Prep Baseball Report

McHenry Preseason ID: Top Overall Prospects


Illinois Scouting Staff

On Saturday, February 10th, our staff hosted the McHenry Preaseason ID at the Pro Player Academy in McHenry, IL. This event hosted just over 130 players, and allowed our staff to get an in-depth look at a number of prospects in the area prior to the spring season. 

The past few days, we have broken down the catchers, outfielders, infielders and pitchers from the event. Today, we conclude our post-event rollout with a Top-10 ranking of who our staff deemed as the top overall prospects.

Top Overall Prospects 

1. Kaden Wasniewski 3B / RHP / McHenry High School, IL / 2027

Positional Profile: OF
Body: 6-0, 160-pounds. Athletic build, trim frame, plenty of room to add on strength.
Hit: RHH. Tall setup, slightly open, small leg lift with minimal stride. Loose arms, some rhythm in the hands, looks to lift the ball up in the zone, uphill path with extension. 66.7 mph bat speed with 8 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 92 max exit velocity, averaged 87.1 mph. 310’ max distance.
Arm: RH. OF - 92 mph. Short, quick arm action, throws have carry. 3/4 arm slot.
Defense: Steady actions, sure hands and clean release.
Run: 3.86 30-yard dash. 

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Stretch-only, medium leg-lift, drop/drive delivery, works in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Athletic, quick arm action, 3/4 arm slot.
FB: T90, 87-90 mph. Clean out of the hand with slight run. T2385, 2354 average rpm.
SL: 78-79 mph. Sharp, 10/4 shape, sweeping action. T,  average rpm.
CH: 80-81 mph. Noticeable deceleration with slight drop, feel for zone. T1613, 1534 average rpm. 

2. Brandon Shannon RHP / Mchenry High School-west Campus, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-3, 160-pounds. Trim, ultra-projectable frame, high-waist with room to mature physically.
Delivery: Rhythmic, up-tempo delivery, works well down the mound.
Arm Action: RH. Loose 3/4 arm action, with quickness out front.
FB: T91, 89-91 mph. Jumps out of the hand with slight cut. T2326, 2250 average rpm.
CB: 75-79 mph. Hammer curveball that drops off a cliff, quality spin at 2400-2660 rpm. T2664, 2541 average rpm.
SL: 78-80 mph. Short, horizontal break, 2400+ spin. T2411, 2345 average rpm.
SPLT: 84-86 mph. Cuts and drops through zone.

3. AJ Putty 1B / 3B / Huntley, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: 1B/3B
Body: 6-4, 220-pounds. Strong, durable frame, broad shoulders and strength in the lower-half.
Hit: RHH. Slightly crouched setup, high up/down leg lift. Hands rock back with rhythm, downhill path, worked on the barrel up the middle with line-drives, 76.3 mph bat speed with 9 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 101 max exit velocity, averaged 92.8 mph. 354’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 82 mph. Short, fluid arm action. Strong throws from a 3/4 arm slot.
Defense: Steady actions, sure hands, clean footwork and comfortable on the move.
Run: 4.02 30-yard dash. 

4. Drew Borkowski III SS / RHP / Huntley, IL / 2026

Positional Profile: SS
Body: 6-2, 170-pounds. Lean, projectable frame, trim look with sloped shoulders and room to gain strength.
Hit: RHH. Tall, narrow setup, slightly open, medium leg lift, short stride. Loose, whippy arms, easy bat-speed, looks to elevate up the middle of the field, balanced finish. 72.9 mph bat speed with 10 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 91 max exit velocity, averaged 79.7 mph. 265’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 91 mph. Loose, whippy arm action. Strong and accurate from a 3/4 arm slot.
Defense: Steady actions, gets around the baseball and plays through in rhythm and with intent.
Run: 3.87 30-yard dash. 

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Simple, athletic, controlled, medium leg-lift, slight coil into balance point, drop/drive lower half.
Arm Action: RH. Long out of the glove, loose, clean arm action. High 3/4 arm slot with acceleration out front.
FB: T89, 87-89 mph. Life out of the hand, 2-seam action with life through the zone. T2220, 2071 average rpm.
CB: 75-79 mph. Thrown with intent, 11/5 shape with sharp bite through the zone. T2249, 2171 average rpm.
SL: 76-77 mph. Short 10/4 action, plays at the bottom of the zone. T2252, 2173 average rpm.
CH: 81-83 mph. Heavy action to the arm-side, has tumble at the bottom of the zone, has feel for the strike zone. T1913, 1826 average rpm. 

5. Calen Scheider RHP / C / Hampshire, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-0, 155-pounds. Lean, trim frame, projectable with room to fill out his frame.
Delivery: Clean, rhythmic delivery, works downhill and lands upright at footplant. Easy overall effort.
Arm Action: RH. Athletic, quick arm action, high 3/4 slot.
FB: T89, 85-88 mph. Easy and lively out of the hand, late running action. T1994, 1863 average rpm.
CB: 76-76 mph. Tight, sharp action, late horizontal break. T2204, 2130 average rpm.
SL: 73-79 mph. Thrown with intent, late short wrinkle. T2256, 2160 average rpm.
CH: 75-76 mph. Plays with arm speed, down in the zone, late run and sink. Gets hard run at times. T1606, 1485 average rpm. 

