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Peoria Preseason ID: Quick Hits

February 26, 2024
Illinois Scouting Staff

On Wednesday, February 21st, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff traveled to the Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, IL., to host the seventh annual Peoria Preseason ID. This open event provided our staff an opportunity for an up-to-date look on players from the Central Illinois area prior to the start of the high school season. 

For a complete list of the players that attended this event, click HERE.

Now, lets take a look at some of the players that stood out to our scouting staff.

Position Players

+ OF Landon Gray (Dunlap, 2026) impressed our staff last week with a strong showing on both sides of the ball. Listed at 6-foot, 160-pounds, the right-handed hitter displayed loose hands with a flat path, working with easy effort while using his levers to elevate the ball, reaching up to 92.7 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 331’. Defensively, he displayed steady actions with fluid footwork, reaching up to 83 mph from a crow hop. 7.01 runner in the 60. 

+ C Anson Zaiser (Washington, 2026) had one of the better offensive showings last week. Listed at 5-foot-10, 175-pounds with strength throughout, especially in the lower-half, the right-handed hitter showcased strong hands that work through the zone with a flat path, working mostly to the middle and his pull-side while staying on the barrel with an average EV of 88.1 mph (T93.6 mph), maxing out at 356’. He stays compact and connected throughout his operation, utilizing the ground through impact. Steady hands behind the plate, works to present pitches around the zone. Reached as low as 2.21 for his pop-time with a max velocity of 75 mph. 

+ INF/C Carson Butler (Sacred Heart Griffin, 2026) is an upside right-handed hitter to know in the 2026 class. Projectable build at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, lean strength with levers and a high waist. The right-handed hitter has an efficient path to the ball, staying through the hitting zone for a long time while using his levers well to elevate, power projects as he continues to fill out. He stood out equally as much on the other side of the ball, working with a clean glove-to-hand operation behind the plate while working in-line on throws to second, producing a pop-time as low as 1.95 seconds with a top velocity of 75 mph. On the infield, Butler has steady hands with fluid footwork, appearing comfortable in that position as well with a max velocity of 80 mph across the diamond. 

+ INF Ajay Runkel (Rochester, 2026) displayed some power from his strong right-handed swing on Wednesday. Listed at 6-foot, 240-pounds, Runkel showcased strong hands that worked quickly from his launch position, utilizing an uphill path to create a max EV of 91.9 mph with a max distance of 329’. Simple swing, creates extension through the ball, looks to be able to handle in-game velocity. 

+ INF Kaeden Schatsiek (Brimfield, 2026) checked a lot of boxes in our brief look last week. Standing in an uber-projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, the right-handed hitter displayed easy power, working up to 92.8 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 363’. Easy, controlled swing, works flat through the zone with an efficient path, uses levers well. On the infield, Schatsiek displayed fluid footwork and actions, moving well laterally with a quick first step. His arm is also plenty strong, topping out at 85 mph across the diamond. 

+ 1B Noah Convery (Carlinville, 2026) took an impressive round of BP last week. Listed at 6-foot-3, 215-pounds with some strength throughout, the left-handed hitter displayed a simple, yet powerful stroke that works downhill through the zone, creating backspin up the middle of the field with a max EV of 92.7 mph. Balanced finish with a simple and repeatable operation. 

+ OF/3B Keaton Ariano (Geneseo, 2027) is an upside left-handed hitter to know from Wednesday’s event. There’s some upside in his 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame, and his swing looks to have some power potential as well. He stays on-plane with loose/whippy hands, looking to use the whole field with line-drives, explosive barrel through the zone. In the outfield, Ariano attacked the baseball with steady hands and fluid footwork, moving well laterally into an athletic crow hop, topping out at 83 mph. 7.13 runner in the 60. 

+ C/1B Colton Allen (Galesburg, 2024) is an uncommitted senior to know from Wednesday’s event. Listed at a strong-bodied 6-foot-3, 205-pounds, the left-handed hitter displayed a steep path that creates extension through the ball, loose hands, looks middle/away with some feel to hit. Worked on the sweet-spot 76.9% of the time per TrackMan while also averaging 21.8 mph for his hand-speed (T24.8 mph). 

+ 1B Sam Mitre (Marquette, 2025) put together one of the loudest rounds of BP on the day. The right-handed hitter led the entire event in exit velocity, maxing out at 97.5 mph with an average of 90.8 mph throughout his round. He displayed strong hands, staying on the barrel to the whole field while also looking to stay through the ball the other way. His BLAST metrics were off the charts; boasting an average hand-speed of 24 mph (T25.8 mph), average bat-speed of 76.8 mph (T80.5 mph) and average rotational acceleration of 28.9 G’s (T33.2 G’s). 

