The Uses of Vision Data in Selecting Players for the Major League Baseball Draft

SIGNIFICANCE: This report illustrates the potential uses of vision data in helping teams select players during the draft. PURPOSE: Visual performance has gradually gained recognition in baseball as a tool that can optimize on-field performance. It also may be useful in player development programs that gradually move players toward the major league. METHODS: Recently, over the past 5 years, vision data from six different major league teams were used by the authors to assess prospective players before the annual Major League Baseball (MLB) draft. One thousand three hundred forty-three vision forms were evaluated representing 759 different players. Their vision data were retrospectively analyzed using a novel grading method to advise teams on the visual readiness of prospects for success in MLB. RESULTS: On a one (best)-to-six (worst) vision scale, the average vision score was 2.080 ± 1.171. Sixty-eight percent (320/473) of the players with good vision scores were drafted, 66% (185/281) of the players with moderate vision scores were drafted, and only 1 player with a poor vision score was drafted. There was a statistically significant difference in the amount of signing bonus received by draftees with better vision scores compared with those with lower vision scores (P < .003 to P < .001). Draftees with the highest vision scores also received the highest signing bonuses as they entered MLB. CONCLUSIONS: For both potential draftees and teams, the vision score seems to be a valuable tool in selecting players for the MLB draft. Adding the pre-draft visual assessment score to a team's projection model could help reduce the uncertainty surrounding the player draft and future service to the team.