As the Royals roll, this KC tech startup wants to develop its future pitchers
October 27, 2015 | Bobby Burch
A local startup hopes to cultivate the next Wade Davis or Yordano Ventura with the help of its pitching technology.
Precise Play’s Digital Pitch Analyzer
In early 2015, Kansas City-based Precise Play launched its digital pitch analyzer, which the company is selling to baseball academies, schools and private leagues.
Precise Play founder Victor Villarreal said that his machine has been a hit with young players — ages eight to 18 — who hope to improve their pitching skills.
“We can’t get kids off these machines,” Villarreal said. “I took it to a maker’s fair, and the kids were throwing into it and having a blast. Finally, their parents had to tell them that there were other people in line. … You can’t keep them off this thing.”
The six-foot, 300-pound machine uses laser light to track and locate a pitch. A digital display quickly reports back to a pitcher his speed, whether the throw was a strike or ball and its general location.
Painted a Royal blue, the Wi-Fi-enabled pitch analyzer also produces printable performance reports for pitchers to see their pattern. Soon the machine will send the report to a mobile app that’s now in development, which will allow for pitchers to create an online profile of their skills and progress.
“We developed a light curtain with this machine,” Villarreal said. “It has a triple layer light curtain and there are laser arrays that are disrupted by a passing ball and we can collect the data as it passes. We can detect its position on an x and y (axis) and a delta and z axis with a speed component to very accurately determine the speed of the ball.”
Villarreal is selling the laser light version of his product for $4,400 and a radar-based machine for $1,500.
An electrical engineer by training, Villarreal said he plans to capture data from the machines in hopes to create additional revenue opportunities for Precise Play. Eventually, Villarreal said he sees the potential for college scouts and recruiters to pay a subscription to learn more about prospects.
Founded in 2012, Precise Play now has eight people on staff.
Here’s a brief demonstration of the machine from Villarreal:
2015 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Tees to NFTs: Why the designer behind one of KC’s most iconic young brands is testing the waters of crypto
Blockchain’s rise is sending a wave of change crashing over far-ranging industries — and a Kansas City-based design and branding studio is ready to hang ten, its founder said. “I saw it as an emerging market of opportunity,” Ocean and Sea’s Brendan O’Shaughnessy told Startland News, detailing the popular design firm and clothing brand’s nose dive…
Yelp for DEI: New tech gives public a tool to share discrimination concerns in real-time, empowers companies to monitor, improve
Aishah Augusta-Parham’s tech platform has a goal rooted in impact: help business owners become more mindful of diversity, equity, inclusion efforts in their day-to-day operations — better ensuring their customers do business with companies and brands that embody shared values. “We are the Yelp of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Augusta-Parham said, detailing the mission behind…
Dough-re-mi: Choir teacher’s pop-up pie hustle bakes her second verse from scratch
On any given weekday, Ann Lewis Marzette can be found in the classroom, teaching and training students in the Kearney Middle School choir. But when the clock strikes 3 p.m., she trades sheet music and scales for mixing bowls and measuring cups, embracing a side hustle that has her singing dough-re-mi — while customers serenade…
Return on investment: Why the co-founder of tech giant Dropbox just donated $500K to Blue Valley schools
Blue Valley schools, teachers, and students are expected to benefit greatly from a newly announced fund launched by the homegrown Johnson County tech entrepreneur who later co-founded the cloud storage giant Dropbox. Arash Ferdowsi, a 2004 graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School, has put up $500,000 to launch the Arash Ferdowsi Fund, which benefits…