Position-aware evaluation for freshmen through seniors. Honest tier scoring across D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and JUCO. Parent-approved outreach to the right coach.
Baseball isn't one evaluation — a D1 shortstop and a D1 pitcher aren't built from the same blueprint. PathPlay scores against position-specific tiers, so the tier you land in matches who you actually are on the field.
Pitchers grade on velocity mix and command film more than 60-time. D2 arms carry a 7.2 sixty override; D3 + NAIA thresholds widen when the FB/CB/SL repertoire is documented on the mound. JUCO is a real landing spot for projection arms.
D1 catchers get a 7.0 sixty override — that's the position-specific loosening. Pop time, blocking film, and a 3.3 GPA + 3.0 core GPA carry the rest. D3/NAIA scoring rewards game-calling reps and receiving consistency over raw athleticism.
D1 first basemen sit at a 95+ mph exit velocity floor — power is the D1 gate. D3/NAIA thresholds open at 86 mph exit velo when the bat speed and pull-side power are verified on wood-bat film.
D1 middle infielders read on exit velocity plus range — second base sits at a 95+ mph exit velo threshold with a 6.8 sixty ceiling. D3/NAIA scoring rewards turn-the-double-play reps and barrel rate.
D1 corner infielders are power corners — 95+ mph exit velocity plus reliable glove. D3/NAIA scoring opens at 86 mph exit velo when the reaction time and arm strength are documented on varsity film.
Shortstops carry the strictest sixty threshold — D1 SS sits at sub-6.8 sixty plus 95+ mph exit velocity. D3/NAIA scoring still requires range, arm, and barrel contact — a 7.0 SS reads as a stretch at D1 unless the exit velocity is verified.
Outfielders blend speed and bat — D1 OFs sit at sub-6.8 sixty plus 95+ mph exit velocity. D3/NAIA scoring opens up the speed threshold and rewards reads + route efficiency on film.
D1 left fielders lean on exit velocity more than sixty — a 95+ mph threshold plus reliable reads. D3/NAIA scoring opens on arm strength and gap power when the bat speed holds up.
D1 center fielders are speed-first — sub-6.8 sixty plus range into the gap. D3/NAIA thresholds open when reads + route efficiency and gap-to-gap speed are verified on varsity or Perfect Game film.
Baseball timelines run on Perfect Game / WWBA / Area Code showcases and NLI signing windows, not on a single calendar. D1 starts evaluating two years out, D2 waits until junior year, and D3 + NAIA recruiting genuinely picks up across the junior summer. The engine below applies a grad-year modifier so the tier score reflects the realistic window, not the artificial one.
The earliest serious window. Coaches start cataloging Perfect Game / PG showcase circuit and wood-bat events, tabbing sophomore tape for the next cycle. If your grad year is two years out, the engine treats you as one tier lower — yours to climb.
D2 recruiting opens in earnest around the junior spring wood-bat summer and the showcase circuit that follows. A junior-year exit velocity jump or verified sixty-time moves the score with it.
D3 and NAIA both run a junior-summer window for first-touch outreach. Walk-on slots, academic spots, and late rising juniors all overlap here — Area Code / WWBA summer events concentrate the exposure.
NAIA programs run a longer window — junior summer through senior fall — and the academic profile (core GPA) carries the conversation more than exit velocity. NLI signing opens in November and runs through August with an MLB draft carve-out for D1 top-tier arms in mid-summer.
PathPlay's baseball placement engine reads your exit velocity, 60-time, GPA, core GPA, and grad year against per-tier rule tables — and applies a position override on the 60-time threshold when your position allows it (catchers get a looser 60-time target; pitchers grade on velocity mix).
Every tier (D1, D2, D3, NAIA, JUCO) has a distinct rule set with required gates and weighted metrics; the engine returns a confidence rating per tier (Strong, Likely, Stretch, Reach) so the recommendation is honest about where the fit is real and where it's a reach.
Position-specific 60-time: catchers run a slower 60 — the engine applies the override so a 7.0 C reads as a fit at D1 where the same 7.0 on a SS would read as a stretch. That's the differentiation, not a stylistic preference.