FB - Velocity and iVB Differentials: April 3rd (2023 vs 2024)

iVB (Induced Vertical Break) has been quite the public rage over the past 6-12 months when it comes to deciding how “good” a pitcher’s 4-seam shape is. Organizations and pitching labs have been using it for quite some time to determine the future success of a fastball.

Simply put, iVB means the pitch is breaking upwards on a plane compared to the average level that same pitch falls from the release point to home plate. There are a lot of factors at play including gravity, wind, and the height at which a pitcher releases the pitch. 18 inches or above is considered an elite iVB, depending on, of course, the velocity. Still, having 18-19 inches of iVB can allow lower fastball velocities to play up because of how much ‘ride’ or upward break the pitch is seemingly getting. Basically, the higher the number the better.

There’s not much data available as only AAA has started playing and most pitchers don’t have many pitches under their belt to know if the differentials are sustainable or legitimate. I’d say it takes about 100 pitches thrown to know if there is a substantial increase in iVB from a prior season’s worth of fastball data. I’ll post more of these as the season goes on and as more levels begin to play, but I want all of you to get a head start on seeing some of the differentials already shown from 2023.

*There have been exclusions from the plot that I’m about to post because of duplicate data points, but I will list any notable names who were excluded if their differentials show any substantial change after going over the plot*

This plot shows (non-excluded) pitchers who have at least 18 inches of iVB in 2024. Yeah, I know it’s premature, but as I wrote above, it’s not too early to get out ahead of these things and we’ll compare these early season starts to more definitive differentials as the weeks go on and pitchers have a few more starts under their belts.

So who are the names on the plot?

I’ll post that below and go over some of the names who have shown both an increase in velocity and an increase in iVB from 2023: