Chicago Preseason ID: Pitching Data Dive
February 22, 2024
On Feb. 18, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff traveled to the Pullman Community Center in Chicago to host the Chicago Preseason ID. This event provided us an ample opportunity to check in on some of the area’s top high school prospects and identify several new names to know as we prepare for the IHSA season, as well as future invite-only events on the Prep Baseball Illinois calendar.
Yesterday, we published our Statistical Analysis, where we broke down the stat leaders from the more traditional categories and our Quick Hits, where we dove into some of the top players from the event. Today, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:
TRACKMAN
FASTBALL
VELOCITY (MAX)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
1 | Logan Nordentoft | IL | Prospect | 2026 | 3B | 85.7 mph |
2 | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 85.3 mph |
3 | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 85.1 mph |
4 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 84.2 mph |
5 | Bren Milburn | IL | Crete-Monee | 2025 | SS | 84.1 mph |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Dallan Krewatch | IL | University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | 2026 | RHP | 2184 rpm |
2 | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 2012 rpm |
3 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | 1987 rpm |
4 | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 1947 rpm |
5 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 1941 rpm |
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Dallan Krewatch | IL | University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | 2026 | RHP | 23.1 in |
2 | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 18.3 in |
3 | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 17.6 in |
4 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 16.5 in |
5 | Javon Carter | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2026 | SS | 16.0 in |
6 | Ashton Janowski | IL | Oak Forest | 2025 | RHP | 15.4 in |
7 | Jace Binion | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2026 | 3B | 15.4 in |
8 | Logan Nordentoft | IL | Prospect | 2026 | 3B | 14.9 in |
9 | Keenan Harrell | IL | Ogden Int High School | 2026 | RHP | 14.3 in |
10 | Greg Zaber | IL | St. Rita | 2027 | RHP | 14.3 in |
Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiency. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of the vertical approach angle.
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | -15.1 |
2 | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 15.1 |
3 | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 12.9 |
4 | Cooper Johnson | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2027 | RHP | 12.3 |
5 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | 10.8 |
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Keenan Harrell | IL | Ogden Int High School | 2026 | RHP | 66 % |
^ | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 66 % |
2 | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | 60 % |
3 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 50 % |
^ | Jace Binion | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2026 | 3B | 50 % |
^ | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 50 % |
^ | Cooper Johnson | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2027 | RHP | 50 % |
^ | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 50 % |
^ | Bren Milburn | IL | Crete-Monee | 2025 | SS | 50 % |
Average MLB pitchers throw 62% strikes, and better pitchers throw strikes 65% of the time, or roughly 2:1 strikes to balls.
CURVEBALL
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Evan Mantas | IL | Prospect High School | 2026 | LHP | 2282 rpm |
2 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | 2260 rpm |
3 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | 2257 rpm |
4 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 2113 rpm |
5 | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 2111 rpm |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Cameron Ingram | IL | Marian Catholic | 2026 | SS | 13.0 in |
2 | Cooper Johnson | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2027 | RHP | -12.8 in |
3 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | -12.2 in |
4 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | -9.4 in |
5 | Logan Nordentoft | IL | Prospect | 2026 | 3B | -9.2 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | -14.1 |
2 | Cooper Johnson | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2027 | RHP | -13.6 |
3 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | -12.9 |
4 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | -11.9 |
5 | Logan Nordentoft | IL | Prospect | 2026 | 3B | -11.6 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | 75 % |
2 | Keenan Harrell | IL | Ogden Int High School | 2026 | RHP | 60 % |
^ | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 60 % |
3 | Fred Chandler | IL | Leo Catholic | 2025 | RHP | 50 % |
SLIDER
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Nathan Cera | IL | Maine South | 2026 | 3B | 2388 |
2 | Renzo Sansonetti | IL | Jones College Prep | 2026 | RHP | 2317 |
3 | Evan Mantas | IL | Prospect High School | 2026 | LHP | 2296 |
4 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | 2241 |
5 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | 2179 |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Cameron Ingram | IL | Marian Catholic | 2026 | SS | 12.5 in |
2 | Fred Chandler | IL | Leo Catholic | 2025 | RHP | 5.1 in |
3 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | -4.8 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | -17.6 |
2 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | -13.2 |
3 | Cameron Ingram | IL | Marian Catholic | 2026 | SS | 13.2 |
4 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | 10.2 |
5 | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | -10.1 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | 100 % |
2 | Jack Gianikos | IL | Maine South | 2026 | RHP | 80 % |
3 | Nathan Cera | IL | Maine South | 2026 | 3B | 75 % |
4 | Jalen Allen | IL | Marian Catholic | 2025 | RHP | 66 % |
^ | Cameron Ingram | IL | Marian Catholic | 2026 | SS | 66 % |
5 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | 60 % |
CHANGEUP
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Dallan Krewatch | IL | University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | 2026 | RHP | 1879 rpm |
2 | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 1811 rpm |
3 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | 1754 rpm |
4 | Bren Milburn | IL | Crete-Monee | 2025 | SS | 1684 rpm |
5 | Ashton Janowski | IL | Oak Forest | 2025 | RHP | 1650 rpm |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Dallan Krewatch | IL | University of Chicago Laboratory Schools | 2026 | RHP | 17.8 in |
2 | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | 16.9 in |
3 | Christian Lott | IL | Simeon Career Academy | 2026 | 1B | 15.4 in |
4 | Jalen Allen | IL | Marian Catholic | 2025 | RHP | 15.2 in |
5 | Ashton Janowski | IL | Oak Forest | 2025 | RHP | 14.4 in |
6 | Keenan Harrell | IL | Ogden Int High School | 2026 | RHP | 13.7 in |
7 | Greg Zaber | IL | St. Rita | 2027 | RHP | 13.7 in |
8 | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 13.5 in |
9 | Jace Binion | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2026 | 3B | 12.0 in |
10 | Javon Carter | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2026 | SS | 11.8 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Nathan Cera | IL | Maine South | 2026 | 3B | 17.2 |
2 | Lucas Espinosa | IL | Taft | 2026 | SS | 16.8 |
3 | Evan Mantas | IL | Prospect High School | 2026 | LHP | -14.7 |
4 | Cameron Ingram | IL | Marian Catholic | 2026 | SS | 14.5 |
5 | Cooper Johnson | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2027 | RHP | 14.4 |
6 | Henry Malarski | IL | Taft | 2024 | LHP | -13.0 |
7 | Christopher Hicks | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2026 | OF | 12.9 |
8 | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 10.5 |
9 | Logan Nordentoft | IL | Prospect | 2026 | 3B | 10.0 |
10 | Bren Milburn | IL | Crete-Monee | 2025 | SS | 9.9 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Derrick Davis | IL | Leo Catholic | 2026 | SS | 66 % |
2 | Matthew Jackson | IL | Prospect | 2026 | OF | 60 % |
^ | Christian Lott | IL | Simeon Career Academy | 2026 | 1B | 60 % |
3 | Bren Milburn | IL | Crete-Monee | 2025 | SS | 50 % |
^ | Elias Nanos | IL | Taft | 2025 | RHP | 50 % |
+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.
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