How a Boston start-up is changing the way MLB teams benefit pitchers

As Major League Baseball barrels toward the World Series later this month, one Massachusetts startup has been rooting for the teams using its technology.

Founded in 2021, Infinite Sky uses artificial intelligence to analyze video from baseball games to determine which pitchers have the best command of which pitches.

The data can be helpful to teams in recruiting, deciding how much to pay for a given pitcher and determining which pitches to throw to a specific batter, Ken Lazarus, the company’s CEO, said.

He also believes the data could be helpful to fans playing in fantasy leagues — or betting on the outcome of games.

The startup is still small — about 10 employees, split between Boston and New York. It has raised several million dollars in early funding, though Lazarus didn’t want to be more specific. The company hopes to raise additional money later this year or early in 2026.

It recently added several MLB veterans to its advisory board, including former Red Sox starting pitcher Rich Hill and Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon, a four-time All-Star.

Lazarus said that, unlike other systems that need several cameras around the field to track the action, Infinite Sky can do it with just one. That makes it less expensive to use, even at college or high school fields, he said.

The startup’s software looks at the movement of the pitcher, the glove placement of the catcher, the number of players on base, and “makes a prediction about where the pitcher’s target is,” Lazarus said. It compares the pitch’s starting point with its final position to calculate how much control the pitcher has.

The company doesn’t yet analyze the videos in real time as a game is playing out; instead, it processes them overnight.

Its leading three pitchers on the leaderboard for best command this season: Angel Zerpa from the Kansas City Royals, Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers and Zack Wheeler from the Philadelphia Phillies. (Brayan Bello from the Red Sox showed up in fourth place.)

One way Lazarus said the company’s data could be used is in analyzing what to pay for a given pitcher.

If you’re looking at “two expensive players with the same ERA, everyone knows velocity drops with age,” he said. “We can show command doesn’t. So if you’re going to spend $300 million, you should get the player with better command.”

Infinite Sky introduced its technology to the league at last December’s Winter Meetings. Lazarus said “a handful of teams” have adopted it this season, though he isn’t allowed to name them.

Next up for the company: analyzing a pitcher’s push-off force from the mound, as well as how batters connect with a pitch.

“While the MLB stadiums have equipment for motion analysis, today’s systems don’t provide reliable [data about] forces and torques,” said Lazarus, adding that “analyzing and improving the torque sequence of a batter could significantly improve batting performance.”

After that, Lazarus said the company may move into analyzing golf, tennis or basketball.