Category: Athlete Highlight

Remote Athlete Graham Keen, 2-way player in the class of 2027, recently came in for his 2^nd re-assessment.  A lot has changed over the past 18 months since he joined us as a remote athlete in June 2022. Given his gains, the big question now is “how does a 15-year-old generate pitching velos of nearly 90 mph and exit velos approaching 103 mph?”.  For his grad year, Perfect Game ranks Graham 1^st overall in PA and 29^th overall in the country nation. Obviously, mechanics have a lot to do with performance, but not many 15-year-olds with good mechanics throw and hit the ball this hard. Although, you could say at 6’5” his long levers certainly help, there is much more to the story.

So, how does he do it?

Continue reading “What Makes 15-year Old, 2-way Player, Graham Keen Elite”

Nate Byrd, 6’4″ Senior RHP from Post University, has had quite the story as a collegiate baseball player. After topping 93 mph as a freshman in Junior College, injuries plagued the right hander who had 2 elbow surgeries in a 5-year span, resulting in velo loss with him not seeing 90 mph in over 3 years. Nate came in-house this past summer with the goal of gaining back his velocity. His summer began with a complete assessment, from movement screen to strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. This past spring, Nate topped out at 87mph. Fast forward to this fall, he topped out at 91 mph (first time in over 3 years).

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Post’s Nate Byrd is Back Healthy, Topping 91 mph (up 4 mph since spring)”

Declan Hickey, Sophomore at JUCO County College of Morris, joined us this past summer as part of our Summer Throwing Program. Previously a catcher, Declan was looking to convert himself into a pitcher that would be capable of competing at the college level. Starting the program at 6’4” 207 lbs., Declan definitely had the frame to throw hard, but was only sitting 75-78 mph when he arrived. His goals for the summer were to improve his mechanics in hopes that it could translate to more velo on the mound. Declan’s summer began with a complete assessment, including a movement screen, strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. Fast forward to this fall, Declan sat 85-87 mph, a 10+ mph pickup from where he started in June. He put in hard work all summer long, and it’s definitely paying off!

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Declan Hickey (Sophomore at Junior College CCM) Velo is Up 10+ mph Since June”

Colm O’Shea, Graduate Senior at Newberry College, joined us over summer and participated in our Summer Throwing Program. Gearing up for his last season of college baseball, it was important for Colm to improve his strength and power to gain additional velocity while also improving his motion throughout his delivery. His time in-house commenced with a complete assessment, including a movement screen, strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. The 6’6” 240 lbs. reliever sat 84-86 last spring. Recently, he has been sitting 88-89, touching 90 mph.

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Newberry College Senior O’Shea gained 4-5 mph, Now Sitting 88-89 (T90)”

RHP Conner Griffin, freshman at Binghamton University, started remote training with us in October of 2022 going into his senior year of high school. He came in at 6’5” and 188 lbs., sitting 88-90 mph with his fastball. Fast forward to this past August 2023 when he came back for a re-assessment, he weighed in at 200 lbs. and his fastball was sitting 90-93 mph (most recently this fall touching 95 mph at Binghamton).

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Binghamton’s Conner Griffin’s Velo is Up 4-5 mph, Sitting 90-93 (T95)”

Jack Greco, Junior at Susquehanna University, joined us this past summer as a part of our Summer Throwing Program. His goals for the summer were to improve his strength and power to help him gain additional velocity on the mound.  Jack’s summer began with a complete assessment, including a movement screen, strength and power testing, and a mechanical breakdown of his delivery combining both motion capture and video analysis. When he joined us Jack’s velo was sitting 84-86 mph.  He finished the summer sitting 87-89, T 90.  There is no other way to say this… Jack put in the time and got after it!

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Susquehanna Sophomore Greco Gained 4-5 mph, up to 87-89, T90 mph”

Tyler Hmielewski, infielder for Susquehanna University, joined us last summer for the 3-month college hitting development program. His objectives were to improve his overall performance at the plate by becoming more explosive while improving his adjustability to help make more consistent contact for extra bases.  In June, Tyler started the program at 5’9” and 148 bs. His Rotational Acceleration was 6 g(s) and his bat speed was 59 mph.  By the end of the summer, Tyler weighed in at 162 lbs. (a 14 lbs. increase), his Rotation Acceleration had improved to 16 g(s) and bat speed was up to 68 mph.

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Susquehanna Infielder Hmielewski Gets a 9 mph Pickup in Bat Speed”

Pitt Baseball commit LHP Antonio Doganiero (Class of 2024) started remote training with us here at RPP in October of 2022. At the time, he was 6’ and 167 lbs., sitting 83-84 mph. Fast forward to this past August, he was weighing in at 177 lbs. (10 lb. gain) and his fastball is now sitting 87-89 and T90. After nearly a year of gains, it was time for a re-assessment.

Continue reading “Pitt Commit Doganiero (from 83-84 to 87-89, T90)… Power of Assessing and Re-Assessing”

Rising College Sophomore, Jackson Kammen joined us this summer for the 3-month college hitting development program. Jackson, a catcher at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, had just finished his freshmen year. At 5’9” and 182 lbs. he is strong and physical. His plan for the summer was to increase his bat speed and exit velocity and generally improve his contact at the plate. He began his summer training in May, and needless to say, a lot has already changed since. Jackson’s bat speed has increased 3 mph while his exit velo now at 91-93, has also increased nearly 5-6 mph.

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight — Gettysburg’s Jackson Kammen Exit Velo is up 5-6 mph”

Presbyterian College commit Christian Charalambous finished his spring season with a 1.51 ERA touching 89 mph. Christian started his training at RPP over two years ago in November 2020, during his sophomore year at Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey.  During the fall of that year, he was clocked at a Perfect Game event at 81 mph. Two years later and a spine fracture in between, he is now touching 89 mph.

How did he do it?

Continue reading “Athlete Highlight: Charalambous Back from Spine Injury Touching 89 mph”