FastballCompanion
While you watch an MLB game, the app explains each pitch in plain language: what a 101.8 mph fastball with a sharp splitter really means, why a pitcher changed speeds, and which at-bat is about to matter.
Casual MLB fans who love the drama but don't know pitching jargon and feel lost when broadcasters dive into Statcast numbers
- Live pitch explanations synced to your TV broadcast or MLB.TV stream
- Career-comparison popups: 'Sasaki's 21 pitches of 100+ mph — where does that rank since 2008?'
- Storyline mode that flags big at-bats, pitch-count risks, and pitcher fatigue
- Weekly 'under-the-radar pitcher' newsletter for the second half of the season
Roki Sasaki's record 21 pitches of 100+ mph and the Yamamoto comparison sparked fan curiosity, but Statcast data on MLB.com is raw numbers most casual fans can't interpret.
MLB itself just launched Scout Insights (Gemini-powered real-time Statcast explanations) on March 23, 2026, validating that casual fans want this — but demand is now largely served by the official product.MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With 'Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday ↗MLB Gameday: Real-time MLB scores ↗
MLB + Google Cloud's Scout Insights does essentially the exact same job inside the official Gameday experience, and a hackathon project (InPlay Insights) has already shipped the same concept; the market is effectively closed by the rights-holder.MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With 'Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday ↗InPlay Insights: Real-Time Baseball Strategy Decoded | Devpost ↗
Scout Insights ships free inside MLB Gameday/MLB.TV; casual MLB fans already juggle ~6 streaming subscriptions in 2026, making a paid third-party version for the same feature very hard to sell.MLB Media Rights Deal: Why Baseball Fans Need 6 Subscriptions in 2026 ↗MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With 'Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday ↗
MLB has direct Statcast access and a 6-season Google Cloud partnership with embedded engineers — a third-party app will be permanently outmatched and could be further squeezed by richer broadcaster/ESPN integrations.MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With 'Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday ↗
Tech-wise an LLM pitch explainer is trivial, but real-time Statcast data is licensed to MLB partners only; a third party would need expensive data deals, scraping, or multi-second delays, and may face IP/TOS risk.MLB, Google Cloud Debut AI-Powered, Real-Time Game Analysis With 'Scout Insights' in MLB Gameday ↗How MLB Pitch Tracking Works: Behind Baseball's Complex System ↗