+ C Tyler Humphrey (Washington, 2025) showed well at this very event a year ago, and it was much of the same this time around. Currently ranked No. 104 in the state, the 6-foot, 200-pound right-handed hitter has loose, strong hands that work into a flat path, creating a max EV of 90 mph with a max distance of 344’. He had one of the better defensive showings on the day as well, working with a clean glove to hand operation with a quick transfer, gaining ground in-line to second on throws to create a pop-time as low as 1.97 seconds. His arm is also plenty strong, topping out at 79 mph from the chute. Uncommitted backstop to know in the state. 

Two-Ways

+ 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.

+ INF/RHP Brady Booth (Tremont, 2025) is a highly projectable, 6-foot, 160-pound uncommitted prospect that showed well on both sides of the ball last week. The right-handed hitter has a loose, easy swing, staying flat through the zone with a balanced finish, using the whole field with a max EV of 95.2 mph and max distance of 361’. He’s an athletic defender, playing with rhythm and timing through the ball with fluid footwork and soft hands - also a 6.92 runner in the 60. His arm plays with life across the diamond, topping out at 86 mph with quickness into release. On the mound, Booth’s fastball played mostly straight, sitting 81-83 mph and topping out at 84 mph. His slider had an average of -14.5” of horizontal movement, sitting in the low-70s, and he also mixed in a low-80s cutter. An uncommitted follow in Illinois’ 2025 class.

+ C/RHP Hudson Lovell (Morton, 2027) was another impressive two-way prospect whose arrow is pointing up after this event. Lovell moves athletically at 6-foot, 175-pounds both on the mound and behind the dish. On the bump, he worked his fastball in the 82-85 mph range (T85.7), with life and ride through the zone (avg 18.6” IVB). Lovell complemented his fastball with a big-breaking 11/5 curveball that landed in the zone at 62-65 mph, and a changeup that played in the upper-60s with occasional arm-side fade. His arsenal played better out of the stretch overall, but Lovell looks to be an arm to keep tabs on moving forward. On the other side of the ball, the right-handed hitter flashed some upside in his right-handed swing, reaching up to 91 mph for his max EV with a max distance of 332’; also displaying well above-average BLAST metrics with an average hand-speed of 22.2 mph (T23.5 mph), average bat-speed of 75.7 mph (T78 mph) and average rotational acceleration of 20.1 G’s (T26.3 G’s). He also impressed behind the plate, reaching as low as 2.06 for his pop-time with a max velocity of 78 mph with easy life out of the hand and carry.  

+ INF/RHP Isaiah Giganti (Normal University, 2026) was another winner from the event, giving an upside look as a two-way prospect. On the bump, Giganti is a high-waisted 6-foot-1, 180-pound smooth mover downhill. His delivery is easy and repeatable with a high leg tuck that drops and drives towards home plate. Giganti’s fastball sat 80-82 mph (T83.3) with ride through the zone (avg 17.2” IVB), and seemingly more velocity left in the tank as well. His slider was his best secondary offering, playing in the 67-69 mph range, landing in the zone 67% of the time with short vertical break. Giganti rounded out his pitch mix with a changeup that sat 73-74 mph. At the plate, the right-handed hitter showed athletic hands with a flat path, creating a max EV of 92.8 mph with a max distance of 345’. He displayed steady hands on the infield with a live arm, reaching up to 86 mph across the diamond. 

PITCHERS

+ LHP Tanner Rogers (Monmouth United, 2025) left last week’s event an uncommitted name-to-know after an impressive showing on the mound. A simple and clean delivery, Rogers’ velocity has ticked up since seeing him last summer. His fastball sat at 84-86 mph with easy and mostly straight actions. He mixed in two breaking balls, with his slider looking like his best of the two, sitting 68-70 mph with an average of 16.4” of horizontal movement. To round out his four-pitch mix, he showed a mid-70s changeup.

+ RHP Luke Klunke (Normal Community, 2025) made his Prep Baseball event debut last Wednesday and impressed. An athletic 5-foot-11, 180-pound build, Klunke displayed a low-80s fastball that was up to 85.1 mph with a max of 17” of horizontal movement. He mixed in a mid-70s slider with short, horizontal break, as well as a mid-70s changeup that had arm-side fade at times, but was mostly straight.

+ RHP Brady Bolen (Pekin, 2025) displayed some pitchability throughout his ‘pen. With four pitches to work with, Bolen ran his fastball in the 83-85 mph range with heavy arm-side run (avg 15.1” HM), while tossing in a sinker that played well off of the fastball with true sinking action (avg 4.8” IVB) at 79-81 mph. His offspeed consisted of an arm-side fading changeup at 70-74 mph, and a slider at 72-76 mph. 

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