Austin
Brown

A Chipola College commit, the 6-foot-5 Brown lands on our second team after compiling an impressive line on the mound. The righty hurler finished his spring season with 108 punch-outs in 70 innings pitched, compiling a 9-1 record with a 0.80 ERA and 0.57 WHIP. A Triad High School product, Brown registered 13 strikeouts in the Knights’ 1-0 regional championship victory over Highland after tossing eight innings and yielding just one hit. Brown’s strong play helped lead the Knights to their third straight Mississippi Valley Conference crown.

Chipola JC signee and the No. 42 ranked prospect in the state’s current senior class. 6-foot-5, 155-pound long, lanky frame with lean limbs. Toed the rubber for the Knights in a Mississippi Valley conference matchup, punching out seven over seven innings of one run ball. Simple mover down the mound, tall/fall delivery with a fairly upright posture throughout, drifts towards the plate and lands onto a stable lead leg. Doesn’t exert much effort and repeats well for someone his size. Short quick arm circle that finishes out of a loose ¾ arm slot with clear arm speed out front. Fastball touched 88 early, holding 85-87 mph over his outing. Comes out clean with untapped heat in the tank. Bread and butter pitch continues to be arguably the state’s best slider; a hard frisbee-like offering with swing-and-miss sweep at 78-79 mph that he’ll grab whiffs on and land it for strikes consistently. Also spun a softer, more vertically spun curveball with downer spin at 73-75 mph and landed it for strikes. Capable of spinning the baseball at a higher, more advanced rate than most arms his age. A high-ceiling arm from the state’s southern region that’s having an exceptional senior year. 

Chipola JC commit. Currently ranked No. 42 in his class, Brown provided another quality outing for the Knights in our second look so far this spring. 6-foot-5, 155-pound, long, lean right-handed pitcher shows room for continued physical development. He features an up tempo delivery with a high leg-lift coil, used his lower half down the mound. Short, loose, quick arm action from a ¾ slot. He started on the mound and threw four shutout innings, striking out seven, allowing one hit. Brown showed confidence on the mound with a bulldog mentality. His fastball sat 85-88 mph and flashed arm-side-run. Slider sat 70-73 mph with advanced horizontal action, getting multiple swing-and-misses and was his go-to secondary. Will likely continue to anchor the Triad pitching staff the rest of the spring.

Chipola JC commit, rose up the Illinois’ 2023 rankings in a recent update, now slotted at No. 42 overall. Long, lanky 6-foot-5, 155-pound lean-limbed frame. Started for Triad against Oswego and struck out 13 batters over six innings of one-run ball. Quick worker, long side step starts delivery, works upright to balance point, gets onto his back leg and rides downhill. Open front side, lead leg swings to front footstrike, finishes out front towards target. Short tight arm window, worked from a ¾ slot, fast out front. Fastball held 85-88 mph, flashed ride and run action created by arm slot and seam placement. Slider continues to be a weapon, spinning with hard, heavy horizontal action at 74-77 mph and grabbing multiple whiffs throughout this outing. Comfortable throwing it in all counts to any hitters, both around the zone and out of it, and it’s a pitch that could miss bats at the next level right now. Figures to anchor Triad’s pitching staff throughout the spring and is one of the premier arms in southern Illinois. 

RHP Austin Brown (Triad, 2023) provided our staff with an upside look during our first up-close view of the 6-foot-5, 155-pound right-hander. Brown toed the rubber for three innings, pumping his fastball relatively easily at 84-87 mph early with 17.8 inches of vertical carry, topping at 20.4 with plenty more velocity to come. The separator for him, however, appears to be a true swing-and-miss slider with late sweeping action at 75-76 mph, averaging 2,587 RPM and breaching the 2,700+ RPM mark. Brown’s confidence and ability to spot his slider up to both handed hitters is noteworthy, and it’s certainly a pitch that’ll miss bats at the next level with consistency. Still uncommitted, Brown was one of the higher ceiling arms we saw at Rantoul this week. 

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-5, 155-pounds. Long, loose-levered frame with upside.
Delivery: Up-tempo delivery, tall/fall lower-half with a long stride, remains in-line to the plate, gains ground quickly throughout stride.
Arm Action: RH. Short arm out of the glove into a high 3/4 slot.
FB: T86.8, 84-86 mph. Ride through the zone, holds plane. T2359, 2246 average rpm.
CB: 75-76 mph. Sharp 11/5 shape, thrown for strikes on both sides of the plate and to put hitters away. T2714, 2587 average rpm.

6-foot-3, 190-pound, long-levered, right-handed pitcher, started on the mound for Triad. Tall and fall delivery, creates angle to all of his offerings. Fastball played with steep angle, works the bottom of the zone, late run and sink at times, sat 80-83 mph. Curveball was an above-average pitch, go-to offering, worked off an 11/5 plane with feel, sat 72-74 mph.