Prep Baseball Report

St. Louis Open: Preview Story


By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Wednesday, June 15, the PBR Illinois and PBR Missouri staffs will collaborate to host the annual St. Louis Open at the Billiken Sports Center on the campus of Saint Louis University. This event regularly allows both us an opportunity to check in on players from the Greater Metro region, including prospects that attend from central and southern Illinois.

For more information on this event, including how to register, click HERE. To see an up-to-date version of this event’s roster, click HERE.

EVENT HISTORY

This will be the third year we’ve run this event and there have been several high level prospects to make their way through in that span. The 2020 group was an impressive crop, featuring 35 college commitments in total and the likes of INF Trey Jozwiakowski (Vianney, 2025; Missouri), LHP Kenton Deverman (Fort Zumwalt West, 2023; Evansville), RHP/OF Landon Geragosian (Breese Central, 2022; John A. Logan JC), and LHP Chris Thilman (Collinsville, 2022; Southwestern Illinois JC).

Last year’s crop showcased plenty of talent from the area, headlined by RHP Ben Smith (Springfield Catholic, 2023; Missouri). The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander ran his fastball up to 88 mph at this event and is currently ranked inside the state’s top-20 prospects for the junior class.

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Ben Smith

2022 ROSTER PREVIEW

Just like in the past, this year’s roster is shaping up nicely.

There’s several uncommitted juniors headed to SLU on Wednesday on this roster that’re worth a mention. MIF Henry Kufa (Carlinville, IL, 2023) looked the part of an athletic defender on the infield this winter at the Lockport Preseason ID with upside at the plate to pair. The same can be said for INF Henry Zenor (St. Louis University HS, 2023), who’s upside left-handed stroke caught our scouts’ attention this winter at the A’s Scout Day. INF Nick Muskopf (Belleville West, 2023) started on the infield for Belleville West this spring and is an athletic right-handed bat to follow as well.

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Henry Kufa


RHP Caden Archer (Edwardsville, 2023) and LHP Zack Boland (Parkway West, 2023) are two names-to-know on the mound. Archer displayed plenty of arm strength at the GBA Scout Day, touching 87 mph with his fastball, while Boland is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound southpaw that pitched at 83-85 mph this winter.

Two high school teammates, INF Jake Stedman (Belleville West, 2024) and OF/RHP John Hilpert (Belleville West, 2025), are both underclassmen worth highlighting on this roster. Stedman steadily ascended on our radar as the spring went on, showing upside athleticism on the infield and at the plate during two different looks over the IHSA season. Hilpert represented Team Missouri at the Junior Future Games this past summer, repeating a clean right-handed stroke at the plate and running his fastball in the high-70s as a freshman.

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Jake Stedman

CHECK-IN TIMES

Check-in for all Position Players (C, INF, OF):
9:00 AM

Check-in for Pitcher ONLYs:

12:15 PM

MORE EVENT DETAILS

Click here to learn more about our tech partners that have enhanced our players showcase experience. Partners like TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Vizual Edge have helped both our in-event evaluation process, as well the compilation of our post-event scouting reports – and they're also a tool for our players to learn more about their measured and collected data, that can be applied to improve upon their game.

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