Prep Baseball Report

Central Illinois Open: Data Dive


Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Tuesday, July 12, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to The Corn Crib in Normal, Ill., to host the annual Central Illinois Open. This event was open to all 2023-to-2026 graduates and featured more than 50 prospects from the Central Illinois region, allowing our scouts an opportunity to check-in on these athletes as the summer rolls on. 

For a complete list of players in attendance, click HERE. To see all of the statistics from the event, click HERE

 

TRACKMAN


We'll continue to roll out the data we gathered from this event, starting with the analytics we have at our disposal from our TrackMan units. Below we'll look at which players had noteworthy batted ball and pitch data.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & SPIN RATE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Velocity (max)
1 Kolten Schmoll-Burton IL Geneseo 2025 RHP 84.4 mph
2 Cole Martz IN Huntington North 2023 RHP 84.0 mph
3 James Hess IL Charleston 2023 RHP 83.5 mph
4 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 82.2 mph
5 Jack Helms IL Mattoon 2023 RHP 81.7 mph
6 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 81.5 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (max)
1 Mac Raymer IL Elpaso Gridley 2023 LHP 2293 rpm
2 Owen Cavanaugh IL Normal Community 2024 SS 2246 rpm
3 Kolten Schmoll-Burton IL Geneseo 2025 RHP 2207 rpm
4 James Hess IL Charleston 2023 RHP 2202 rpm
5 Cole Martz IN Huntington North 2023 RHP 2199 rpm
6 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 2191 rpm

Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.

Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.

AVERAGE FASTBALL HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 James Hess IL Charleston 2023 RHP 16.3
2 Daniel Wilson IL Peoria Notre Dame 2025 RHP 14.1
3 Mason Vandegraft IL El Paso Gridley 2025 RHP 14.1
4 Jack Helms IL Mattoon 2023 RHP 13.0
5 Rocco Trevino IL Bishop McNamara 2026 LHP -11.7

Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”

AVERAGE CURVEBALL & SLIDER SPIN RATE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Jack Wisdom IL Bloomington Central Catholic 2024 RHP 2814 rpm
2 Owen Cavanaugh IL Normal Community 2024 SS 2492 rpm
3 Trey Carter IL Williamsville 2023 RHP 2194 rpm
4 Cole Martz IN Huntington North 2023 RHP 2166 rpm
5 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 2153 rpm

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Trey Carter IL Williamsville 2023 RHP 2111
2 Jack Helms IL Mattoon 2023 RHP 2094
3 Ethan Zaayenga IL Tremont 2023 RHP 2043

AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Mac Raymer IL Elpaso Gridley 2023 LHP -18.5
2 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 18.0
3 Mason Vandegraft IL El Paso Gridley 2025 RHP 17.6
4 James Hess IL Charleston 2023 RHP 15.8
5 Jack Helms IL Mattoon 2023 RHP 14.6
6 Owen Cavanaugh IL Normal Community 2024 SS 13.4
7 Jack Wisdom IL Bloomington Central Catholic 2024 RHP 13.2
8 Ethan Zaayenga IL Tremont 2023 RHP 12.9
9 Daniel Wilson IL Peoria Notre Dame 2025 RHP 12.9
10 Trent Durham IL Normal West 2024 3B 12.6

MAX EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (max)
1 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 97.0 mph
2 Griffin Graue IL Glenwood 2023 C 95.0 mph
3 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 93.7 mph
4 Cole Martz IN Huntington North 2023 RHP 93.4 mph
5 Devan Tupper IL Normal University 2024 RHP 93.0 mph
6 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 92.7 mph
7 Blake Norton IL Salt Fork 2023 RHP 92.5 mph
8 Sam DesCarpentrie IL Normal West 2024 C 91.5 mph
9 Blake Regenold IL Tri-Valley 2023 C 91.0 mph
10 Sean Jenkins IL Normal West 2025 OF 90.4 mph

MAX DISTANCE (HITTING)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Blake Norton IL Salt Fork 2023 RHP 344 ft
2 Harley Sharp IL Williamsville 2023 OF 337 ft
3 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 337 ft
4 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 329 ft
5 Nicholas Donelan IL Williamsville 2023 OF 328 ft


BLAST MOTION

With the help of our Blast Motion sensors, we're analyzing the swing metrics measured at this open showcase.

