Xavier
Crowder

Crowder provided a brief but ultra-impressive look during Friday’s action. Built at an athletic 5-foot-11, 180-pounds, Crowder is a powerful mover on the bump and pairs it with a fast arm that created some of the top velocities of the entire weekend. During his two-innings of relief, Crowder ran his fastball all the way up to 90 mph and sat in the 86-89 mph throughout. He also showed feel for an advanced breaking ball that played with sharp 11/5 action, and spun upwards of 3,000+ RPM. He would finish his quick outing with four strikeouts en route to a dominant win for Strikes Baseball. Followed up later in the weekend with two home runs at the plate. 

Uncommitted. Currently ranked No. 12 in the state of Illinois. The 5-foot-11, 172-pound athletically-built middle infielder got the start on the mound for his team. Easy, clean delivery with minimal effort throughout and a loose, quick arm. Crowder went five innings, scattering four hits, two earned runs and struck out four. Crowder threw 14 first pitch strikes to 27 batters faced. Mainly used his four-seam fastball with some life to it to get ahead of hitters. The fastball sat 83-85 mph throughout the outing and touched 87 mph once in the first inning. He went to a curveball that worked mostly 11/5, sometimes 12/6 at 66-68 mph. His changeup played with slight sinking action sitting 75-76 mph. A name to follow in the class of 2025.

Positional Profile: SS
Body: 5-10, 170-pounds. Well-proportioned frame.
Hit: RHH. Open setup, toe-tap trigger, short stride. Electric bat speed for his age, uphill path, intent, present athletic twitch, gap-to-gap approach.
Power: 92.8 max exit velocity, averaged 87.1 mph. 346’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 81 mph. Loose, quick arm action. 3/4 slot.
Defense: Plays loose. Easy, athletic actions.
Run: 6.94 runner in the 60.

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Athletic delivery, low effort, works slightly across body.
Arm Action: RH. Live, easy arm action. High 3/4 slot.
FB: T90.7, 84.9-90.0 mph. Electric fastball with lively carry and finish through the zone. T2489, 2401 average rpm.
CB: 69.7-71.7 mph. 12/6 to 11/5 shape. Good feel for the zone. Depth. Sharp, late break. Out pitch potential.  T2812, 2686 average rpm.
CH: 77.3-81.0 mph. Fading action to the arm side. Feel for the zone. T1763, 1643 average rpm.

Here are two of the top two-way talents at The MAX on Saturday: SS/RHP Xavier Crowder (Montini Catholic, 2025) and SS/RHP Jackson Natanek (Brother Rice, 2025). Both stood out on the mound with their high spin rate breaking balls that topped the entire event. Crowder led the showcase with a curveball that averaged a spin rate of nearly 2,700 rpm, while Natanek’s slider averaged nearly 2,600 rpm, which led that pitch’s category. Both clearly have dynamic, athletic arms and Crowder paired his breaking ball with one of the top fastballs of that day, topping at 90.7 mph. Crowder’s dynamic athleticism was on display as a position player as well. He ran the top 60 time for 2025s (6.94) and showed off elite bat speed for his age (75.5 mph max). Crowder swings with intent off an uphill path with pull-side tendencies and his furthest batted ball traveled 346 feet. Natanek is a high-level shortstop with fundamentally sound, athletic actions, and a strong arm, naturally, and has shown a feel to hit from the right-handed box.