On Sep. 3rd, Prep Baseball Illinois traveled to McHenry County College in Crystal Lake, IL., for the McHenry County College Scout Day. The event featured over 35 players, and allowed our staff to get an inside look ahead of their 2024 season.

Today, we are taking a look at some of the top performers from the day, with scouting reports and videos, below. 

Position Players 

So. OF Owen Nowak (Union Grove, WI) is one of the top returners for the Scots, turning in a .390 batting average in 210 at-bats last spring. Listed at 6-foot, 185-pounds with some present strength, Nowak is an above-average athlete with a 6.71 in the 60. The left-handed hitter worked elevated contact to his pull-side throughout his round, topping out at 95 mph for his EV. He showed steady actions in the outfield with a strong arm, topping out at 88 mph with accuracy to his target. 

So. OF Jackson Dibble (Geneva, IL) is another top returner for the Scots, bringing back a .368 average and nine home runs in 185 at-bats. He has a physical 6-foot, 200-pound frame with a strong lower-half and strength in the upper-half as well. He has a simple left-handed swing that stays flat through the zone, working to his pull-side with some authority in this look, topping out at 95 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 346’. 6.99 runner in the 60. 

So. MIF Keli Grennier (Menomonee Falls, WI) returns a .351 batting average in 111 at-bats for the Scots. Listed at 5-foot-10, 175-pounds, he has a trim, lean build with room to add on strength. He’s a premium athlete with a 6.65 in the 60, and he also has an athletic right-handed swing that worked on the barrel throughout his round with the ability to use the whole field, topping out at 92.4 mph for his max EV. He’s an athletic defender with steady hands and easy range to both sides of his glove, topping out at 84 mph across the diamond.

So. INF Caden Guenther (Jacobs, IL) had a strong showing in the workout. He has an athletic build at 6-foot, 180-pounds, strong lower-half with wide/rounded shoulders. The right-handed hitter displayed a heavy barrel throughout his round with a pull-side approach, utilizing the whole field at times with line-drives, topping out at 94 mph for his max EV while working on the sweet spot 100% of the time per TrackMan. He also put up some impressive BLAST numbers with 18.8 Gs of average rotational acceleration, topping out at 22.3 Gs. He looks to be an athletic defender on the infield with fluid footwork and hands, he also displayed easy range to both sides of his glove. 

So. 1B Joe Fischer (Hortonville, WI) stands out physically with his long-levered 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame, and he still looks to have room for added strength. The right-handed hitter showed the ability to naturally lift the baseball with an easy swing that works uphill through the zone with extension through impact, 96 mph max EV (T340’), power should continue to come. He also put up some impressive BLAST numbers with an average hand-speed of 25.4 mph (T26.1) and an average bat-speed of 73.9 mph (T75.9). 

Fr. INF Jaden Obaldo (Crystal Lake Central, IL) looks to be a new face to watch out for this coming spring. 5-foot-10, 180-pounds with a lean, athletic build. The right-handed hitter was all over the barrel throughout his round of BP, working flat through the zone with pop to the middle of the field and his pull-side, topping out at 97 mph for his EV with an average of 90 mph (T362’). He’s an advanced defender on the infield with confident hands and footwork, playing with timing and rhythm through the ball, controls his body well. Strong arm across that can play on the move, topping out at 86 mph. 

RFr. INF Ryan Quinlan (Huntley, IL) had one of the more polished rounds of BP on the day. The left-handed hitter was able to backspin the ball to all fields with athletic hands and a flat path, topping out at 96.3 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 380’. He’s a natural defender with a confident glove, controlled actions and doesn’t rush himself, fluid footwork, plays with quality timing through the ball. 6.67 runner in the 60. 

So. 1B Christian Graves (Jacobs, IL) is a physical RHH to know for the Scots, and he returns a .301 average with six home runs in 113 at-bats from a season ago. Listed at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, Graves is a physical presence with strength throughout his entire frame. He took a loud round of BP, working on the barrel with intent while staying primarily to his pull-side, topping out at 100 mph for his max EV while averaging 92.2 mph. He creates impressive bat-speed with his strong hands, averaging 77 mph and topping out at 81 mph. 

Fr. C Sean Kempf (Crystal Lake Central) had a strong round of BP and will be a name to follow for the Scots. 5-foot-10, 200-pounds with evenly proportioned strength and a durable frame. The right-handed hitter was on the barrel with authority up the middle and to his pull-side with some lift, also showing the ability to backspin the baseball, averaging 90 mph while topping out at 96.3 mph for his EV. 