HAND SPEED (PEAK & AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (max)
1 Devan Tupper IL Normal University 2024 RHP 27.0 mph
2 Mason Buzicky IL Normal West 2023 SS 25.6 mph
3 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 25.5 mph
4 Jarret Muchow IL Mattoon 2024 RHP 25.4 mph
5 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 25.2 mph
6 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 25.1 mph
7 Sean Jenkins IL Normal West 2025 OF 24.8 mph
8 Sam DesCarpentrie IL Normal West 2024 C 24.6 mph
9 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 24.5 mph
10 Ryan Theile IL Normal Community 2024 C 24.2 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (avg)
1 Devan Tupper IL Normal University 2024 RHP 25.5 mph
2 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 24.9 mph
3 Mason Buzicky IL Normal West 2023 SS 23.7 mph
4 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 23.5 mph
5 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 23.5 mph
6 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 23.4 mph
7 Thomas Mickels IL Peoria Notre Dame 2025 RHP 23.3 mph
8 Ryan Theile IL Normal Community 2024 C 23.0 mph
9 Connor Drowns IL Pekin 2023 C 22.8 mph
10 Sean Jenkins IL Normal West 2025 OF 22.7 mph

Peak Hand Speed: The observed maximum speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge.

BAT SPEED (AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (avg)
1 Blake Regenold IL Tri-Valley 2023 C 73.4 mph
2 Cole Martz IN Huntington North 2023 RHP 73.0 mph
3 Sawyer Laffoon IL Milford 2023 C 72.9 mph
4 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 72.8 mph
5 Trent Durham IL Normal West 2024 3B 71.8 mph
6 Owen Hawkins IL Mattoon 2024 C 71.7 mph
7 Blake Norton IL Salt Fork 2023 RHP 71.1 mph
8 Mason Nolasco IL Stevenson 2026 OF 70.8 mph
9 Wyatt Beer IL Mascoutah 2024 70.8 mph
10 Nicholas Donelan IL Williamsville 2023 OF 70.6 mph

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. The sweet spot of the bat is measured six inches from the tip of the bat.

ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION (PEAK & AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (max)
1 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 32.6 g
2 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 27.5 g
3 Connor Drowns IL Pekin 2023 C 26.9 g
4 Ryan Theile IL Normal Community 2024 C 26.2 g
5 Carson Wort IL Pawnee 2025 C 25.9 g
6 Owen Cavanaugh IL Normal Community 2024 SS 25.5 g

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (avg)
1 Jake Morrill IL Normal West 2023 OF 26.8 g
2 Connor Drowns IL Pekin 2023 C 24.5 g
3 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 23.5 g
4 Carson Wort IL Pawnee 2025 C 21.7 g
5 Ryan Theile IL Normal Community 2024 C 21.6 g

Body Rotation: A swing that has the appropriate relative contributions of body and bat rotations is an efficient and Powerful swing that maintains proper sequencing. An efficient baseball swing is one in which the body creates the initial movements, which is then transferred to the arms and out to the bat, thereby maximizing Bat Speed through this proximal-to-distal kinematic sequencing movement pattern.

VIZUAL EDGE

We’ll take a look at the top Vizual Edge scores from the event.

EDGE SCORE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Edge Score
1 Will Strehl IL Normal West 2023 3B 84.17
2 Connor Drowns IL Pekin 2023 C 83.05
3 Andrew Gillihan IL Mount Carmel 2024 SS 76.09
4 Cam Semelroth IL Limestone 2023 OF 75.22

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