On Sunday, Oct. 17, the PBR Illinois staff returned to The MAX Sports Complex to host the fall’s Underclass Showcase. This annual event serves as an opportunity for prospects in the state’s 2024-25 classes to display their talents in front of our scouting staff prior to the start of the off-season. There were nearly 60 prospects who made the trip to The MAX on Sunday to participate in a pro-style workout in front of our evaluators.

Earlier today we published a Statistical Analysis, bringing you a quick statistical analysis of those that participated in the event, as well as a quick nugget on which players stood out.

Now we'll continue to roll out the data we gathered from this event, starting with the analytics we have at our disposal from our TrackMan units. Below we'll look at which players had noteworthy batted ball and pitch metric data.

MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Velocity (max)
1	Keegan Waters	IL	Morris	2024	RHP	82.3 mph
2	Joe Olson	IL	St. Laurence	2025	LHP	81.5 mph
3	Elijah Skidmore	IL	Harlem	2024	RHP	79.9 mph
4	Aden McManaway	IL	Altamont	2024	LHP	79.8 mph
5	Matthew Wnukowski	IL	Tinley Park	2024	LHP	79.6 mph
6	Enzo Infelise	IL	Providence Catholic	2025	C	79.2 mph
7	Jimmy Anderson	IL	Joliet West	2024	SS	79.1 mph
8	Ben Toft	IL	New Trier	2025	OF	78.2 mph
9	Joe Cicero	IL	Lake Park	2024	RHP	78.1 mph

Rank	Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Spin Rate (max)
1	Xander Metke	IL	Nazareth Academy	2025	RHP	2162 rpm
2	Jimmy Anderson	IL	Joliet West	2024	SS	2160 rpm
3	Matthew Wnukowski	IL	Tinley Park	2024	LHP	2158 rpm
4	Elijah Skidmore	IL	Harlem	2024	RHP	2143 rpm
5	Joe Olson	IL	St. Laurence	2025	LHP	2128 rpm
6	Keegan Waters	IL	Morris	2024	RHP	2075 rpm
7	Keegan Luxem	IL	Hersey	2025	RHP	2054 rpm
8	Ben Toft	IL	New Trier	2025	OF	2007 rpm

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

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.

Average Fastball Horizontal Movement

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.”

Average Slider Spin Rate

Average Curveball Spin Rate

Average Changeup Horizontal Movement

Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Exit Speed: Also according to TrackMan’s own website: “The speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.”

Peak Exit Velocity (Hitting)

Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)

For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.

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