Baseball Fitness Tests

Many of the high school baseball players we work with at AYC Health & Fitness want to continue playing at the college level and beyond. While some prospects are identified early on and recruited heavily, it’s far more common for most players to attract the attention of college and pro scouts by attending showcases and perform baseball fitness tests where they get a chance to impress those in attendance by putting their talents on display.

While pitchers need to exhibit some semblance of velocity and control during the course of their bullpen session, position players need to focus on having a good round of batting practice and showing their arm strength during infield/outfield drills. In addition to those baseball-specific activities, all prospects will also likely be run through a series of drills designed to measure their speed, power, range, and ability so scouts can gauge how well their talents will carry over to a higher level of competition.

Here are several commonly-used tests that all prospects should be prepared for when they have made the decision to sign up for one of these showcases. Most showcases will allow for 2-3 attempts for each test.

Testing for SPEED

• 60-Yard Sprint
  • This measures your ability to accelerate
  • Also a reliable indicator of speed, agility, and quickness
  • It involves running a single sprint of 60 yards

• How To:
  • With your front foot on the starting line, start from a 3-point stance (i.e. like a sprinter) or whatever is most comfortable for you
  • Hold the position for 3 seconds prior to taking off – you may lean your upper body over the starting line, but may not rock forward and back
  • The timer will be started on your first move

Anything under 7.0 seconds is a respectable time, with 6.7-6.9 seconds being considered average at the major league level.

• Home Plate to 1^st Base Sprint
  • This is a 90’ sprint designed to determine on-field speed and agility.

• How To:
  • Stand in the batter’s box (without your bat) and assume your batting stance
  • Swing through an imaginary pitch and run through 1^st base as quickly as possible
  • The timer will be started on your first move (i.e. the swing)

	Right Handed Hitter (seconds)	Left Handed Hitter (seconds)
Above Average	4.2	4.1
Average	4.3	4.2
Below Average	4.4	4.3
Poor	4.5	4.4

Testing for POWER

• Lower Body – Standing Broad Jump
  • This measures your horizontal jumping ability
  • It reveals your lower body’s capacity for explosive power, strength, and balance
  • How To:
    • Start with both feet at approximately shoulder width
    • Bend your knees and swing your arms back to build momentum before exploding forward with as much force as possible
    • Land on your feet and attempt to maintain your balance
    • Measure the distance to where your feet touched down

• Lower Body – Vertical Jump
  • This measures your vertical jumping ability
  • It reveals your lower body’s capacity for explosive power, strength, and balance
  • How To:
    • Put chalk on the end of your fingertips
    • Stand flat-footed facing a wall or fence
    • Raise your arm directly overhead, reach your hand up as far as possible, and touch the wall/fence with your fingertips
    • Step back about a foot away
    • You may take one step to load into your jump, then try to touch as high as possible on the wall or fence
    • Measure the distance between the two chalk marks to find the net result

• Upper Body – Medicine Ball Throw
  • This measures your ability to build up and release power with your arms and core
  • How To:
    • Take a seated position against a wall with your legs fully extended
    • Hold a 3 or 4kg medicine ball near your chest and throw it straight forward as far as possible while keeping both arms parallel to the ground throughout
    • Record the distance at which the ball first touches the ground

Testing for RANGE

• Rotational Power Ball Throw
  • This measures your core strength and total body power needed for the rotational movement that takes place during the course of the throwing motion
  • How To:
    • Stand perpendicular to the starting line
    • Hold a 3 or 4kg medicine ball with both hands so that your back hand is on the back of the ball and your front hand is underneath it
    • Draw the ball back while only slightly bending the elbows and keep it between waist and chest height
    • Fling the ball up and forward in one swift motion at approximately a 45° angle
    • Record the distance at which the ball first touches the ground

Testing for AGILITY

• 20-Yard Shuttle Run
  • This measures your ability to stop, change direction, and accelerate; all of which are critical skills for baseball players regardless of position.
  • How To:
    • Place 2 cones (or any detectable objects) 10 yards apart from each other.
    • Start at the midpoint with your body facing straight ahead so that the cones are to your left and right; bend your knees and put your feet slightly wider than shoulder width.
    • Take a hard crossover step towards one of the cones, touch the ground near the cone, then change direction and sprint toward the cone 10 yards away.
    • Touch the ground near the second cones, change directions once again, then sprint through the midline.
    • The timer will be started on your first move and will be stopped upon passing the midpoint line at the end.

• 3 Cone Drill
  • This measures your ability to change directions at high speeds while still maintaining control of your body.
  • How To:
    • Set up 3 cones in a triangular position, with each cone 5 yards apart.
    • Start in the ready position at cone #1.
    • Sprint 5 yards forward to cone #2 and touch it.
    • Sprint back to cone #1 and touch it.
    • Sprint around the outside of cone #2 towards cone #3 and run around it from the inside.
    • Finally, sprint around the outside of cone #2 and through the finish line at cone #1.

 

You should now have a pretty good idea of what to expect when it comes to showcasing your talents in front of college and professional scouts. Depending on what your strengths and weaknesses may be, there are plenty of ways to improve every single one of these drills during the course of your offseason strength and conditioning routine.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss specifics for improving your results at any of these drills, be sure to call AYC Health & Fitness today at 913-642-4437 or click to book a consultation.