Prep Baseball Report

Class of 2023 Showcase: TrackMan Files


Kevin Cronin
Tech Scout / Area Scout

On Sunday, October 10, the PBR Illinois staff returned to The MAX Sports Complex to host the Class of 2023 Showcase. This annual event serves as an opportunity for prospects in the state’s current junior class to display their talents in front of our scouting staff prior to the start of the off-season. There were more than 60+ prospects that made the trip to The MAX on Sunday and participated in a pro-style workout in front of our evaluators.

Earlier today we published a Statistical Analysis, bringing you a quick statistical analysis of those that participated in the event, as well as a quick nugget on which players stood out.

Now 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 metric data.


MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Velocity (max)
1 Josh Katz IL Lane Tech 2023 RHP 87.3 mph
2 Tate Roley IL Morton 2023 LHP 87.2 mph
3 Joseph Martin IL Newark 2023 RHP 86.8 mph
4 Alex Day IL Andrew 2023 3B 85.2 mph
5 Xzavier Vargas IL Lyons Township 2023 RHP 84.6 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (max)
1 Alex Day IL Andrew 2023 3B 2510 rpm
2 Josh Katz IL Lane Tech 2023 RHP 2493 rpm
3 Xzavier Vargas IL Lyons Township 2023 RHP 2325 rpm
4 Aris Kosiek IL Montini Catholic 2023 RHP 2234 rpm
5 Caleb Martinez IL Wheeling 2023 RHP 2219 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 Ryan Norkus IL Downers Grove South 2023 LHP -15.5
2 Tate Roley IL Morton 2023 LHP -14.6
3 Blake Binkowski IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 1B -13.9
4 Jason Sullivan IL Sandburg 2023 OF 13.3
5 Luke Richker IL New Trier 2023 RHP 13.1

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 Slider Spin Rate

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Xzavier Vargas IL Lyons Township 2023 RHP 2291
2 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 2162
3 Joseph Martin IL Newark 2023 RHP 2024

Average Curveball Spin Rate

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Josh Katz IL Lane Tech 2023 RHP 2562 rpm
2 Xzavier Vargas IL Lyons Township 2023 RHP 2315 rpm
3 Caleb Martinez IL Wheeling 2023 RHP 2147 rpm
4 Alex Day IL Andrew 2023 3B 2135 rpm
5 Luke Richker IL New Trier 2023 RHP 2134 rpm

Average Changeup Horizontal Movement

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Luke Richker IL New Trier 2023 RHP 18.5
2 Joseph Martin IL Newark 2023 RHP 17.6
3 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 15.4
4 Xzavier Vargas IL Lyons Township 2023 RHP 14.9
5 Josh Katz IL Lane Tech 2023 RHP 14.0

Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (avg)
1 Graham Mastros IL New Trier 2023 3B 94.8 mph
2 Jayden Malone IL Metea Valley 2023 OF 88.8 mph
3 Jack Falls IL Lyons Township 2023 3B 88.6 mph
4 Matt Spell IL Brother Rice 2023 3B 87.6 mph
5 NJ Gott IL Glenbrook North 2023 1B 86.9 mph

Exit Speed: Also according to TrackMan’s own website: “The speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.”

Peak Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (max)
1 Graham Mastros IL New Trier 2023 3B 99.4 mph
2 Blake Binkowski IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 1B 94.9 mph
3 Alex Day IL Andrew 2023 3B 93.6 mph
4 Dylan Harer IL St. Viator 2023 OF 93.5 mph
5 Amarion Paxton IL Clifton Central 2023 OF 93.4 mph
6 Jayden Malone IL Metea Valley 2023 OF 93.3 mph
7 Kevin Hall Jr IN Munster 2023 UTILITY 93.2 mph
8 Matt Spell IL Brother Rice 2023 3B 92.9 mph

Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Graham Mastros IL New Trier 2023 3B 362 ft
2 NJ Gott IL Glenbrook North 2023 1B 353 ft
3 Blake Binkowski IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 1B 351 ft
4 Jayden Malone IL Metea Valley 2023 OF 341 ft
5 Amarion Paxton IL Clifton Central 2023 OF 329 ft
6 Matt Spell IL Brother Rice 2023 3B 321 ft

For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.

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