John
Hughes

North Carolina commit. 5-foot-11, 200 pounds. Tossed five shutout innings in the state semifinals game, helping pitch Nazareth Academy to the 3A state championship. Repeated on the mound, short strider downhill with a high front side. Full ¾ arm slot, ball comes out fluent. Maneuvers the zone effectively with all pitches in all counts, kept hitters off balance effectively and induced weak contact consistently. Fastball played in the low-to-mid-80s with a feel for the corners. Confident and comfortable in both of his secondaries; confidently turned over a changeup in the lower quadrant of the zone, showed a short wrinkle slider with some lateral tilt off a 2/8 plane. A pitchability southpaw that dominated for the Roadrunners all spring. 

North Carolina commit. Strong, sturdy 6-foot, 190-pound frame. Ranked eighth in the Illinois sophomore class and No. 378 nationally for his age. Was the final arm out of the bullpen for Nazareth Academy. Simple and repeatable delivery with slight drop/drive downhill patterns, front side stays closed, maintains direction to target and finishes square. Repeated at a high level, quick worker. Short clean arm action, high ¾ slot. Fastball played at 85-86 mph, touching 87 mph multiple times in his first inning of work. Threw both a curveball and slider; the former thrown at 71-72 mph with more gradual action off a 1/7 plane and a higher aptitude to land for strikes, while the latter played at 74-75 mph with more lateral tilt. Turned to a 76-77 mph changeup against left-handed hitters that was thrown at arm speed and slot that played in the lower half of the zone. 

6-foot, 180-pound, left-handed pitcher, currently ranked No. 180 in the 2024 National rankings. Started on the mound for Nazareth. Extremely impressive look at one of his first starts of his high school career. Has polish and pitchability well beyond his years. Held one of the top offenses in the state in check during his five-inning start. Scattered three hits, two earned runs struck out nine and did not walk anyone. Threw 68 pitches in five innings, 69% of them landing for strikes. Ability to throw three-pitches for strikes at any time. Understands how to hold a running game, make quality two-strike pitches and stayed away from the middle of the plate throughout his start. Fastball sat 82-83 mph (2150 rpm) throughout, velocity plays up, sneaky finish at times, mostly straight action and can locate to both sides of the plate. Curveball continues to make progress. Consistently landed it for strikes early in the count and was able to start it as a strike and finish it out of the zone to act as a put-away pitch with two strikes; sat 67-68 mph and worked off a 1/7 plane with occasional depth. Changeup is currently a well above-average offering. Feel for the bottom of the zone, maintains arm speed and flashed late fade to the arm-side; 73-74 mph. High-follow, high-pitchability left-hander in the 2024 class with more velocity to come.

Positional Profile: LHP/1B
Body: 5-11, 175-pounds.
Delivery: Repeatable tall and fall delivery, smooth tempo, high leg lift, lands square, works in line to target, strong front side.
Arm Action: LH. Short, clean arm action, high 3/4 arm slot.
FB: T84, 81-84 mph. 4-seam, mostly straight, consistently plays glove-side of plate. T2077, 1963 average rpm.
CB: 68-71 mph. 1/7 shape, gradual action. T1887, 1819 average rpm.
CH: 66-73 mph. Advanced fading action, thrown for strikes at bottom of the zone. T3131, 1802 average rpm.
CH: 75-78 mph. Straight change, flashes sink, thrown for strikes. T1828, 1707 average rpm.

Positional Profile: LHP/1B
Body: 5-11, 175-pounds. Strong build.
Hit: LHH. Simple, tall balance setup, smooth load trigger, long stride. Short uphill swing, gets extension after contact, working gap-to-gap, fluid rhythm. Above-average hand speed, at 22.5 mph on average.
Power: 84 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: LH. INF - 79 mph. Long arm action, over-the-top slot.
Defense: Fluid footwork, sure-handed and feel for the position.
Run: 7.50 runner in the 60. 

2024 grad playing against 2023 competition. Side rocker, mid balance point, drop and drive delivery. Throws from a high ¾ slot. FB sat 71-73, topped at 74 with arm side run. Curveball had 1/7 shape, occasionally 12/6 shape. Showed ability to throw curveball for strikes, also showed swing and miss potential. Finished five IP, two ER, three K, two BB and a W.