Another MLB draft has come and gone, and for all involved, it’s always something of a bittersweet feeling. While it’s nice for scouts and players to be rewarded for the fruits of their labor (and indulge in some much-deserved downtime), it’s always a bit sad thinking of the players that didn’t get the bonuses they expected or the scouts just missing out on a player they really hoped to add to their organization. Still, time and tide wait for no one, and the players have quickly either signed their first pro contract or have moved onto the college campuses where they’ll be competing next spring.

As any good prospect expert will tell you, we’re years away from being able to judge this particular class to decide who might have “won” this draft. Still, the draft is an important snapshot in time of how teams value players at this given moment (especially in regards to whom they think has the most long-term potential). And, in working with our baseball partners, it gives us at Vizual Edge access to the scores of top draft picks, having tested 72% of all hitters drafted.

Given said access, we ran the numbers for how Vizual Edge scores correlate with draft signing bonuses, and the findings were stunning. Removing college seniors from the equation (which is a weird market and another topic for another day), players taken in the top 5 rounds with an Edge Score over 84.0 received signing bonuses of nearly $200,000 higher than those below 84.0. And players with a Convergence score (your ability to track incoming objects/pitches) above 45 received bonuses nearly $500,000 higher than those that scored below 45. 

Once again, these visual skills aren’t static- anyone can improve how they recognize and track objects, and training one’s visual skills will lead to improved swing decisions. No matter the level you’re at, vision training is a great way to improve, whether you’re a pro prospect that might take a Vizual Edge test for a prospective team, a college hopeful hoping to get recruited by power 5 schools, or a high school player hoping to get more at bats- consider vision training as a way to take your game to the next level as its an area that many of your competitors aren’t working on.

Anyone familiar with our tests can attest that an 84.0 Edge Score and a 45 convergence score are high, but it again highlights the point: elite hitters have better visual skills. This is consistent with what we find in MLB hitters, elite college hitters and even when we measure exit velocities at high school showcases. The best hitters recognize the ball quickly which allows them to have the best timing - all of which is trainable right from home with our Edge Trainer.

- Lukas

Follow Lukas on Twitter @LMcK_Baseball
Follow Vizual Edge on Twitter @VizualEdge