Kash
VanHouten

Athletic and strong 6-foot-1, 192-pound frame with rounded shoulders. VanHouten impressed on both sides of the ball with loud showings, starting at the plate where he showed a clean, direct swing with a line-drive intent to the middle and pull-side, peaking at 103 mph for the EV with an average of 95.4 mph. Defensively, he has steady hands that profiles him on the left side of the infield and he has the arm-strength to go along with it (T93 mph INF). Staying on his arm-strength, The right-hander was up to 93 mph with the fastball while sitting right around 92 mph in his ‘pen with an event-best 2,442 rpm average on it. The slider also showed quality spin with an average of 2,458 rpm, showing up to 12” of horizontal break, 77-78 mph. His final offering was a fading changeup that he killed spin on, playing at 83-84 mph. High-follow two-way prospect with a chance to make an impact at the next level on both sides of the ball.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 6-0.7, 192.5-pounds. Athletic, well-proportioned frame.
Hit: RHH. Balanced base, stride gains some ground, utilizes strong lower-half. Loose hands, intentful, stays on-plane, line drive intent to all fields. 65.4 mph bat speed with 17g of rotational acceleration.
Power: 103 mph max exit velocity (95.4 avg.); 390-foot max batted distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 93 mph. Clean actions, 3/4 slot, plays with carry, athletic, feel from all angles.
Defense: Two-hand gather out front, sure-handed, clean footwork.
Athletic Testing: 6.83 runner in the 60-yard dash; 23.20-inch max vertical jump. 

Delivery: Stretch-only, high athletic leg-lift, explosive drop/drive lower-half, stride works in-line with extension.
Arm Action: RH. Full arm circle in the back into a 3/4 slot.
FB: T93, 92-93 mph. High spin, mostly straight action with life through the zone and finish, plays at the top of the zone. T2618, 2442 average rpm.
SL: 77-78 mph. Sharp 10/4 bite, feel around the zone.  T2529, 2458 average rpm.
CH: 83-84 mph. Feel arm-side with hard arm-side fade, late action.  T2023, 1950 average rpm.

Verbally committed to the University of Illinois.

Fresh off of attending the Future Games as a member of Team Illinois, UTL/RHP Kash VanHouten (Canton, 2027) would continue to show one of the top two-way profiles in the rising junior class. At the plate, he showed an athletic right-handed swing with an aggressive approach and whole field intent while also flashing barrel strength during his batting practice with a max exit velocity of 97.7 mph. Worked out as an infielder, showing athletic movements and a strong arm that was up to 93 mph from across the diamond. Also took reps in the outfield during gameplay and showed fringy instincts with athleticism to project on. Would make a short stint on the mound and showed an athletic, fluid delivery while working a long, loose 3/4s release. The fastball would get up to 91 mph with up to 2519 rpm and 21 inches of induced vertical break. Showed a 75-75 curveball with 10/4 shape, spin rates up to 2475 rpm, and swing-and-miss traits. Also showed a low-80s changeup with arm-side run and some present feel. Athletic 6-foot-1, 181-pound frame.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 6-0.5, 180.6-pounds. Athletic, well-proportioned frame with present strength.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, medium base, simple lift/place stride. Whole field approach with the ability to drive it to all fields, strong hands. 63.1 mph bat speed with 13g of rotational acceleration.
Power: 98 mph max exit velocity (83.5 avg.); 325-foot max batted distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 93 mph. Quick, compact, low 3/4 arm action.
Defense: Athletic mover, clean two hand gather out front, works around, smooth and natural actions.
Athletic Testing: 6.96 runner in the 60-yard dash; 23.90-inch max vertical jump.
Vizual Edge: 75.42 Edge Score.

Delivery: Athletic, fluid delivery, high leg lift with some coil, drop and drive, directional.
Arm Action: RH. Long, loose, 3/4 slot.
FB: T91, 88-90 mph. High spin, life out of the hand, ride. T2519, 2406 average rpm.
CB: 73-75 mph. 10/4 shape, good spin, depth, swing-and-miss pitch. T2475, 2372 average rpm.
CH: 80-80 mph. Arm-side run with some feel. T1835, 1835 average rpm.

VanHouten showed well all tournament long and put out one of the best swings we have seen all summer when the righty sent a ball deep over the left-field fence for a loud grand slam. A lean and athletic 6-foot, 181-pound frame, VanHouten is a physical presence on the diamond. In the box, VanHouten has control of the zone with strong, powerful hands that create natural bat speed, able to do damage to any ball left over the plate. There is clear confidence in the box with a patient approach, knowing what he can handle and drive. Then with the glove both at short and in center, it's confident, fluid actions, with a rocket arm working in the lower 90s across the diamond. One of the premier two-way players in Illinois, VanHouten continues to prove why with the bat. 

