Prep Baseball Report

PBR IL: SWIC Scout Day: Takeaways


By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Thursday, October 20, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to Belleville, Illinois, to host the SWIC Scout Day on the campus of Southwestern Illinois JC. 19 position players from the Blue Storm roster participated in a pro-style workout with our staff, collecting unrivaled data with the help of our tech partners in the process.

To see a full list of the players that attended this event, click HERE. For all of the statistics collected at this event, click HERE.

Now, at the event’s conclusion, our staff has compiled our scout notes into this ‘Takeaways’ piece to highlight some of the players that popped in our eyes. We’ll also roll-out a few pieces from a statistical standpoint in the coming days, so be on the lookout for that, but learn more about a few names-to-know from the SWIC Scout Day below. 

TAKEAWAYS

+ Sophomore C Emmanuel Scott (St. Ignatius, 2021; IL) may have emerged the SWIC Scout Day as the top prospect to follow. Built at 6-foot, 190-pounds with lean strength and athleticism, Scott started a productive day off by running a 6.95 60-yard dash. Scott barreled nearly every single ball back up the middle during his BP round, averaging an event-high 92.2 mph in the process. His hardest hit ball jumped off his barrel at 99.5 mph traveled 361 ft., and he did so while using an optimal 21.8 degree average launch angle throughout. Scott also showed true actions behind the plate, utilizing a quick and accurate release to pop an event-high 1.87 seconds to the bag on his best bullet. A top-40 prospect in the Illinois’ 2021 class, Scott’s certainly a name-to-know for SWIC this spring.


+ Sophomore OF Mason Roehr (Granite City, 2021; IL) generated some of the hardest contact at the SWIC Scout Day, using minimal effort and inherent strength to do so. At 6-foot-1, 210-pounds, Roehr backspun baseballs efficiently deep to left field, reaching a peak batted distance of 383 ft., per TrackMan. He utilized a relatively simple swing operation to do so, flicking balls off his barrel from a short right-handed stroke. Roehr’s hardest barrel left his bat at 96.6 mph, averaging 86.4 mph per batted ball. He also ran a 6.93 60-yard dash earlier in his workout.


+ Sophomore MIF Cameron Hailstone (Gillespie, 2021; IL) was another physical athlete to standout at last week’s SWIC Scout Day. At 6-foot, 190-pounds, Hailstone’s bat strength was noticeable throughout his BP round. He blistered his hardest ball at 98.1 mph, with an average exit velocity of 89.4 mph, and did so from a whippy right-handed stroke with controlled aggression throughout. Hailstone’s furthest ball traveled 368 feet and his average batted distance of 291 ft. paced all the players at this event. Hailstone’s hands have him pegged to stick on the infield, and he showed comfort working to both sides laterally, too.


+ A top returner for SWIC, MIF Michael Maloney (Lincoln-Way Central, 2021; IL) looks to build off last year in his sophomore campaign. Maloney ran a 6.74 60-yard dash early in the day, improving from the 6.98 time he ran at this event last year, and that athleticism showed on the infield. There, he worked with smooth, efficient actions and looked capable of sticking on the dirt now and in the future, firing an 86 mph high on his hardest throw. Offensively the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Maloney barreled balls up at an 89.8 mph average, including a 96.1 mph max exit velocity, from a clean, rhythmic right-handed swing.


+ At 6-foot-2, 200-pounds, sophomore OF Turner Doran (Lincoln-Way Central, 2021; IL) offers plenty of physical intrigue on the baseball field. Doran, who’s a 6.83 runner, really looks the part in the uniform, and his tools certainly popped throughout his workout. His firmest barrel popped off his bat at 98.3 mph, averaging 87.1 mph per batted ball from a 22.6 degree launch angle on average. Doran also generated the average bat speed of this entire event (74.8 mph) - a testament to that aforementioned athleticism. From the outfield, Doran threw the day’s hardest recorded velocity, reaching back from a long and loose arm action for a 91 mph bullet to the bag.

+ MIF George Astacio (Gateway Legacy Christian Academy, 2022; MO) is a wiry athlete with twitch to all aspects of his game that put together one of the day’s most impressive all-around workouts. Astacio darted his way to a 6.66 60-yard dash to start things off, reaching a peak speed of 21 mph with a 1.65 10-yard split. He peppered line drives back up the middle during BP and flashed bat strength as well, sending a baseball 347 feet at 96.2 mph, per TrackMan. Astacio floated around the infield during the defensive portion of his workout, covering ground effortlessly with athleticism and bounce. His arm plays from multiple angles on the left side of the infield, and his hardest throw carried across the diamond at 90 mph. Astacio’s tools jump out and he’ll look to make an impact for SWIC this upcoming season.


+ C Wilser Then (Gateway Legacy Christian Academy, 2022; MO) emerged a right-handed bat to follow for the Blue Storm. Then repeated hard contact to the middle-in part of the field, using the natural physicality attached to his frame to generate bat speed and juice off the barrel. His hardest batted ball (101.3 mph) was amongst the event’s leaders, as was his max batted distance (372 ft.) and average exit velocity (89.8 mph). Then’s strength translated to behind the plate, where he popped a 1.93 to the bag on his quickest bullet and also registered a 77 mph max from the chute.


+ It didn’t take C/OF Brendan Brock (Mascoutah, 2022; IL) much time to turn heads at this event, as the 6-foot-3, 180-pound freshman dashed his way to one of the fastest 60-yard times we’ve ever seen. Brock sprinted to a 6.19 time on our lasers his first time through and, after running it again, posted an absurd 6.20 time. He reached a peak run speed of 23.1 mph and exploded out of the gates to a 1.55 10-yard split. Brock’s athleticism showed at the plate with clear hand speed and a short, flat right-handed swing to pair. Defensively, Brock took reps behind the plate, reaching back for an 80 mph high on his hardest throw with a 1.88 pop to pair.

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