up.
From May 2022 to January 2023, this athlete’s swing score went up even though his average exit velocity ticked back slightly. As you can see, during his January 2023 session, he attained optimum backspin on 71% of balls hit.
Rapsodo Pitching
We’ve developed a simple pitch scoring system that provides insights into raw stuff so that we can provide recommendations for the development of new pitches, the refinement of existing pitches, and the refinement of planning to attack a hitter. We’re looking at how a number of metrics impact a pitcher’s arsenal: velocity, spin rate, vertical movement, and horizontal movement. By scoring each pitch-type on a 0-10 using these traits, we can objectively benchmark it against everyone else their age.
More on this in a later blog.
What we mean by raw stuff…
…that’s pretty good for not throwing over 90.
The Loden Score
The Loden Score is a brutally efficient, objective way to quantify raw athleticism. Following an evaluation, each athlete earns a Power, Quickness, Speed, and overall Loden Score. The Loden Score is correlated to the stuff that matters. It’s the fuel for the tools.
Jump high = throw hard, hit hard, run fast.
So, just by becoming a better athlete, you are raising the ceiling for what you can become as a baseball player.
Take it from our very own Walker Martin, who recently graded out as a Loden 10 - a true 1%’er athlete and a top prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft…
The Loden Score can also help athletes establish better routines (sleep, nutrition, recovery, etc.). If you don’t take care of your body, you don’t jump as high. If you don’t jump as high, you don’t throw as hard, hit as hard or run as fast :(
Track your Loden Score and use it to know you’re doing the right things and that you’re getting better - or to know when it’s time to take a break…
What does a Slammer Score look like?
A Slammer Score is a number between 20 and 80 with 50 being average (right in the middle). Every athlete is benchmarked against the averages for their age. So, a 50 Slammer Score means that the athlete is average for their age. The closer to 80 that the athlete is, the better they are in relation to their age average. The closer to 20 that the athlete is, the more below average they are in relation to their peers.
Putting the Slammer Score to Use
The Slammer Score provides objective benchmarks for the things that matter on a baseball field. Using the benchmarks, Slammers can easily identify where any given athlete is in their development relative to their peer group. This allows for a more individualized approach to development.
For example, if an athlete is ahead of the curve for baseball skill, average for game performance, and behind for athleticism, it allows for an informed recommendation for increased focus on becoming more athletic. From there, is it speed? Is it power? Is it strength? The Slammer Score is a roadmap to optimized development.
Slammers is developing resources and programs so that when an athlete needs a boost in something, they can get it.
What does the Slammer Score mean for my athlete?
The Slammer Score is an opportunity for every athlete to help steer the ship of their development. It is an honest benchmark against their peer group. The Slammer Score will help parents, athletes, and coaches to set realistic goals for the future.
What if my athlete is behind in every category? Should they just quit?
No.
And we want to answer this question from two viewpoints.
Playing sports is so much more than striving for a college scholarship or an opportunity to play professionally. It teaches a number of life skills, provides an active outlet, and fosters camaraderie and life-long friendships - all critical elements to the emotional well-being of the athlete.
Development is non-linear and that will never change. There will always be kids who physically peak sooner than others. We cannot control our genetics and we cannot control our growth spurts. There are far too many examples of athletes who bloomed late: Aaron Rodgers, Josh Allen, Scottie Pippen, Jacob DeGrom, and Mookie Betts are just a few. In fact, we would go as far to say that athletes who are behind through much of their adolescence, who stick with their sport, are actually at an advantage when they reach physical maturity. Why? Because they had to work harder than everyone else to keep up, and that persistence becomes a habit that translates in all facets of life.
Most fifth round draft picks never make it to the Major Leagues… this one turned into one of the best players in the game.