FROM 2025 FUTURE GAMES:

INF/OF Kash Van Houten (Canton) will be a sure-fire name to follow this week, coming in as the No. 7 ranked player in Illinois. There’s some present strength and athleticism in his 6-foot-1, 181-pound frame, but there’s surely still more room to add. At the plate, he showed a flatter swing with length through the zone and a peak EV of 96.6 mph. He has plenty of arm strength to stick on the left side of the infield (T88 mph), and he has the actions to stick there moving forward as well with confident hands. He has the versatility to hop in the outfield, and the arm is even stronger from out there (T91 mph). 6.93 runner in the 60. GAMEPLAY: VanHouten was a bit unlucky at times with some barreled up outs, but he continued to look like an athletic up the middle prospect to follow. PITCHING: He gave a loud look in game two of the week, firing two scoreless innings with just one hit allowed, no runs, two strikeouts and one walk. The fastball played in the 87-90 mph range, topping at 91 mph with ride and life at the top of the zone. The slider was a quality secondary offering, spinning over 2,400 rpm while playing in the mid-70s. He also flashed feel for a fading changeup around 81-82 mph. Attacked in the zone with all three offerings.

Slated to rise in our next rankings update, VanHouten stands in an athletic and strong 6-foot, 181-pound frame. Started on the mound and batted third for Canton. On the mound, a competitor that attacks the zone with both a fastball and slider, high leg lift with tuck, repeats, quick arm that works out of a ¾ slot. Fastball sat 88-91 mph throughout the outing, touching 92 mph early, and played with life through the zone, arm-side action at times. Mixed in a slider at 74-79 mph with sharp action that garnered plenty of swing-and-miss, late action. Threw one change-up at 82 mph with fade. A right-handed hitter at the plate, VanHouten has moxie in the box and looks to hit, loose pre-pitch movement with bat speed through the zone, intentful swing with control. Finished the day 1-for-2 with a double and a run - in his only out, barreled a ball to deep centerfield for a flyout. After pitching, moved over to shortstop and showed actions and range up the middle of the field. We’ve continually seen VanHouten perform in-game, remains one of the state’s top sophomore prospects.

INF/RHP Kash VanHouten (Canton, 2027) is coming off a highly impressive showing at the Peoria Preseason ID a couple weeks ago, and backed it up with arguably an even better performance this weekend. On the mound, Kash continues to display high-level arm talent. His velocity continues to climb in our looks, sitting 90-92 mph, and topping out at 94 mph in this look, while also averaging 2364 rpm. He mixed in a tight-spinning slider with short action at 72-74 mph, showing feel to land for strikes (80%). He also mixed in a changeup which he threw for strikes 100% of the time, and a sinker that sat in the upper-80s. At the plate, the athletic right-handed hitter showed strength at impact with an intentful round, staying up the middle with elevated contact and a peak EV of 97 mph, averaging 90 mph with a 375’ max distance.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 6-0, 179-pounds. Strong, athletic frame.
Delivery: High leg lift with tuck, drop/drive down the mound, works in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Shorter arm in the back, high 3/4 slot, clear acceleration out front.
FB: T94, 91-93 mph. Life out of the hand, clean. SNK: Slight arm-side action. T2459, 2364 average rpm.
SL: 72-74 mph. 11/5 shape, sharp with depth. T2422, 2328 average rpm.
CH: 78-81 mph. Low in the zone, some fade. T1865, 1767 average rpm.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 5-11, 179 pounds. Lean, athletic frame with room for added strength in the future.
Hit: RHH. Medium base, small leg lift stride that gains ground. Strong hands, flat-path, line-drive approach. 65.6 mph bat speed with 14g of rotational acceleration.
Power: 96 mph max exit velocity (90 avg.); 375-foot max batted distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 94 mph. Medium draw out of the glove, quick arm action, ¾ slot. Explosive.
Defense: Ultra athletic movements, quick transfers, gets around the baseball, plays with rhythm.
Athletic Testing: 6.97 runner in the 60-yard dash; 22.80-inch max vertical jump.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 5-11, 179 pounds. Lean, athletic frame with room for added strength in the future.
Delivery: Clean, easy mover with a high leg lift; shows explosive actions down the mound.
Arm Action: RH. Quick and long arm path from a ¾ slot.
FB: T92, 91-92 mph. Power fastball with straight action; comes out clean. T2463, 2386 average rpm.
SL: 73-75 mph. Sharp, sweeping action with 10/4 shape. T2368, 2348 average rpm.
CH: 78-80 mph. Deceptive offering; kept low in the zone. T1763, 1703 average rpm.