Positional Profile: C
Hit: RHH. Simple setup, slight crouch, minimal leg lift, short stride. Loose, whippy barrel through the zone, athletic with a controlled finish, worked up the middle of the field, stays through the ball.  67.7 mph bat speed with 12 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 91 max exit velocity, averaged 83.6 mph. 277’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 82 mph. Short, over the top release, plays with easy life out of the hand.
Defense: 1.83-1.97 pop times. Quick hands, works to present pitches around the zone for strikes, clean glove to hand, works in-line on throws.
Run: 4.05 30-yard dash.

6. Benjamin Mitchell C / RHP / Harvest Christian, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: C/RHP
Body: 6-1, 205-pounds. Strong-bodied, durable frame.
Hit: RHH. Tall, narrow setup, open stance, high leg lift, minimal stride. Hands rock back into a steep path, flat path on balls up in the zone, looks to stay on top of the ball, pull-side approach. 78.8 mph bat speed with 18 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 104 max exit velocity, averaged 97.1 mph. 342’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 77 mph. Accurate throws around the bag, short, high 3/4 arm action.
Defense: 1.97-2.07 pop times. Works under the baseball while receiving, soft hands, clean transfer and glove to hand, works in-line out of the chute.
Run: 4.04 30-yard dash. 

7. Andrew Deegan SS / 2B / Jacobs, IL / 2026

Positional Profile: SS/2B
Body: 6-0, 185-pounds. Proportioned build, room to gain strength.
Hit: LHH. Tall setup, small leg-lift, short stride. Easy, simple stroke, flat path, stays through the ball, uses the middle of the field with line-drives, showed ability to stay through the ball the other way. 70.4 mph bat speed with 10 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 96 max exit velocity, averaged 88.1 mph. 282’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 88 mph. Short, quick arm action. Strong and accurate from a 3/4 arm slot.
Defense: Active feet, athletic actions, plays through and in rhythm, comfortable on the move, advanced double play turn.
Run: 4.03 30-yard dash. 

8. Charlie Taczy RHP / 3B / Cary-Grove Community High School, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: RHP/3B
Body: 6-0, 155-pounds. Wiry, upside frame, high-waist with room to advance physically.
Delivery: Stretch-only, high leg lift with tuck, drop/drive delivery, works in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Full arm circle, clean, quick, low 3/4 slot.
FB: T86, 84-86 mph. FB: Two-seam run clean and firm out of the hand. SN: True sink action, feel for pitch.  T2256, 2190 average rpm.
SL: 75-76 mph. Big, sweeping shape, feel to land. T2544, 2508 average rpm.
C79-79 mph. Heavy fade to the arm-side, maintains arm speed. T1974, 1913 average rpm.

9. Brady Klepfer C / RHP / Huntley, IL / 2026

Positional Profile: C/RHP
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Trim build, athletic with room to fill out, sloped shoulders.
Hit: RHH. Tall, narrow setup, toe-tap stride. Quick hands through the zone, controlled aggression, flat path, on the barrel up the middle.  70.6 mph bat speed with 12 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 89 max exit velocity, averaged 82 mph. 291’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 79 mph. INF - 89 mph. INF: Short, fluid arm action with arm-speed out front. Accurate throws from a 3/4 arm slot. C: Short to the ear, high over the top release, throws played around the bag with accuracy.
Defense: 1.87-2.01 pop times. INF: Athletic actions, feel for the infield, clean release and advanced body control. C: Quiet, steady hands while receiving, quick glove to hand, works in-line out of the chute, deadens the ball out front on blocks.
Run: 3.96 30-yard dash.

Positional Profile: C/RHP
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Trim build, athletic with room to fill out, sloped shoulders.
Delivery: Clean, easy delivery, high leg-lift with tuck and coil, drop/drive delivery, works in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Clean, loose, quick arm action, 3/4 arm slot.
FB: T88, 86-88 mph. Mostly straight actions, carry through the zone. T2310, 2215 average rpm.
CB: 78-79 mph. 10/4, sweeping shape. T2322, 2254 average rpm.
CH: 79-81 mph. Fading action to the arm-side, locates down. T1941, 1858 average rpm. 

10. Ryan Dabe OF / 3B / Huntley, IL / 2025

Positional Profile: OF/3B
Body: 6-1, 190-pounds. Trim, athletic build, some strength throughout with room to add on more.
Hit: RHH. Taller setup, slightly open, medium leg lift, short stride. Controlled aggression, intent to lift up the middle, on the barrel with elevated contact pull/middle. 72.5 mph bat speed with 11 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 99 max exit velocity, averaged 87.6 mph. 349’ max distance.
Arm: RH. OF - 88 mph. Long arm action, plays quick out front, over-the-top slot.
Defense: Attacks the baseball, works to get behind and play through, intent through release.
Run: 4.18 30-yard dash. 


Related Content