CHICAGO — Scouting reports too abhor a vacuum and so many of them for amateur baseball players had blank spots from game performance due to the constraints of the past year, from limited schedules to limited attendance and, of course, reduced scouting staffs throughout pro baseball.
Even though game coverage slowed, the data flow did not.
Into the void rushed technology and the advanced metrics highlighted in the majors — exit velocity, spin rate, barrel rates — and other information that can be gathered in a batting cage or a bullpen. This individualized and showcase format of scouting in 2021 included, for the first time, a made-for-TV MLB combine.