Van Houten will be an exciting name to follow this spring, and he’s only a sophomore. He has premier arm-strength, with rumblings of his fastball reaching the 94 mph mark this winter, and he should see plenty of time on the bump for his school. He’ll also likely be in the starting lineup and hit in the top half of the order, priming himself for a big year on both sides of the ball.

RHP/INF Kash VanHouten (Canton) is yet another high-level prospect from the state’s 2027 class that attended this year’s event. An athletic frame with present strength, VanHouten stands in a 6-foot, 179-pound frame. He works out of a stretch-only delivery on the mound, showing a long arm action with strength, sitting mostly 84-88 mph, while topping out at 88.6 mph with carry through the zone. He turned to a slider that he showed feel to land at the bottom of the zone, and a change-up with clear fade, sitting 76-80 mph. He began the showcase running a 6.96 60 time, a significant improvement since his last showing in the winter. The right-handed hitter displayed a quick bat (avg. 72.4 mph), producing a max exit velocity of 93.9 mph and a max batted distance of 344 feet during batting practice. He remains an athletic defender with clean actions up the middle, including the top infield velocity of the event (91 mph).

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 5-11, 179-pounds.
Delivery: Utilizes momentum well into balance point, athletic mover throughout, quality extension down the mound.
Arm Action: RH. Long reach out of the glove into a high 3/4 release.
FB: T89, 84-88 mph. Runs to his arm-side with life through the zone. T2383, 2295 average rpm.
SL: 73-76 mph. Showed 10/4 shape. T2363, 1848 average rpm.
CH: 76-81 mph. Some run; matches well with FB. T1712, 1654 average rpm.

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 5-11, 179-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Athletic, slightly crouched setup, minimal leg lift into longer stride. Direct, easy swing, slightly uphill path, worked the pull-side throughout the round. Creates intent through the zone with control. 72.4 mph bat speed with 12 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 94 max exit velocity, averaged 82.5 mph. 335’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 91 mph. Whippy/quick action, fluid arm swing, 3/4 slot.
Defense: Quick hands, active footwork through the ball with intent, some bounce to his step.
Run: 6.96 runner in the 60.

6-foot, 175-pounds, athletic frame with strength throughout. A right-handed hitter at the plate, VanHouten (Canton 2027) displayed an easy swing, staying on-plane with minimal swing-and-miss in this look. Barreled a ball to deep left field for a double and showed quality speed around the bases. Continues to show well in-game for our staff with quiet confidence and high-level compete factor. Clean defensive actions, too, moving well to both sides with soft hands and a clean, smooth glove-to-hand transfer. VanHouten also had a dominant performance out of the bullpen in the Wow Factor semi-final game on Monday. The right-handed pitcher tossed three innings allowing three hits, zero runs, and one walk while striking out seven. His fastball came in at 90 mph and settled in at 88-89 mph. The breaking ball sat 70-74 mph, along with a 77 mph change-up. He was able to overpower hitters with a fastball with life and a breaking ball that created bad swings. A must-know name in the state’s 2027 class.

RHP/INF Kash VanHouten (Canton, 2027) Continues to look the part as a high-level prospect in the state’s 2027 class. Listed at 6-foot, 175-pounds, VanHouten has a strong build with evenly proportioned strength, still looking to hold room for muscle in the future. The right-handed hitter took a polished round of BP, working direct to the ball with a flat path, looking to stay on top of the baseball with a balanced finish, mature presence and approach. He has advanced actions on the infield, boasting soft hands with fluid footwork. His arm is also well above-average, reaching up to 88 mph across the diamond. A true two-way prospect, VanHouten clearly made strides this past off-season as he continues to tick up his velocity on the mound; his fastball sat 86-87 mph, while topping out at 88 mph. He showed more confidence in his off-speed pitches as well, as he mixed in a tight-spinning low-70s slider, and a changeup that sat 77-79 mph. A new pitch to his arsenal this year is his sinker, which sits 82-84 mph with slight arm-side run. VanHouten will continue to be a high-follow in Illinois’ freshman class.

Positional Profile: SS
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Athletic build with strength.
Hit: RHH. Wide, athletic setup, small, up/down leg lift. Hands stay short to the ball with a slightly uphill path, showed above-average bat speed. 70.6 mph bat speed with 16 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 88 max exit velocity, averaged 84.1 mph. 272’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 88 mph. Long, quick arm path, 3/4 slot.
Defense: Soft hands, fields ball to body, moves well to both sides, clean double play turn.
Run: 7.53 runner in the 60.

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Stretch-only, high-leg lift with tuck, tall/fall delivery. Intentful mover.
Arm Action: RH. Long in the back, acceleration out front, 3/4 slot.
FB: T88, 86-88 mph. Firm out of the hand, rise through the zone. T2373, 2297 average rpm.
SL: 72-73 mph. 11/5 shape, short, tight break. T2141, 2093 average rpm.
CH: 78-79 mph. Clear fade and depth, maintains arm speed. T1583, 1516 average rpm.

