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Class of 2025 Showcase: Quick Hits

October 9, 2023
By: Isaiah Glidden
PBR Illinois Staff

On Sunday, October 8th, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to The MAX in McCook, Ill., to host the Class of 2025 Showcase. This annual event is for players who just started their junior years, in this case the state’s 2025 class, and hosted more than 40 players from across the state. 

Like all of our events, players participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff and collected unrivaled data in the process through our top-of-the-line tech partners. These events also serve as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, Future Games, Illinois State Games, and others. 

For all of the statistics from this event, click HERE. To see a complete roster of those in attendance, click HERE. 

Now, at the event’s conclusion, our staff has combed through our notes from the day and put together these ‘Quick Hits’. Below you will learn more about a handful of names that stood out from our most recent trip to The MAX. 

QUICK HITS 

+ One of the top overall performances of the day came from MIF Beni Espinosa (DePaul College Prep, 2025). To start, Espinosa put up some noteworthy numbers in the athletic testing portion of the event. He marked a 60-yard dash time of 7.26 and also reached a max jump height of 30.7”; both of which are intriguing given his age and his stronger 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame. During his BP round, Espinosa really turned heads with the ease and fluidity of his smooth right-handed swing. Metrically, his hardest hit ball of the day came off at 94.6 mph and he averaged 90.5 mph, speaking to just how much he was on the barrel throughout his round. Defensively, the middle infielder is an athletic mover with sure-handed actions and paired that with an accurate arm that has the ability to throw from multiple slots when needed. 


+ OF Jonathan Medina Jr. (St. Laurence, 2025) is an upside 5-foot-10, 160-pound outfield prospect to know following Sunday’s event at The MAX. Medina recorded the quickest 60-yard dash time of the event at 6.92, and also recorded a max jump height of 31.6”, which was good for second at this event. Offensively, Medina swings a simple and polished left-handed bat that shot the ball from gap-to-gap with ease. During his round, Medina produced exit velocities as high as 93.5 mph, while averaging 85.3 mph, both of which were some of the top of the event. While in the outfield, Medina is a quick mover and works through the ball, delivering throws up to 84 mph to home plate with accuracy. 


+ After putting together a number of impressive performances across the summer circuit, highlighted by a standout one at the Illinois State games, INF Aadden Guerrero (St. Laurence, 2025) continued that trend during our time in McCook. Standing at an athletic 5-foot-10, 170-pounds, Guerrero started his day by registering a 6.98 in the 60-yard dash. At the plate, Guerrero features an aggressive but controlled right-handed swing that works direct to the ball and shoots it to all fields with intent. Throughout his round, Guerrero reached exit velocity highs of 90.1 mph and also averaged 86.2 mph. During the infield portion of the event, Guerrero’s athleticism was on full display, as he is a quick mover from side-to-side with sure-handed actions and an arm that topped at 84 mph across the diamond. 


+ LHP/OF Ryan Frano (Glenbard East, 2025) made for a quality two-way look during Sunday’s showcase, especially on the mound. At the plate, the 6-foot, 185-pound left-handed hitter averaged an exit velocity of 82 mph and topped at 89.4 mph on his hardest hit ball of the day. He would then tease his arm strength during the outfield defense portion of the event as he led all outfielders with an 85 mph outfield velocity. Later on, Frano walked up on the mound where his upside is even more apparent. The southpaw is a simple and repeatable mover on the bump, pairing it with a loose and whippy arm that ran fastballs up to 83 mph, while sitting in the low-80s with over 15” of vertical break on average. He also showed feel for two different breaking ball offerings; the first being a traditional curveball that played with 2/8 action and depth. His slider was equally impressive, as it sat in the low-70s, and featured more horizontal action that the aforementioned curveball. He rounded out his repertoire with a changeup with subtle fade that was thrown at arm speed. 


+ RHP Will Burke (Plainfield North, 2025) features all kinds of projectability inside of his long 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame and he came away a winner following Sunday. On the mound, Burke is a simple mover and pairs it with a short, quick arm. As for his offerings, Burke’s fastball sat in the 83-85 mph range throughout his ‘pen, and featured just over 10” of horizontal movement on average, too. As for his offspeeds, Burke showed feel to spin a pair of breaking balls; starting with his curveball, it averaged just over 2,200 RPM and played with late 11/5 action. His slider, which was thrown in the same velocity range, featured big horizontal break and was able to locate it well to his glove side. 


+ OF Owen Strahl (Lake Zurich, 2025) was one of the more physical right-handed hitters of the event, standing at a muscled-up 6-foot, 190-pounds. Strahl showed bat speed and bat strength in BP, working uphill to contact while favoring the pull-side throughout his round. His peak exit velocity (94.1 mph), average exit velocity (89.1 mph) and furthest batted ball (330 ft.) were amongst the top of our batted ball leaderboards, while he led all position players in hard-hit percentage (77%). 

+ CIF/RHP Braylon McNair (Lindblom, 2025) offers plenty of physical upside within a 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame. Offensively, McNair showed easy hand twitch, keeping a level barrel through contact from a loose and fluid right-handed swing. McNair worked gap-to-gap with comfort throughout his round and he’s going to hit for more impact as he continues to fill out his frame. He hopped on the mound later on and pitched in the low-80s while also showing tight lateral spin on a 65-68 mph curveball (T2379 RPM). 

