Angels hoping new technology this spring will pay dividends during the season

TEMPE, Ariz. — As the Angels complete their first spring training with their state-of-the-art facilities, they are hopeful that the impact will go beyond the novelty of having new gadgets.

Pitching coach Barry Enright, who pushed for the new pitching lab last year, said he felt it was a “huge” addition this spring.

“Just getting real-time feedback over and over,” Enright said. “You’re able to use spring training much more efficiently.”

The hitting and pitching labs were part of a project that cost more than $20 million, which was split between the Angels and the city of Tempe.

The renovation more than doubled the size of the previous facility. It includes a larger clubhouse with more comfort and amenities for the players, a better kitchen and dining area, a nicer weight room and improved training facilities.

The jewel amid all of that, though, is the 12,780-square foot space that includes four large pitching and hitting tunnels. It’s about twice as large as the previous space, and four feet higher.

The previous space could only be used as a batting cage, but this one has retractable nets so they can do defensive drills inside, if necessary.

The technology surrounding the nets is what the Angels value the most.

There are force plates for both hitters and pitchers. They help the players measure the way they use their weight as they swing and throw.

A KinaTrax system allows pitchers to get extensive data on their deliveries.

All major league ballparks are outfitted with a Hawk-Eye camera system, which allows for much of the data that fans can see — pitch velocity, spin rates, exit velocity.

The KinaTrax goes a step further and provides data on the players’ movements, without the need for sticking sensors on a player’s body. The KinaTrax then produces an animation of a skeleton throwing a baseball.

“It’s so hard with video with the naked eye,” said Angels right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who has always taken an intellectual approach to pitching. “You can pick out anything. There can be a subtle difference, pitch to pitch. We’re not robots. With KinaTrax, you can pick out all the clips and normalize what the skeleton was. Now you can see, over 100 pitches, this is where I mostly was when I was great. …

“It’s all just good feedback. The more numerical values you can put on things … that’s just going to help us.”

KinaTrax data has been available from regular season games, but until this year the Angels didn’t have access to it in spring training. This spring they had the ability to compare the work they were doing in Arizona to what they did at their best in the majors.

“The lab makes it much easier in real-time, so we can hit the ground running during the season,” Enright said.

For the hitters, the primary tool is HitTrax, which they also have at Angel Stadium. It allows hitters to see a simulation of where balls would go if they were hit outdoors, along with metrics on the contact.

“It’s nice to have one of those here, to see your launch angle and exit velocity and it replays your swing on every hack, so you get instant feedback,” outfielder Taylor Ward said.

Ward said simply having a larger net allows for better feedback than hitting in a typical cage.

While all of this may seem advanced, it’s now commonplace throughout the majors. Even major college programs have much of this technology.

The Angels are no longer lagging behind. They are hoping it will give them a better chance in the majors, and also with their player development. Once the big leaguers leave the facility, minor leaguers will have access to it for extended spring, the Arizona Complex League, rehab assignments and instructional league.

“It’s been a great tool thus far, and it’s going to be utilized a lot of different ways,” Enright said.

NOTES

Shortstop Zach Neto will remain in Arizona to continue his rehab. Neto, who is rehabbing from shoulder surgery, has been throwing at a distance of 120 feet, including throws from shortstop to first. He still has not done throws from the hole or relays. He also has not faced any live pitching. ….

Third baseman Yoán Moncada still hasn’t hit or thrown since he was diagnosed with a bruised thumb last week, but the Manager Ron Washington hasn’t given up on him being ready for Opening Day. “He said he can do more, but he’s got to follow the medical people’s direction, so I don’t know yet,” Washington said. …

Right-hander José Soriano is scheduled to start on Sunday in the Freeway Series at Dodger Stadium. Right-hander Jack Kochanowicz is scheduled for Tuesday at Angel Stadium. The Angels have not decided who will start on Monday.