Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Elgin CC Scout Day: Takeaways

October 4, 2023
By: Isaiah Glidden & Josh Fields
Illinois Staff

On Sept. 28th, PBR Illinois traveled to Elgin Community College in Elgin, Ill., for the Elgin CC Scout Day. The event featured over 25 players that allowed our staff to get an inside look ahead of their 2024 season.

Shortly after the event’s conclusion, our event rolled out a full statistical data dive, highlighting several of the day’s standout performers from a numerical perspective. Learn more about those names, HERE.

We’re diving deeper into the event today with these takeaways, where you’ll learn more about a handful of the day’s standouts, below. 

Takeaways

+ C/OF Ryan Caccia (St. Charles North, 2022; IL) was a standout during Thursday’s scout day. To start the day, Caccia ran the fastest laser-timed 60 of the day at 6.71 and a max run speed of 21.1 mph. During BP Caccia would record exit velocities of 96.7 mph while averaging 83.3 mph throughout his round. Caccia’s bat also had some of the best marks of the day via Blast, as he averaged a bat speed of 77.5 mph with a max of 82.2 mph. Defensively behind the plate Caccia would show advanced catch-and-throw abilities, recording pop times in the 1.94-2.04 range with present arm strength at 80 mph from the crouch, and also showed quiet and confident hands during bullpens.

+ One of the most interesting looks during Thursday’s scout day was provided by RHP/OF Jaden Alberson (Elk Grove, 2022; IL). To start his day, Alberson registered a 7.09 in the 60-yard dash in which he reached a top speed of 19.3 mph, per our Swift lasers. Then, during BP Alberson marked exit velocities as high as 90.2 mph and averaged 86.7 mph from the right-side. Alberson would then hop on the mound where he was arguably even more impressive. On the bump, Alberson is a clean and athletic mover, pairing it with a loose arm action that produced fastball highs of 86.4 mph. One of the more noteworthy metrics of his fastball was that it featured big carry through the zone, over 20” of vertical break at its peak and averaged 18.5”, all while spinning at over 2,500 RPM on average. His innate feel to spin transferred over to both of his breaking balls; the first being a low-70s slider that averaged 2,875 RPM and played with over 16” of horizontal movement. His curveball was equally impressive, throwing it in high-60s and spinning at nearly 2,700 RPM on average. He rounded out his four-pitch mix with a mid-70s changeup that played with run and occasional depth. 

+ One of the loudest rounds of BP came from C Luke Bolender (St. Charles North, 2022; IL) who is a strong 5-foot-11 backstop to know from this event. At the plate, Bolender swings an aggressive right-handed bat that reached highs of 97.9 mph on his hardest hit ball and averaged 92 mph, too. During his round, Bolender routinely deposited balls over the left-field fence, six of them going over 350 feet. Behind the plate, Bolender was also impressive, as he featured a quick catch and release with arm strength (T78 mph) that helped him record pop times in the 1.95-2.15 range.

+ INF Daniel Blickhan (West Chicago, 2023; IL) is a strong 6-foot-2, 205-pound infielder who was all over the barrel during Thursday’s scout day. Offensively, Blickhan uses his strength to swing a quick right-handed bat, averaging 80.2 mph per our Blast sensors. His batted ball metrics were also impressive too, as his hardest hit ball came off at 103 mph and he averaged 93.1 mph as well. 

Two other loud rounds came from the bats of OF Aiden Kashuba (St. Charles North, 2022; IL) and 1B Patrick Nelson (Bartlett, 2022; IL): 

+ Kashuba is a physically built righty at 6-foot-3, 210-pounds with a fluid swing with present strength, especially to the pull side. Kashuba was consistently on the barrel throughout his round, and drove the ball with authority recording some of the highest batted ball data of the day, registering highs of 101.3 mph, while averaging 92.3 mph which was good for a hard hit rate of 72%.

+ Nelson is a barrel chested right-handed-hitter standing at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds that swings with intent. Throughout BP Nelson was consistently on the barrel producing loud contact and driving baseballs to his pull side. Also producing some impressive batted ball metrics, Nelson recorded highs of 100.6 mph and averaged 95.2 mph throughout his round along with some of the highest bat speeds of the day averaging 80.5 mph with a max of 85.5 mph.

+ After showing well a couple a weeks ago at the Region 4 showcase at The Rock Complex in Franklin, WI,  RHP Drew Piaskowy (South Elgin, 2022; IL) performed well yet again on Thursday. During his ‘pen, Piaskowy sat in the 84-86 mph range with his fastball, and reared back for 87 mph on his hardest bullet to the plate. Off of that, Piaskowy spun in a sharp curveball with tight 11/5 action and averaged over 2,500 RPM, too. Piaskowy’s changeup was also a noteworthy offering as it played with over 14” of fade on average and also flashed some depth, too.

+ INF Chris Lara (Streamwood, 2023; IL) is an athletic 5-foot-7, 150-pound infielder who was a noteworthy defender during our time in Elgin. To start his day, Lara recorded a 6.91 in the 60-yard dash and reached top-run speed of 20.1 mph, too. Then during BP, Lara took a controlled round from the right side and showed the ability to shoot line drives to the entire field. Lara would then take one of the top rounds of infield defense of the event. Working with athletic and sure-handed actions, Lara looked the part of a advanced defender up-the-middle and he paired it with a strong arm that topped at 87 mph on his hardest bullet across the diamond. 

+ RHP Lucas Aguirre (West Aurora, 2023; IL) is a long 6-foot-3, 165-pound pitcher to know following Thursday’s event in Elgin. On the mound, Aguirre is a simple mover with an easy, repeatable delivery, and a quick, loose arm, too. During his ‘pen, Aguirre ran his fastball up to 88.3 mph, which averaged nearly a foot of horizontal movement. As for his offspeed pitches, Aguirre featured a tight slider with 2,500+ RPM in the high-70s and a curveball with over 14” of horizontal movement, while spinning at a similar rate to the slider. Finishing off his repertoire was a changeup in the 79-81 mph range that he killed spin on and flashed depth/fade.  

+ RHP Troy Petty (Putnam County, 2023; IL) is another intriguing arm with a natural ability to spin on this Eglin CC pitching staff. During his ‘pen, Petty reached highs of 84.1 mph with his fastball that averaged 2,200 RPM. His slider also flashed some out-pitch potential as it played with tight horizontal action and reached highs of 2,677 RPM, too. His curveball was equally impressive, featuring 11/5 break and spinning at over 2,800 RPM at its peak. Rounding out his four-pitch mix was a changeup in which killed spin on and also possessed over 16” of fade on average.  

RELATED CONTENT