MLB Draft Combine Testing
Since 2021, Major League Baseball has held a pre-draft combine for high school and college baseball players (like the NFL and NHL), which involves a series of medical and performance assessments on potential baseball draft picks.
baseball is physically demanding Plans to conduct a draft combine started in 2015 after a complicated situation unfolded with the No. 1 pick in 2014, Brady Aiken. It is hoped that access to amateur players’ medical information will help avoid a repeat of the situation.
The inaugural Draft Combine in 2021 was held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, while San Diego’s Petco Park, home of the Padres, hosted the second event in June 2022. The 2023 and 2024 event was held at Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix, Arizona.
There are five assessment categories at the combine: club interviews; medical assessments; vision testing; on-field assessment; and strength and conditioning physical tests.
There are no complete description of the testing procedure, so we have taken information from various sources about what is conducted. The lists of test is probably incomplete, but this gives an idea of what is done.
Medical Assessments
These are some of the medical assessments done.
- Blood tests, MRI
- Body Measurements:
- Weight, Body composition measurements (skinfolds/DEXA scan)
- Height, Sitting Height and Arm-Span
- Girth and Width Measurements
- Posture Assessment
- Range of motion assessments - elbow, shoulder, neck, spine, hip
- Functional movement screen: involves seven specific joint assessments, developed by Cook et al. (1998). The results could ultimately reveal imbalances and symmetry deficiencies in movements of the body, and is used as a screening tool to identify athletes at risk of injury
- Y-Balance Test
- Grip Strength
Strength and conditioning physical tests
- Counter Movement Jump — maximum height jump test, using a force plate for measurement. Conducted with and without arm swing movement.
- Broad Jump — measuring maximal horizontal jump distance. In 2021, the jump included a small pre-jump. This was not part of the test in 2023.
- 30 Yard Dash — a straight line sprint test that measures speed and acceleration. The participants start facing side-on to the running direction. Timing gates are placed every five yards.
- Agility & Reaction Test — in a test called "Man in the box", players have to react and touch four timer/touch pads that light up in a random order. The player stands in the middle of four touch pads on tripods. The test consists of two levels, capture the green box and capture the green 3. In the first level, one of the four sensors displays a solid green box with the others blank. In the second level, the target sensor displays a green '3', the others random colored numbers/shapes. The aim of the test is to quickly as possible identify and touch ten green boxes or green threes.
Other Tests
- Swing analysis
Combine Results
Only the results of a few tests have been found online
Related Pages
- Some of the combine tests are similar to that used for the Baseball SPARQ testing.
- 'MLB The Show' - Manage Your Favorite Team
- About the different Sports Combines
- Fitness Testing for Baseball
- Baseball Warm-Up
- Discussion of the fitness components for baseball
- Who Is The Fittest Baseball Player Ever?
- Poll: Fitness components for baseball
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events