Case Study: How Pelotero's Plate Intelligence Transformed Two D1 Hitters

In the battle between pitcher and hitter, information has always been the ultimate advantage. Plate Intelligence, Petotero’s newest product, is changing how baseball and softball players approach their craft, providing unprecedented insights that are helping them make dramatic improvements to their game.

Pelotero's Plate Intelligence tool, which allows hitters to track and analyze their at bats pitch by pitch, is an essential resource for players looking to gain an edge. By seamlessly logging information about pitch recognition, swing decisions, timing, and accuracy, the app surfaces critical insights that help players understand both their successes and failures at the plate as well as builds development plans to help them fix them for the future.

We recently discussed Plate Intelligence with two Division 1 players, Jack Thorbahn of Stonehill and Ben Rounds of Duke, to see how using the tool was impacting their process.  The following is a summary of how transformative Plate Intelligence has been to their hitting development. 

Paying Attention

For most hitters, truly understanding what happens during their at bats is a persistent challenge. Since starting to track their at bats using Plate Intelligence, both Jack and Ben have seen their level of awareness in games skyrocket. 

Jack described how his approach to reviewing games has fundamentally changed:

"Before, I'd go watch my video and if I hit the ball well I'd be like, that was nice. If I didn't, I'd be like, I missed that," Thorbahn explains. "But that was mostly the extent of it. I didn’t really understand what I was looking for."

Now using Plate Intelligence, Jack is understanding his game on a much deeper level. 

"Being forced to answer questions about my decisions and timing opened up my awareness. I'm able to process so much more on every pitch and think more strategically about everything. Like what actually leads to swings where I’m perfectly on time? Was I looking for the right pitch? How is this guy trying to set me up?”

Jack Thorbahn double against FIU with Plate Intelligence logging overlayed.

For Ben Rounds of Duke Baseball, the tool has sharpened his ability to notice subtle patterns and make connections he would have missed before:

"I find myself paying much more attention to whether or not I’m getting good pitches to hit. And whether or not I’m actually making the most of them," Rounds explains. "And looking at the outs is actually the most helpful. Because when I’m going good, the game feels easy. Now when things are bad, I feel like I know where to look for answers."

This heightened awareness has led to more objectivity. Rather than being clouded by emotion after a tough game, both players can analyze what actually happened and separate fact from feeling. The objectivity allows them to "draft a plan up" for their next game and return to "that right head space to compete for the next day," as Rounds puts it.

Thorbahn put it slightly differently. "When I go through the process of analyzing every pitch, there is a lot less emotion. I really just want to understand if I was late or early and how I missed… and if I'm able to be that objective reviewing these at bats, then that's how objective I want to be in the batter's box."

Building a Better Approach

Perhaps the most significant benefit both players highlighted was the improved processing of information from at bats. When players log, they have to answer the following questions about every pitch: 

• What was the pitch? (did I recognize it?) 

• Where was it? (was it a good pitch to swing at?) 

• Was I early, on time, or late with my swing? 

• Did I square the ball up or did I miss over or under?

Every Plate Intelligence user can view charts with insights from their data on their Pelotero player dashboard.

Both have started getting used to processing all of these questions on every pitch. For Thorbahn, it's exposed him to some nuances within the game. 

"I'm able to understand my on-time swings and what leads into that," Thorbahn explains. "If I barrel a fastball away, did he throw me something hard earlier and that's why I set up for it? Or was I on time for a curve ball and able to react to the pitch? Just being forced to answer timing questions gets me asking deeper questions like this."

For Ben Rounds, the tool has helped him make critical in-game adjustments. He cited a specific example of him tweaking his thought process during an at bat. 

"It was an 0-1 count and he threw a cutter to me at 95. And I remember I was late and I was under it. I took a step back from the batter's box. I said ‘late and under, late and under’. I’m like okay, let me get more on top than I thought I had to, and then let me be a little bit earlier. And I pieced the next pitch.. So those are the adjustments that, you know, against an elite pitcher objectively, like that makes all the difference. And having the Plate Intelligence framework allowed me to do that."

The adjustment described by Ben Rounds.

Thorbahn experienced similar benefits, noting that using Plate Intelligence has accelerated his ability to diagnose issues: "I definitely feel like my personal feedback is quicker than it used to be."

Thinking More Strategically

Both players stressed that while swing mechanics receive much attention in contemporary baseball training, the strategic aspects of hitting are often overlooked—precisely what Plate Intelligence addresses.

"I think the current state of a lot of baseball right now, especially with like training tools, everything's geared towards the swing and getting stronger and launch angle," Rounds observes. "And I think very rarely is it getting the strategic side...there are people who are really talented  swingers…you know, they take  BP and they hit balls 500 feet. They have juice. They can hit to all fields. But they don’t know how to think against a pitcher that is trying to get them out. And then they can’t do it in the game."

He continues, "Guys can get away with it in high school where the pitchers aren’t as good. But if you don’t have an awareness of how guys attack you in college, you get picked apart. So that’s what I really like about Plate Intelligence. It gives me the framework to know what to pay attention to."

For Rounds, who describes himself as previously streaky and someone who would have “really good days and really bad days,” the mental framework provided by Plate Intelligence has been transformative. "The consistency wasn't there before. But since I’ve started tracking I feel like I’m competitive even on days where I don’t feel as good. I’m more dangerous as a thinker.”

Accelerating the Learning Curve

Both players believe this approach dramatically compresses the development timeline.

When asked if he would have benefited from this tool earlier in his career, Rounds responded emphatically: "Oh my God. Yeah."

He advises younger players: "If you want to become a better hitter in the shortest amount of time and increase your consistency as much as possible, I would dive into it. And not like, one toe in. You need to track everything. This should be a habit.”

Thorbahn agrees, noting that this approach gives players clarity within the chaos of a baseball game: "There’s so much to pay attention to during games and it gets stressful. And I think tracking your at-bats...helps you lock-in and get to that flow state. It creates clarity."

Conclusion: A New Standard for Player Development

What both player testimonials make clear is that Plate Intelligence isn't just another training tool—it's a fundamental shift in how hitters approach the game. By providing objective data, encouraging analytical thinking, and facilitating precise adjustments, Plate Intelligence addresses the strategic aspect of hitting that is so often overshadowed by mechanical adjustments.

In a game where the difference between success and failure is often measured in milliseconds and millimeters, Pelotero's Plate Intelligence is giving college hitters the edge they need to transform potential into consistent performance.

For players at any level looking to get better, the message from these Division 1 hitters is clear: tracking at bats is game changing, and it's time to get on board.

Want to track your at bats? Visit one of our partners and become a Pelotero subscriber!