Prep Baseball Report

Super 60: Loden Sports Testing Leaders


By Andy Sroka
Illinois and Wisconsin Assistant Director

On Feb. 7, Prep Baseball Report hosted its 19th edition of the Super 60 Pro Showcase on the outskirts of Milwaukee, Wis., at the brand-new Midwest Orthopedic Specialty Hospital Performance Center – or the MOSH Center, for short. Since the event’s inception in 2003, more than 300 players have been selected in the MLB Draft, including 22 first-round picks and 25 second-rounders.

And this year’s event proved to be an exciting first stop on 2021’s road to the MLB Draft, as we were treated to some explosive record-breaking performances amidst what was, arguably, the most impressive roster assembled in the showcase’s nearly 20 years of history.

We’ve been diligently breaking down our findings in the days since last Sunday’s illuminating showcase. You can find some of our previous analysis linked below:

Today, we’re continuing our post-event coverage by analyzing the data collected by Loden Sports, whose team administered testing to players in attendance designed to assess athletic performance at a more detailed level. We’ll highlight their findings below:

10-YARD SPLIT

RANK   NAME 10-YARD STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Anthony Migliaccio 1.51 MI Detroit Country Day C
2 Chase Jans 1.54 KS Blue Valley OF
3 Julian Stevens 1.54 CT Amity OF
4 Luke Leto 1.55 MI Portage Central INF
5 Josh Pearson 1.56 LA West Monroe OF

Measured during the player’s 60-yard dash, Loden Sports collected runners’ 10- and 30-yard splits, while providing segments that can be derived from those recordings (such as the FLY 20). These five players generated the most burst from first movement to the 10-yard marker.

Interestingly, you’ll find that the 10-yard split leaders weren’t necessarily the ones who finished atop the 60-yard dash leaderboard. OF Chase Jans (Blue Valley, KS; Kansas commit) recorded one of the day’s fastest 10-yard split times and went on to record a 6.55 in the 60, another one of the Super 60’s best. C Anthony Migliaccio (Detroit Country Day, MI; Vanderbilt) and OF Josh Pearson (West Monroe, LA; LSU) were two more players who recorded top-10 60 times and earned top-five marks in the 10-yard.

But Julian Stevens (Amity, CT; Missouri) and INF Luke Leto (Portage Central, MI; LSU) each earned spots on the leaderboard above, despite missing the top-15 leaderboard in the 60-yard dash. Stevens, in particular, earned high praise from the Loden Sports group for his performance across multiple tests.

‘MAN-IN-THE-BOX’ TRUE AGILITY

RANK   NAME TRUE AGILITY (Sec.) STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Grant Hussey 10.61 WV Parkersburg South 1B
2 Julian Stevens 10.70 CT Amity OF
3 Anson Aroz 10.70 CA Placer C
4 Braden Montgomery 10.80 MS Madison Central OF/RHP
5 Kendall Diggs 10.88 KS St. Thomas Aquinas 3B

Players were administered the “Man-in-the-Box” test to better assess their agility tool. This test requires the player to ‘capture’ 10 green boxes while navigating a 10-by-10-foot space, with sensors are placed in each corner. During the test, one of the sensors will appear green while the others are blank. The player then triggers the green sensor as quickly as he can by waving his hand in front of it. Randomly, another sensor will appear green, and the player triggers that sensor as fast as he can. He repeats this until he captures 10 green boxes. This test measures agility, in addition to providing cognitive assessment value.

The fastest player to capture the 10 green boxes at the Super 60: West Virginia native 1B Grant Hussey (Parkersburg South), committed locally to the Mountaineers. His score here reflects his noted lateral mobility on defense – especially for his 6-foot-3, 225-pound stature – which has helped him grade out as an asset at first base long-term.

Julian Stevens reappears here after collecting the 10 green boxes in 10.70 seconds, tied with California product C Anson Aroz (Placer; Oregon), who also impressed the Loden team athletically in several tests. Aroz’s acceleration is advanced, which buoys his in-game abilities. And it was hardly surprising to see OF/RHP Braden Montgomery’s (Madison Central, MS; Stanford) name here, too, given his staggering all-around showing across the event.

COUNTER-MOVEMENT JUMPS (MAX HEIGHT & POWER)

RANK   NAME HEIGHT (in.) STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Cameron Butler 25.8 CA Big Valley Christian OF
2 Victor Quinn 24.5 MO Liberty-Wentzville RHP
3 Jackson Nicklaus 24.2 KS Blue Valley INF
4 Ty Hodge 23.8 TX A&M Consolidated SS
5 Elijah Lambros 23.4 VA Fredericksburg Christian OF

RANK   NAME POWER SCORE STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Victor Quinn 72.3 MO Liberty-Wentzville RHP
2 Vytas Valincius 67.9 TN Baylor School 3B
3 Ty Hodge 67.7 TX A&M Consolidated SS
4 Jackson Nicklaus
67.5 KS Blue Valley INF
5 Kaleb Applebey 67.5 IL Mt. Carmel RHP

Simply, this assessment measures the player’s max vertical jump height – only, the player jumps three times in rapid succession, as high as they can and as quickly as they can. According to Loden Sports, this assessment is packed full of athletic insights on power, quickness, and speed. Players are aiming for lower contact times, higher height average, and higher power generated.

