On MLB Hitter Development

Part I

Dec 5, 2024

In this Part 1 of 2024 Case Study on MLB Hitter Development, we examine 2 hitters training with uHIT Custom from one pro organization.

What you need to know from Part 1:

uHIT Custom preserved +$5M in hitter value and increased OPS by 200+ points

We Track with OPS and XP

As a top-line summary, all players who regularly used uHIT Custom showed substantial gains in on-field hitting. In this Part 1 of 2024 Case Study on MLB Hitter Development, we will use OPS (and its components, OBP and SLG) from publicly available sources. We tie growths in uHIT performance to on-field via this metric and uHIT’s XP / Pitch (see more here about XP / Pitch). The uHIT XP / Pitch is a measure of how accurately and quickly hitters are learning to recognize pitches and strikes/balls.

Part I: Two Hitters Valued at $3.2M and $1.9M and What We Did

2024 proved to be a more targeted approach to our training and service. In Part 1, we highlight the two high-value hitters we worked with on zone and pitch recognition skills. We will note changes in OPS, as well as other hitting metrics on-field, like SO/BB. Hitter #1 saw a ~200-point OPS increase year-over-year. Hitter #2 dropped his SO / BB ratio while advancing to a higher level of play. Most importantly, each player preserved his value in terms of the large signing bonuses our organization client signed them with.

Part II: Two Early-Stage Hitters Accelerated Development

In 2024, we continued our work with new draft picks and early-stage pro hitters. In Part 2, we highlight two Latin hitters who developed pitch and zone skills with us. As a result, they translated these gains to ~140+ and ~280+ OPS points year-over-year, respectively. Most importantly, both hitters advanced to higher levels of play (DSL to ACL, or to AA). These are important value-adds for our organization client and for the hitters themselves.

A Note on Hitter’s Names

For all pro clients, we refer to hitters anonymously (see other MLB studies here). The hitters are identified as:

• Hitter #1 (Part 1)
• Hitter #2 (Part 1)
• Hitter #3 (Part 2)
• Hitter #4 (Part 2)

With that in mind, it’s time to analyze how these hitters’ performance evolved in uHIT and on-field this year. We welcome your feedback and analysis on these players in the comments below. You can also ask questions on our social media (here or here).

Hitter #1

From Struggling to Adjust to Futures All-Star

In zone recognition (see here), he ended the season with 75% Accuracy, having started back in 2023 at 59%. 85 XP / Pitch is where he ended the season, having initially assessed in 2023 at 48 XP / Pitch. This improvement also shows us he’s getting faster and better at pitches in/out of the zone.

On-field Performance Overview

On-field, Hitter #1 finished a great season at A+, during which time the Futures All-Star team selected him. In 2023, he hit a .544 OPS with .231 SLG in 13 ABs with A+ Hickory. In 2024, he eclipsed that start with a .785 OPS with .443 SLG. Even more impressive, he adjusted to late-season AA hitting in only 23 ABs, hitting with .984 OPS and .457 SLG.

Going back to his uHIT stats, the XP / Pitch are much higher for both skills we’ve worked with him. So he’s faster and more accurately seeing pitches. And this is translating to the plate, even when the pitching gets tougher.

You can see a screenshot of Hitter #1’s data from milb.com below (for a more detailed look, please schedule a time here):

Futures All-Star at 18 Years Old

This player was a $3.2M signing at a very young age (only 16 years old). 2023 showed there were some challenges for him to adjust to pro pitching. But in 2024, a combo of work between his coaches and deCervo Specialists helped Hitter #1 realize his early potential. As a result, he was one of a handful of hitters selected for the Futures All Stars Showcase in 2024 and possibly augmented his value as a player.

Hitter #2

Dropped SO / BB Ratio & Jumped to Higher Level of Play

Some hitters develop a preference for particular aspects of uHIT. Hitter #2 is an example of such a hitter. He was a super user of uHIT’s Zone Recognition Training.

Hitter #2 is a high-value player for our org client. As a result, the org needs him to continue to demonstrate offensive output on the field. To do this, he got re-introduced to uHIT in 2024 and we saw some marginal gains from that help. He focused on zone recognition skills only (no pitch recognition or opposition pitcher tendency learning).

uHIT Performance Overview

In zone recognition, he ended 2024 averaging 74% Accuracy, having started at 69% back in 2023. 81 XP / Pitch is where he finished 2024, having initially assessed in 2023 at 55 XP / Pitch. This shows us he’s gotten faster and better at pitches in/out of the zone too.

In pitch recognition, we don’t have enough data to evaluate any changes.

On-field Performance Overview

On-field, we have seen him make the jump from A to A+ pretty well. In 2023, he hit a.664 OPS with .338 SLG at A. In 2024, at higher A+, he hit .632 OPS with .315 SLG. These are signs of a pretty good adjustment to the bump up in pitching competition. A big driver here is that his SO / BB ratio has dropped year-over-year along with this change in level (2.88 in 2023 to 2.08 in 2024).

Going back to his uHIT stats, the XP / Pitch are higher since beginning training. This change is keeping him consistent in his hitting decision, despite the change in level. Hitter #2 is a good example of a player who we can make a big breakout the coming season with some more dedicated attention from our 1-on-1 coaching (schedule with us for more).

You can see Hitter #2’s on-field hitting performance excerpted from milb.com here (for a more detailed look, please schedule time with us here):

SO / BB Ratios Now, OPS Points When He’s More Focused

Hitter #2 is also a high-value player, having signed in 2022 for $1.99M. As a result, our org client is highly focused on preserving that value and for him to realize his potential as a hitter. The signs we see from SO / BB ratios dropping tell us that more training with uHIT and its Specialists can only help Hitter #2. Particularly, we are eager to apply more work to this player for getting his OPS to increase. In many respects though, Hitter #2’s willingness to train this skill with us is up to him. He has shown caution in spending time with uHIT, but every investment he’s made has resulted in on-field gains. In turn, he’s gained value as a player too.

Two Multi-Million Dollar Hitters Continue Development

Hitters #1 and #2 are the first two hitters from one of our MLB org clients we examine from 2024. This concludes Part 1 of 2024 Case Study on MLB Hitter Development. In Part 2, we look at two early-stage hitters who did not receive large signing bonuses. Still, they will demonstrate potentially untapped talent and we will show how the same tools used above worked for them to show that latent ability.