SS/RHP Kash VanHouten (Canton, 2027) has consistently provided our staff with upside looks over the past couple years, including the Junior Future Games this past summer, and this weekend was no different. 6-foot, 170-pound build with a mature yet projectable frame. The right-handed hitter has a mature approach in the box to pair with above-average bat-strength; athletic stroke that stays quick and direct to the ball, creates extension through contact and looks to project into more power as he matures. Advanced actions on the infield with soft hands and fluid footwork, clear feel for the position. VanHouten also hopped on the mound and impressed with a fastball up to 84 mph with life through the zone. High-level prospect to know in IL.

Vanhouten showed well on the mound Saturday morning for Wow Factor, flashing a three-pitch mix capable of swings and misses. The right-hander is an athletic mover downhill on the mound with an explosive drop and drive delivery. Arm moves quickly with arm speed out front from a ¾ slot. The fastball sat 82-84 mph with ride through the zone, breaking ball  sat 65-67 mph with 12/6 movement, and a CH that sat 74-75 mph with feel for the zone. Also has potential at the plate from the right side, batting out of the two-hole for Wow Factor both times we have seen them this weekend.

VanHouten ran a 4.22 30-yard split, second-fastest of the event, and also impressed with his right-handed bat. He has an athletic, twitchy swing with a knack for the barrel and above-average bat speed (69.2 mph average; fourth-best at the event). He was a steady defender on the infield with an above-average arm that topped at 80 mph across the infield. That same arm played well on the mound, sitting 79-81 mph with a three-pitch mix.

INF/RHP Kaden Wasniewski (McHenry, 2027) and INF/RHP Kash VanHouten (Canton, 2027) were two of the top, two-way, prospects in attendance at the event. 

VanHouten ran a 4.22 30-yard split, second-fastest of the event, and also impressed with his right-handed bat. He has an athletic, twitchy swing with a knack for the barrel and above-average bat speed (69.2 mph average; fourth-best at the event). He was a steady defender on the infield with an above-average arm that topped at 80 mph across the infield. That same arm played well on the mound, sitting 79-81 mph with a three-pitch mix. 

Positional Profile: SS/RHP
Body: 5-11, 165-pounds. Athletic build, good proportions, fill coming as he matures.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, short stride. Explosive hand speed, creates bat speed, direct and level through the zone with big jump off the barrel.
Power: 85 max exit velocity, averaged 78.6 mph. 276’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 80 mph. Long out of the glove into a 2/3 slot, plays with life.
Defense: Steady actions, two-hand gather out front, clean double play turn.
Run: 4.22 30-yard split. 

Delivery: Stretch-only, up tempo, medium leg lift with slight coil, drop and drive delivery, toe lands slightly closed at footstrike.
Arm Action: RH. Long, quick arm, 3/4 slot.
FB: T81, 79-81 mph. Slight cutting action. T2308, 2270 average rpm.
CB: 65-67 mph. 11/5 shape, tight spin with late break, lands the pitch in the zone. T2164, 2048 average rpm.
CH: 73-74 mph. Maintains arm speed, creates deceleration, downward movement with some fade. T1641, 1566 average rpm.

Positional Profile: SS
Body: 5-8, 130-pounds. Lean athletic shape.
Hit: RHH. Athletic setup, short/quick stride. Loose/quick hands to the ball, present bat-speed, intent to lift the baseball.
Power: 77 max exit velocity, averaged 70.2 mph. 250’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 75 mph. Long path, high 3/4 slot, above average for age, some length at times and flashes ability to play on the move.
Defense: Athletic action, fields low, soft hands, clean exchange.
Run: 5.09 runner home-to-first. 

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Deliberate start, quick drop and drive delivery with some effort, lands squared to home.
Arm Action: RH. Long arm action, 3/4 slot.
FB: T75.5, 73.9-75.0 mph. Four seam type, hard action, above average spin rate for age. T2182, 2124 average rpm.
CB: 63.3-65.2 mph. Gradual, 11/5 vertical plane. T1937, 1904 average rpm.
CH: 67.7-71.2 mph. Sinking action. T1617, 1499 average rpm.

Another 2027 with advanced arm strength was RHP/INF Kash VanHouten (Canton). The 5-foot-8, 130-pound, Central Illinois product ran his fastball up to 76 mph with life and occasional arm-side-run. The changeup is an above-average offering, thrown aggressively with late fade and feel. He also flashed a tight curveball at times. Offensively, the right-handed hitter takes an aggressive swing, flashing bat speed and pull-side tendencies.