California’s OF Cameron Butler (Big Valley Christian; Cal Poly) recorded the day’s highest max jump by a noteworthy margin, measured at 25.8 inches. RHP Victor Quinn (Liberty-Wentzville, MO; Oregon State) has been previously praised for his power and athleticism combined from the mound, and this is only the latest example. The counter-movement jumps and broad jumps, as you’ll see a little further below, help underscore the power he’s able to generate from his lower half, providing some insight into his 96.5 mph max fastball, the event’s highest velocity clocked.

INF Jackson Nicklaus (Blue Valley, KS; Oklahoma) scored well across each of the categories he participated in, though not well enough to be singled out, per se, until now. His recordings measured during his counter-movement jumps signal the power he’s able to generate inherently, and it shows itself from the left-handed batter’s box where our Blast Motion sensor measured his rotational acceleration among the event’s best.

Similarly, INF Ty Hodge (A&M Consolidated, TX; Texas A&M) produced near-identical as Nicklaus results during these jumps, though his power generated comes through in his batted-ball data, as he averaged an exit speed of nearly 94 mph during batting practice, with a max speed of nearly 104.

And get used to seeing 3B Vytas Valincius (Baylor School, TN; South Carolina), as his power and mobility combination is in a class of its own.

DYNAMIC BROAD JUMPS (MAX DISTANCE & POWER)

RANK   NAME Distance (ft.) STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Julian Stevens 11.25 CT Amity OF
2 Chase Jans 11.08 KS Blue Valley OF
3 John Rogers 11.01 IN Carmel OF
4 Victor Quinn 10.96 MO Liberty-Wentzville RHP
5 Cameron Butler 10.96 CA Big Valley Christian OF

RANK   NAME POWER SCORE STATE SCHOOL POS
1 Vytas Valincius
86.1 TN Baylor School 3B
2 Kaleb Applebey 84.8 IL Mt. Carmel RHP
3 Ryan Gilbert 84.6 OH Kenston OF
4 Victor Quinn 83.8 MO Liberty-Wentzville RHP
5 Ryan Ure 82.4 CO Eaton LHP

Here, players were assessed for their ability to jump as far as they could as quickly as they could, following a small ‘bunny’ hop. According to Loden Sports, this assessment provides insights on quickness and power. Players are aiming for lower contact times, farther distance, and higher power generated.

Yet again, Mizzou recruit Julian Stevens paces the way. He jumped the furthest of any other player in attendance, which helps highlight his advanced athletic traits. Stevens’ collection of tools graded out to a high MLB Draft-like level, according to the Loden Sports team.

Considered to be two of the day’s top athletes entering the event, Chase Jans and OF John Rogers (Carmel, IN; Vanderbilt) solidified that notion during the athletic testing. Rogers was featured heavily throughout our traditional stats story, published earlier in the week, so it’s affirming to see his athleticism measured so highly within the Loden testing, too.

Victor Quinn earns another mention both here and on the power chart. It’s hardly a wonder to see how he’s able to reach advanced velocity heights while on the mound. Quinn and Cameron Butler were the only two players to earn top-five measurements in both the max jump height and distance tests.

Lastly, it probably wouldn’t have taken long to guess the list of players to earn top-five grades in the broad jump’s power measurement. Our scouts have long been impressed with Vytas Valincius’ mobility for a player his size, all while maintaining his powerful right-handed-hitting profile. His athleticism for a 6-foot-4, 240-pound prospect was one of the more impressive takeaways for the Loden crew.

Power pitching prospect RHP Kaleb Applebey (Mt. Carmel, IL; Wabash Valley JC) has premium upside to mold at the next level, within his imposing 6-foot-8, 230-pound stature. And something similar can be said about LHP Ryan Ure (Eaton, CO; Oklahoma State), whose 6-foot-7, 230-pound size suggests he, too, is only just beginning to tap into his next-level potential.

Few prospects are as physically impressive as Ohio native OF Ryan Gilbert (Kenston; Indiana). Listed at a brawny 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Gilbert was another unsurprising name that appeared on the broad jump’s power leaderboard.

For a complete look at all of the statistics measured and gathered at Sunday’s Super 60, you can find them by visiting the event’s landing page by clicking here.

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