Prep Baseball Report

Chicago Preseason ID: Pitching Data Dive


Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Feb. 19, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to the Pullman Community Center in Chicago to host the Chicago Preseason ID. This event provided us an ample opportunity to check-in on some of the area’s top high school prospects and identify several new names to know as we prepare for the IHSA season, as well as future invite-only events on the PBR Illinois calendar.

Yesterday, we took a closer look at some of the immediate standouts who caught our attention with our Quick Hits. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below: 

Below you'll find which players popped on the numerical side at Chicago’s Pullman Center over the weekend.

TRACKMAN

FASTBALL

VELOCITY (MAX)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Velocity (max)
1 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 89.9 mph
2 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP 85.1 mph
3 Matthew Richert IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 84.8 mph
4 Kenneth Jackson IL Simeon 2023 RHP 84.7 mph
5 Andrew (AJ) Payton IL Burlington Central 2024 RHP 84.2 mph

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

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 2238 rpm
2 Kenneth Jackson IL Simeon 2023 RHP 2200 rpm
3 William Nazha IL Barrington 2024 2B 2137 rpm
4 Matthew Richert IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 2126 rpm
5 Nathan Cera IL Maine South 2026 3B 2117 rpm

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.

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos IVB (avg)
1 Ethan Collins IL Oak Lawn 2024 LHP 20.9 in
2 Matthew Richert IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 18.7 in
3 Andrew Smith IL Sarah Goode 2023 OF 18.6 in
4 Christian Lott IL Simeon Career Academy 2026 1B 18.1 in
5 Dallan Krewatch IL University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2026 RHP 17.6 in
6 Shawn Krieps IL Providence Catholic 2025 2B 16.7 in

Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiency. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of the vertical approach angle.

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Marcus Wolfe Jr IL The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2025 RHP 16.7
2 Antwan Harvey Jr. IL Lindblom 2023 2B 16.5
3 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 16.1
4 Jack Gianikos IL Maine South 2026 RHP 14.2
5 Landon Liboon IL Hinsdale Central 2025 RHP 14.2

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.”

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

Rank Name State School Class Pos Zone %
1 Danny Johnson IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 71 %
2 Marcus Wolfe Jr IL The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2025 RHP 66 %
^ Matthew Richert IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 66 %

 


 

CURVEBALL

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 William Nazha IL Barrington 2024 2B 2491 rpm
2 Nathan Cera IL Maine South 2026 3B 2464 rpm
3 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP 2375 rpm
4 Noah Nelkin IL Lincoln Park 2024 SS 2215 rpm
5 Antwan Harvey Jr. IL Lindblom 2023 2B 2202 rpm

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos IVB (avg)
1 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP -17.2 in
2 Noah Nelkin IL Lincoln Park 2024 SS -16.8 in
3 Jack Gianikos IL Maine South 2026 RHP -9.5 in

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Nathan Cera IL Maine South 2026 3B -20.6
2 Andrew (AJ) Payton IL Burlington Central 2024 RHP -18.8
3 Jack Gianikos IL Maine South 2026 RHP -15.7
4 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP -14.8
5 Shawn Krieps IL Providence Catholic 2025 2B -12.9

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

Rank Name State School Class Pos Zone %
1 Dallan Krewatch IL University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2026 RHP 83 %
2 Antwan Harvey Jr. IL Lindblom 2023 2B 66 %
^ Marcus Wolfe Jr IL The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2025 RHP 66 %

 


 

SLIDER

SPIN RATE (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP 2322
2 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 2212
3 Noah Nelkin IL Lincoln Park 2024 SS 2161

INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos IVB (avg)
1 Noah Nelkin IL Lincoln Park 2024 SS -12.8 in
2 Jalen Allen IL Marian Catholic 2025 RHP 12.4 in

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Noah Nelkin IL Lincoln Park 2024 SS -15.2
2 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP -13.4

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

Rank Name State School Class Pos Zone %
1 Danny Johnson IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 100 %
2 Andrew Smith IL Sarah Goode 2023 OF 66 %

 


 

CHANGEUP

HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 18.7
2 Luke Mejdrich IL Hampshire 2024 RHP 16.6
3 Marcus Wolfe Jr IL The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools 2025 RHP 16.5
4 Andrew (AJ) Payton IL Burlington Central 2024 RHP 16.4
5 Matthew Richert IL St. Ignatius 2024 RHP 14.9

STRIKE ZONE RATE%

Rank Name State School Class Pos Zone %
1 Henry Rouch IL Evanston Township 2024 RHP 80 %
2 Christian Lott IL Simeon Career Academy 2026 1B 60 %
^ Landon Liboon IL Hinsdale Central 2025 RHP 60 %

+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.

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