TWO-WAYs

So. MIF/RHP Ryan Skwarek (Crystal Lake South, IL) was a two-way winner from the event. As a position player, Skwarek returns a .384 batting average and 20 doubles in 151 at-bats. He has an athletic right-handed swing that worked on the barrel with loose wrists and whip through the zone, topping out at 96 mph for his EV with a max distance of 362’. On the infield, he boasts natural and easy actions with a well above-average arm that plays with accuracy (T89 mph INF). On the mound, he’s a clean, athletic mover with a quick arm, cruising around 88-90 mph with the fastball. He also showed some feel to spin a low-70s breaking ball and flick in a low-80s changeup to round out his three-pitch mix. 

Fr. RHP/1B Jackson Prentice (Naperville North, IL) is another two-way that stood out from the day. 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame, trim, athletic build with strength. At the plate, the right-handed hitter works with a controlled load before firing through the zone, works to stay on top of the baseball and stayed mostly to his pull-side, topping out at 97.7 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 344’. On the mound, the right-hander worked his fastball in the 87-89 mph range, topping out at 89.6 mph. To pair off the fastball he went to a slider/changeup combination that both played in the mid/upper-70s. 

PITCHERS

Fr. RHP Sean Dooley (Palmyra-Eagle) is a new arm for the Scots and he showed extremely well throughout his ‘pen. 6-foot-1, 184-pounds, evenly proportioned weight throughout. He works slightly up-tempo throughout his delivery, medium leg-lift into a coiled balance point, drop/drive lower-half that works in-line, creates layback in his arm before firing through from a high ¾ release, quick arm. The fastball played in the 88-90 mph range, topping out at 91 mph with over 2,500 rpm. He showed a knack to spin both of his breaking balls, both playing over 2,700 rpm at around 77-80 mph, both offerings play off a 10/4 plane with differing depth, sharp action. Changeup was a quality fourth offering, thrown with intent at 82-83 mph, showed some dive to the bottom of the zone. 

RFr. RHP Trenton Feucht (Freedom, WI) showed a quality three-pitch mix throughout his ‘pen. 6-foot-3, 190-pounds, some present strength throughout. Up-tempo worker, high leg-lift into balance point, glove-tap timing trigger, high front side, tall/fall drive while working in-line, high ¾ slot. Fastball played with carry through the zone at 87-90 mph (T23.1 IVB). Sharp, downer curveball with 11/5 shape, 70-72 mph with over 2,400 rpm at times, can land it for strikes. Final offering was a splitter in the 77-79 mph range that played mostly straight. 

RFr. RHP Jackson King (Delta, IN) is a name to follow from the day. 6-foot-4, 215-pounds, lean strength throughout. Athletic mover with a high leg-kick, slight drop/drive lower-half that works in-line, medium arm circle that works clean out of the glove into a high ¾ slot, quick arm. Fastball played at 89-91 mph, topping out at 92 mph with over 2,400 rpm at times, plays with some carry through the zone. Curveball played in the 71-73 mph range with downer shape while the slider had more 10/4 action and sharper break, 74-76 mph (+2300 rpm). Final offering was a changeup around 80 mph, playing with hard running action to his arm-side (T19.3”). 

Fr. RHP Bennett Wolfe (Mukwonago, WI) is a big right-hander to know from the day. 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, Wolfe works with a controlled tempo into a medium/high leg-lift, drop/drive lower-half, works in-line, long arm swing in the back that comes through with a ¾ slot, quick/clean arm. Fastball played in the 86-88 mph range with heavy running action, over 17” at times. He can spin the slider at a well above-average clip, playing at 72-74 mph with over 2,700 rpm at times, showing sharp 10/4 action with slurvy shape at times, could land it for some strikes. Final offering was a changeup at 79-81 mph with heavy running action to his arm-side (T21.5” HM). 

Fr. RHP Cal Korosa (Lockport, IL) had a quality showing in his ‘pen. 6-foot-2, 216-pound frame, durable build. The right-hander cruised around 86-87 mph, topping out at 88 mph with running action to his arm-side. Curveball showed tighter, short 11/5 shape, 73-76 mph. His final offering was a changeup at 78-80 mph, thrown with fastball intent, plays with hard running action to the arm-side (T19.8” HM), some feel for the zone. 

RFr. RHP Mason Lechowicz (Crystal Lake Central, IL) worked a four-pitch mix throughout his ‘pen. 6-foot-2, 190-pounds, evenly proportioned strength with long legs. Athletic mover with a quick arm out front, fastball sat around 85-86 mph, topping at 87 mph with over 2,300 rpm on occasion, mostly straight action. Slider is thrown with intent at 76-77 mph, quality 10/4 shape with some depth (+2300 rpm). He also went to a cutter in the 77-79 mph range, playing with shorter action than the slider, late break off a lateral plane (+2400 rpm). His final offering was a changeup in the 75-77 mph range, killing spin and running to his arm-side a bit. 

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