Prep Baseball Report

Unsigned Senior Showcase: Data Dive


Kevin Cronin
Tech Analyst, Area Scout

On Oct. 2, PBR Illinois hosted the fall’s Unsigned Senior Showcase, as it does each and every fall, at The MAX complex in McCook, Ill., where nearly 70 prospects participated. These Class of 2023 athletes remain uncommitted headed into the final offseason of their prep careers, and this group that performed at The MAX last weekend underscored the unsigned talent still remaining in Illinois.

This week, we published our Quick Hits post that contained the highlights from the event. Today, we're going to continue breaking down the takeaways from the event by diving deeper into all of the data we collected at the showcase in the form of our Data Dive. Stay tuned for additional analysis coming out of the Unsigned Senior Showcase through the rest of the week.

For now, here’s some of the day’s top performers, broken down by position players and pitchers.

TRACKMAN

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 data.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & SPIN RATE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Velocity (max)
1 William Ho IL Hinsdale Central 2023 RHP 91.3 mph
2 Jeremy Yanow IL Deerfield 2023 SS 87.4 mph
3 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 86.7 mph
4 Drew Koenig IL Oak Park-River Forest 2023 RHP 86.4 mph
5 Connor Jendraszak IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 RHP 86.1 mph
6 Vincent Costantino IL Huntley 2023 RHP 83.9 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (max)
1 Drew Koenig IL Oak Park-River Forest 2023 RHP 2427 rpm
2 Joey Vandermeir IL Schaumburg Christian 2023 3B 2414 rpm
3 Jeremy Yanow IL Deerfield 2023 SS 2398 rpm
4 Jacob McPherson IL Reed-Custer 2023 RHP 2328 rpm
5 Connor Jendraszak IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 RHP 2322 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

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 James Traficanti IL East Leyden 2023 RHP 18.6
2 Brandon Alzamora IL Joliet West 2023 LHP -17.0
3 Joseph Merrick IN Hammond Central 2023 3B 16.8
4 Kevin Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 C 16.6
5 Liam Egan IL Marist 2023 C 14.9

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 CURVEBALL & SLIDER SPIN RATE

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Colin Kornit IL Grayslake Central 2023 LHP 2325 rpm
2 Vincent Costantino IL Huntley 2023 RHP 2306 rpm
3 Carson Kaye IL Stevenson 2023 LHP 2301 rpm
4 Jacob McPherson IL Reed-Custer 2023 RHP 2279 rpm
5 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 2252 rpm

Rank Name State School Class Pos Spin Rate (avg)
1 Joey Vandermeir IL Schaumburg Christian 2023 3B 2474
2 Brody Stonecipher IL Champaign Centennial 2023 RHP 2449
3 Seth Cavett IL Lockport 2023 RHP 2377
4 Payton Evans IL Bloomington 2023 C 2238
5 Calvin Bredlau IL Huntley 2023 RHP 2177

AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

Rank Name State School Class Pos HM (avg)
1 Colin Kornit IL Grayslake Central 2023 LHP -17.7
2 Kevin Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 C 17.6
3 Payton Evans IL Bloomington 2023 C 15.9
4 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 14.5
5 Joey Vandermeir IL Schaumburg Christian 2023 3B 14.4

MAX EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velocity (max)
1 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 99.0 mph
2 Dillon Putty IL Huntley 2023 1B 98.3 mph
3 Korey Mulling IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 2B 97.8 mph
4 Taylor Voorhees IL St. Joseph-Ogden 2023 3B 97.6 mph
5 Patrick Hayes IL Mount Carmel 2023 OF 96.8 mph
6 Jeremy Yanow IL Deerfield 2023 SS 96.6 mph
7 Joe Lukancic IL Joliet West 2023 OF 96.3 mph
8 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 96.1 mph
9 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 94.9 mph
10 Roberto Maldonado II IL Ogden International 2023 C 94.9 mph

MAX DISTANCE (HITTING)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Distance (max)
1 Brooks Neuhoff FL IMG ACADEMY 2024 3B 365 ft
2 Aiden Knipper IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 C 360 ft
3 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 360 ft
4 Patrick Hayes IL Mount Carmel 2023 OF 347 ft
5 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 345 ft
6 Roberto Maldonado II IL Ogden International 2023 C 343 ft
7 Joey Vandermeir IL Schaumburg Christian 2023 3B 338 ft
8 Alijah Rainey IL Homewood Flossmoor 2023 1B 336 ft
9 Jeremy Yanow IL Deerfield 2023 SS 335 ft
10 Dillon Putty IL Huntley 2023 1B 332 ft

BLAST MOTION

With the help of our Blast Motion sensors, we're analyzing the swing metrics measured at this open showcase.

