Prep Baseball Report

Joliet Preseason ID: TrackMan Files


Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Sunday, Feb. 27, the PBR Illinois team hosted the Joliet Preseason ID at Rhino Baseball Academy in Shorewood, Ill. The event featured 125 players from the surrounding area and gave our staff an in-depth look at numerous prospects before the IHSA season takes off.

Earlier this week we published Quick Hits highlighting the top prospects of the event by class. We also rolled out a Statistical Analysis pointing out the top recorded stats by category.

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 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 89.2 mph
2 Cole Noreuil IL Delavan 2024 RHP 86.9 mph
3 Alex Willey IL Normal West 2022 RHP 86.6 mph
4 Kaelan Natyshok IL Coal City 2023 RHP 86.4 mph
5 Blaine Williams IL Tremont 2025 C 86.4 mph
6 Daniel O'Malley IL Andrew 2023 RHP 85.8 mph
7 Caden Kuder IL Coal City 2023 LHP 85.6 mph
8 Denny Furlong IL Mount Carmel 2023 2B 85.3 mph
9 Payton Soske IL Barrington 2023 RHP 85.1 mph
10 Aidan Capone IL Auburn 2023 OF 84.6 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (max)
1 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 2577 rpm
2 Kaiden Nichols IL Effingham 2024 LHP 2478 rpm
3 Alex Willey IL Normal West 2022 RHP 2377 rpm
4 Blaine Williams IL Tremont 2025 C 2367 rpm
5 Cody Hazzard IL Yorkville Christian 2023 RHP 2348 rpm
6 Noah Brandt IL Somonauk 2025 C 2307 rpm
7 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 2258 rpm
8 Amari McGill IL Plainfield East 2024 OF 2247 rpm
9 Haron Abuelhija IL St. Rita 2023 RHP 2235 rpm
10 Aidan Capone IL Auburn 2023 OF 2223 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 Trent Dian IL Oak Forest 2023 OF -19.6
2 Sam Rohlfing IL Harvest Christian Academy 2023 3B 19.1
3 Caden Earing IL Mundelein 2025 RHP 16.7
4 Declan Jessee IL Glenwood 2023 3B 16.6
5 Nathaniel Fundator IL Hinsdale South 2024 OF 16.4
6 Cody DelFavero IL Morris 2024 OF -16.1
7 Payton Soske IL Barrington 2023 RHP 15.1
8 Amari McGill IL Plainfield East 2024 OF 15.0
9 Michael Bartels IL Plainfield East 2025 1B 14.6
10 Cody Hazzard IL Yorkville Christian 2023 RHP 14.5

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 Haron Abuelhija IL St. Rita 2023 RHP 2376
2 John McGlynn IL Oak Lawn 2023 RHP 2373
3 Kaiden Nichols IL Effingham 2024 LHP 2331
4 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 2314
5 Troy Kashul IL Naperville Central 2025 1B 2300
6 Payton Soske IL Barrington 2023 RHP 2295
7 Amari McGill IL Plainfield East 2024 OF 2221
8 Kyle Koerner IL Minooka 2024 2B 2100

Average Curveball Spin Rate

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Nathaniel Buehrer IL Hampshire 2023 RHP 2425 rpm
2 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 2400 rpm
3 John McGlynn IL Oak Lawn 2023 RHP 2399 rpm
4 Amari McGill IL Plainfield East 2024 OF 2356 rpm
5 Blaine Williams IL Tremont 2025 C 2353 rpm
6 Kaileb Hackman IL Normal Community 2024 3B 2349 rpm
7 Haron Abuelhija IL St. Rita 2023 RHP 2333 rpm
8 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 2320 rpm

Average Changeup Horizontal Movement

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Nicolas Miller IL St. Charles East 2023 SS 20.3
2 Aidan Capone IL Auburn 2023 OF 19.8
3 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 19.3
4 Nathaniel Fundator IL Hinsdale South 2024 OF 17.9
5 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 17.8
6 Caden Earing IL Mundelein 2025 RHP 16.9
7 Trent Dian IL Oak Forest 2023 OF -16.5
8 Amari McGill IL Plainfield East 2024 OF 16.0
9 Kaelan Natyshok IL Coal City 2023 RHP 15.9
10 Daniel O'Malley IL Andrew 2023 RHP 14.8

Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (avg)
1 Kaelan Natyshok IL Coal City 2023 RHP 93.6 mph
2 Alex Willey IL Normal West 2022 RHP 93.1 mph
3 Andrew Gallegos IL Naperville Central 2023 1B 92.5 mph
4 Kade Schneider IL Barrington 2023 OF 92.3 mph
5 Declan Jessee IL Glenwood 2023 3B 90.2 mph
6 Michael Carrano IL St. Laurence 2023 C 89.8 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 Kade Schneider IL Barrington 2023 OF 100.5 mph
2 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 99.8 mph
3 Alex Willey IL Normal West 2022 RHP 98.9 mph
4 Andrew Gallegos IL Naperville Central 2023 1B 98.2 mph
5 Michael Carrano IL St. Laurence 2023 C 96.8 mph
6 Kaelan Natyshok IL Coal City 2023 RHP 96.4 mph
7 Jude Allen IL Providence Catholic 2023 1B 96.3 mph
8 Kaileb Hackman IL Normal Community 2024 3B 95.0 mph
9 Camden Raddatz IL Effingham 2024 3B 94.7 mph
10 Daniel Connelly IL Mundelein 2023 C 94.6 mph

Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Alex Willey IL Normal West 2022 RHP 378 ft
2 Kade Schneider IL Barrington 2023 OF 368 ft
3 Easton Harris IL Washington 2022 SS 363 ft
4 Kaelan Natyshok IL Coal City 2023 RHP 359 ft
5 Michael Carrano IL St. Laurence 2023 C 357 ft
6 Andrew Gallegos IL Naperville Central 2023 1B 354 ft

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

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