+ INF Ethan Mendez (Benet Academy, 2025) took one of the day’s more physical BP rounds, stepping into the right-handed batter’s box at 6-foot-2, 190-pounds. He showed inherent hand strength and stayed short to the baseball while looking to elevate gap-to-gap throughout. Mendez’s hardest ball came off his barrel at 92.6 mph, which was one of the day’s highest marks. 

+ INF Theodore Greco (Lane Tech, 2025) is another name to follow from yesterday’s trip to The MAX. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior showed an uphill right-handed swing that worked through his backside and stayed gap-to-gap throughout batting practice. Greco’s hardest throw across the infield (T85 mph) was the second highest mark of the day and he ran a 7.05 60 while jumping 31.6” in the vertical test. 

+ OF/LHP Jackson Newton (Dunlap, 2025) repeatedly found the barrel in BP (78%) to the middle of the field from a loose, level left-handed swing. Defensively, Newton worked in rhythm around the baseball with a sure-handed glove and an accurate arm to pair. 

+ OF Dylan Hecht (DePaul College Prep, 2025) is a strong 5-foot-11, 175-pound outfield prospect who was on the barrel during his round of BP. Working back up the middle and to his pull side, Hecht registered an average exit velocity of 84.5 mph and maxed at 90.4 mph. 

+ OF Chase Vargo (Fremd, 2025) took one of the day’s more polished BP rounds. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior gets on top of the baseball from a short, simple, and direct right-handed swing. Vargo was all over the barrel to the middle of the field, and he stayed on plane too (90%) while seemingly repeating the same swing on each individual hack. 

+ OF/LHP Max Russ (Immaculate Conception Catholic, 2025) took a clean round of BP during Sunday’s event. From a relaxed setup, Russ worked level through the zone, occasionally getting uphill at times to record a max exit velocity of 85.4 mph and averaged 80.9 mph from the left side. In the outfield, Russ has a quick first step and worked through the ball to deliver throws up to 85 mph to home, which was one of the day's hardest marks.

+ INF/RHP Oliver Brandow (Champaign Central, 2025) was all over the barrel during his round of BP (75%) working back up the middle with some natural loft to his swing. His hardest hit ball of the day came off at 91.6 mph and he averaged 85.6 mph, both of which were some of the highest marks of the event.

+ RHP Patrick Kennedy (Champaign Central, 2025) pumped the day’s second hardest fastball, touching 84 mph on his hardest bullet while pitching in the low-80s throughout. Each fastball Kennedy threw in his ‘pen was a strike and he notably worked up in the zone, creating some true four-seam backspin at times. Kennedy also spun a low-70s curveball and showed a 74-76 mph changeup that he threw at fastball arm speed with subtle fade. 

+ OF/RHP Evion Rodriguez (Morgan Park, 2025) put together an intriguing two-way showing during Sunday’s showcase. With some strength in his 5-foot-10, 190-pound Rodriguez works with simple and controlled pre-pitch mechanics before delivering the barrel which had an average bat speed of 70.9 mph, to shoot the ball to all fields. During his round, Rodriguez’s hardest hit ball came off at 89.4 mph and his furthest batted ball traveled an estimated 341 ft., which was the second furthest of the event. Rodriguez would then hop onto the mound where he ran his fastball up to 81.8 mph which also averaged 14’ of horizontal movement. As for his offspeeds, both Rodriguez’s slider and changeup were raw offerings, but both presented some out-pitch potential. His slider flashed tight depth in the low-70s and he threw his fading changeup at arm speed, too.

+ INF/RHP Roan Orlanes (Naperville Central, 2025) is a lean 5-foot-10, 155-pound two-way prospect who started his day by running a 6.99 in the 60-yard dash. During BP, Orlanes worked with quick hands that helped him shoot the ball to all fields, topping at 84.7 mph on his hardest batted ball. He also flashed some upside on the bump where he ran his fastball up to 80 mph with 15’ of run on average. His curveball played with 10/4 shape low in the zone with the ability to land. While he is still fully harnessing a slider and a changeup, both flashed some potential as weapons in the future. 

+ C Kaleb Elwood (Aurora Christian, 2025) was really impressive behind the plate during his defensive workout. Elwood popped the day's quickest time (1.95) and was on the bag consistency from a short quick arm that wasted no time getting the ball out. He's an adept blocker, deadening the baseball with his chest in 'pens, and he trusts his hands too, both to release and while receiving. Offensively, Elwood worked on top of the baseball from a flat right-handed swing.

+ INF/RHP Sean Campbell (Riverside-Brookfield, 2025) is a long 6-foot-2, 180-pounds and he flashed some upside on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Campbell worked back up the middle during his round and recorded a max exit velocity of 85.2 mph. He would later hop on the bump where his upside was arguably even more apparent. Out of an uptempo and easy delivery, Campbell’s fastball reached highs of 81.2 mph with roughly a foot of horizontal movement. He was also able to throw a sharp 11/5 curveball in and around the zone, while also showing feel for a fading changeup in the low-70s. 

+ RHP Nolan Kornit (Grayslake Central, 2025) is an athletic mover on the bump and made for an interesting look during out time at The MAX. Boasting clean and simple mechanics, Kornit ran his fastball up to 80.5 mph that played with over 16’ of vertical break at its peak. He also showed feel for a short, 12/6 breaking ball in the mid-60s and a high-70s splitter with depth, too.

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