HAND SPEED (PEAK & AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (max)
1 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 25.9 mph
^ Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 25.9 mph
2 Jacob Garcia IL Providence Catholic 2023 1B 24.9 mph
^ Kevin Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 C 24.9 mph
3 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 24.7 mph
4 Liam Egan IL Marist 2023 C 24.6 mph
5 Joe Lukancic IL Joliet West 2023 OF 24.5 mph
6 Dillon Putty IL Huntley 2023 1B 23.8 mph

Rank Name State School Class Pos Hand Speed (avg)
1 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 25.5 mph
2 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 24.0 mph
3 Jacob Garcia IL Providence Catholic 2023 1B 23.6 mph
4 Joe Lukancic IL Joliet West 2023 OF 23.3 mph
5 Kevin Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 C 23.1 mph

Peak Hand Speed: The observed maximum speed as measured on the handle of the bat (measured six inches from the knob of the bat). Peak Hand Speed will occur prior to the moment of impact, very close to the commit time in the swing when the wrists unhinge.

BAT SPEED (AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Bat Speed (avg)
1 Jeremy Yanow IL Deerfield 2023 SS 74.2 mph
2 Spencer Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 RHP 73.6 mph
3 Alijah Rainey IL Homewood Flossmoor 2023 1B 73.1 mph
4 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 73.0 mph
5 Joe Lukancic IL Joliet West 2023 OF 71.5 mph
6 Kaiden Wesley IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 3B 71.5 mph
7 Kyrent Cole IL Leo 2023 SS 71.1 mph
8 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 70.9 mph
9 Kevin Geake IL Glenbrook North 2023 C 70.8 mph
10 Patrick Collins IL Kaneland 2023 C 70.7 mph

Bat Speed: The observed speed of the sweet spot of the bat at impact. The sweet spot of the bat is measured six inches from the tip of the bat.

ROTATIONAL ACCELERATION (PEAK & AVERAGE)

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (max)
1 Brandon Juska IL St. Laurence 2023 2B 28.1 g
2 Jacob Garcia IL Providence Catholic 2023 1B 27.8 g
3 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 26.6 g
4 Korey Mulling IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 2B 25.5 g
5 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 24.3 g
6 Mitchell Hall IL Leo Catholic 2023 OF 24.1 g

Rank Name State School Class Pos Rot. Acc (avg)
1 Jacob Garcia IL Providence Catholic 2023 1B 23.3 g
2 Korey Mulling IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 2B 22.4 g
3 Brandon Juska IL St. Laurence 2023 2B 22.1 g
4 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 21.6 g
5 Preston Lund IL Homewood-Flossmoor 2023 C 19.9 g

Body Rotation: A swing that has the appropriate relative contributions of body and bat rotations is an efficient and Powerful swing that maintains proper sequencing. An efficient baseball swing is one in which the body creates the initial movements, which is then transferred to the arms and out to the bat, thereby maximizing Bat Speed through this proximal-to-distal kinematic sequencing movement pattern.

VIZUAL EDGE

A look at the top Vizual Edge scores from the event.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Edge Score
1 Brandon Juska IL St. Laurence 2023 2B 87.69
2 Markese Mcclellan IL Crete Monee 2023 C 86.12
3 Jake Tyler IL Riverside Brookfield 2025 C 81.84
4 James Escamilla IL Reavis 2023 2B 80.49
5 Luke Bafia IL Benet Academy 2023 SS 80.24
6 Patrick Collins IL Kaneland 2023 C 80.22
7 Brandon Boersma IL St. Ignatius 2023 OF 80.18
8 Kendall Crawford IL Champaign Central 2023 RHP 79.71
9 Christian Seminaro IL Mundelein 2023 2B 79.28
10 Joe Lukancic IL Joliet West 2023 OF 78.11

The Edge Score is a comprehensive score out of 100 that takes the core-six visual skills into account, providing athletes, parents, coaches and scouts with a benchmark number for assessing an athlete’s overall visual ability. In general the higher the Edge Score, the higher chance of athletic success. Think of the Edge Score as the 'Sixth Metric' in the standard Five-Tools that make up a ball player.

The average Edge Score for the 2020 MLB Draft Class was 79.3 (of hitters who completed a Vizual Edge test). MLB players we've worked with typically show stronger scores, with elite hitters scoring consistently above 87.0 on their Edge Score.

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