PitchLab questions and answers

PitchLab is an iPhone app that measures every pitch you throw with the phone’s camera. Put your iPhone on a tripod behind the pitcher, point it at home plate, and throw. PitchLab reports velocity, spin, movement, and location in real time, with video of every pitch.

PitchLab was founded by former MLB pitcher Jake Fishman, who pitched for the Miami Marlins, and Dr. Brian Martin, its CTO and an AI and computer vision expert. Jake knows what pitch data does for a pitcher. Brian built the system that measures it from video.

PitchLab is for baseball and softball pitchers at every level, from youth to college and pro. Parents use it to record their pitchers. Pitching coaches, private instructors, teams, and facilities use it to track every athlete they work with.

PitchLab measures velocity, spin rate, spin axis, spin efficiency, induced vertical break, horizontal break, Stuff+, and location using only the iPhone camera. There is no radar, sensor, or smart ball to buy. It is rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store from more than 2,100 ratings.

Set up as recommended, PitchLab’s results are comparable to TrackMan and other radar-based systems. Accuracy depends on setup: a steady tripod about 2 feet behind the pitcher, a clear view of home plate, good light, and at least 30 feet of ball flight.

TrackMan’s Portable B1 is a dedicated radar unit that costs $20,000, plus a $2,500-a-year software subscription, and it runs from an iPad with the unit mounted behind home plate. PitchLab uses computer vision on an iPhone and costs $149.99 a year or $24.99 a month. PitchLab’s results are comparable to TrackMan’s for the metrics pitchers use most, and every pitch is saved with video.

Rapsodo’s PRO 2.0 costs $3,500 and the PRO 3.0 $8,500, and both need an iPad and a yearly membership of $1,500. PitchLab measures the same core pitching metrics, including velocity, spin rate, spin axis, and movement, with an iPhone and a tripod. For most pitchers, coaches, and parents, that covers what they need from a pitch tracker, at a fraction of the cost.

Yes. PitchLab measures velocity on every pitch without a radar gun, plus spin axis, movement, and location, which radar guns don’t measure. Turn on voice feedback and PitchLab reads your velocity out loud after each throw.

PitchLab’s computer vision finds the ball in every frame of video, from release to the plate. It turns those positions into a 3D flight path using the known distance to the plate, then calculates velocity, movement, and spin from the physics of that path. It’s tested against the same professional tracking systems used by MLB teams.

Yes. PitchLab calculates spin rate, spin axis, and spin efficiency for every baseball pitch from the ball’s tracked flight. You don’t need a radar unit or a sensor ball.

An iPhone 12 or newer, a tripod that reaches at least 5 feet, and a ball. Throw to a catcher, a net, or a target. You don’t need a radar gun, sensors, a smart ball, or any installation.

Put your iPhone on a tripod about 2 feet behind the pitcher, at least 5 feet high, facing home plate. Keep the pitcher and the plate in frame, and line it up so the pitcher releases the ball inside the white guide box on the screen. The ball needs at least 30 feet of travel to measure velocity.

PitchLab supports 40, 43, 46, 50, 54, and 60 feet 6 inches. Pick the distance you’re actually throwing from so every measurement is right for your level.

Yes, in a cage or gym with good lighting and at least 30 feet of ball flight. Bright, even light helps PitchLab see the ball clearly in every frame.

Under 2 minutes. Set up the tripod, open PitchLab, line up home plate on screen, and start throwing. PitchLab detects every throw on its own and trims the video around it.

No. Throw to a catcher, a net, or a pitching target. PitchLab needs a clear view of the ball’s flight from release to the plate.

For baseball: velocity, spin rate, active spin, spin efficiency, spin axis, gyro degree, induced vertical break, horizontal break, Stuff+, and pitch location. For softball: velocity, movement, and location. Every pitch is also saved on video.

Major league four-seam fastballs average around 2,300 rpm, and 2,500 rpm or more stands out. Spin alone doesn’t make a pitch good, though. How much of that spin creates movement matters just as much. See What is spin rate?

Induced vertical break (IVB) is how much a pitch rises or sinks compared with a ball thrown with no spin. More IVB on a four-seam fastball makes it look like it rides through the top of the zone. See What is induced vertical break?

Stuff+ is a pitch-quality score based on a pitch’s velocity, movement, and spin, where 100 is league average. Above 100 means the pitch’s physical traits are better than average. See What is Stuff+?

Yes. Every plan exports pitch videos with your numbers on them. CSV export of every pitch and metric comes with the Team plan.

Yes. Coaches see every pitcher they work with in one place, with each athlete’s sessions, video, and progress.

Yes. See the sessions your students record between lessons, with video and metrics, and plan the next lesson around real data.

Yes, to start. PitchLab is free to download. Pro unlocks unlimited throws, 4K video, and cloud storage for $24.99 a month or $149.99 a year.

Pro costs $24.99 a month or $149.99 a year, about $12.50 a month, for one pitcher. Parent costs $29.99 a month or $179.99 a year, about $15.00 a month, and covers three pitcher profiles. Team is for coaches, teams, and facilities, with unlimited pitchers, 100 GB of cloud storage, and CSV export; contact us for pricing.

It depends on where you subscribed. In the app, your subscription is billed through the App Store: on your iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, choose PitchLab, and tap Cancel Subscription. On pitchlab.app, log in and manage or cancel it in the Billing section of your dashboard.

The Team plan is priced for your program, with unlimited pitcher profiles, 4K video, 100 GB of cloud storage, and CSV export. Contact us with the number of pitchers you coach and we’ll set it up.

PitchLab works on iPhone 12 and every newer iPhone.

Not yet. Join the Android waitlist and you’ll be first to know when it launches. Until then, any iPhone 12 or newer works as your PitchLab camera, even one that belongs to a parent or teammate.

Yes, on iPads that can record 4K video at 60 fps and have an A13 chip or newer. The iPad (9th generation) has an A13 chip but can’t record 4K at 60 fps, so it can’t run PitchLab. iPad cameras are also lower quality than iPhone cameras and can struggle indoors when the lighting isn’t bright enough, so an iPhone 12 or newer gives the best results.