On Thursday, October 3rd, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff traveled to South Holland for the South Suburban College Scout Day. The event was smaller in size, but there were still plenty of players that showed well for themselves.

Continue reading below to see who stood out the most to our scouting staff from the day. 

Position Players 

So. OF Jason Ballard (Homewood-Flossmoor, 2023)
6-foot-1, 180-pound frame, lean with long legs and a high waist. Well above-average athlete, cruising to a 6.59 in the 60. Easy right-handed swing, stays flat through the zone, worked mostly up the middle of the field and showed the ability to take it the other way, topped out at 90 mph for his EV. Athletic mover in the outfield, fluid footwork with bounce, soft hands, moves well into crow hop, topped at 87 mph. 

Fr. OF Louie Sisto (St. Rita, 2024) 
6-foot-2, 230-pound frame, durable with some present strength. Strong showing on the day, moves well for his size with a 6.98 in the 60. Strong left-handed hitter, quick and compact swing, simple, was on the barrel pull-side with some intent to lift, 97.3 mph max EV. Steady actions in the outfield, deliberate footwork, clean arm action and high ¾ release, topped at 85 mph from a crow hop. 

So. INF Adriel Torres (Viera, 2023) 
5-foot-9, 175-pound frame. Simple swing that works flat through the zone, balanced through impact, used the whole field, 90 mph max EV. Steady defender on the infield, sure-handed, two-hand gather works out front, plays with motor. 

So. C Nathaniel McNamara (Northern, 2022)
5-foot-9, 158-pound frame. Right-handed hitting catcher, simple swing, flat path, loose wrists with extension through impact, pull-side approach, 94.5 mph max EV. Sure-handed receiver of the baseball, works down to up and presents pitches around the zone. Gains ground out of the chute and works in-line (T76 mph; 2.24 pop-time). 

Two-ways

So. INF/RHP Anthony Martinez (Lockport, 2023)
6-foot-1, 200-pound frame. Showed well on both sides of the ball, starting with a loud round of BP; right-handed hitter, strong and swings with intent, pull-side approach, topped at 97 mph for his max EV, averaged 92.5 mph. Steady two-hand gather that works out front on the infield, easy arm with a shorter ¾ release (T82 mph). On the mound, the right-hander works with some intent and a high over-the-top slot. Fastball sat 84-86 mph, topping out at 87 mph with carry traits. Slider showed depth at times with gradual 10/4 shape, 71-74 mph. Was able to land the changeup for strikes at times, slight fade to the arm-side, 75-77 mph. 

So. INF/RHP Tyler Stewart (Highland, 2023) 
6-foot-4, 185-pound frame, some room for added strength. Right-handed hitter, loose swing with some bat-speed, averaged 75 mph according to BLAST; 94.7 mph max EV. Moves well on the infield for size, active footwork, steady two-hand gather out front, T84 mph across with a ¾ release. On the mound, the right-hander has a simple delivery and over-the-top slot, little perceived effort. Fastball comes out clean in the 84-86 mph range with carry through the zone. To pair off the fastball he went to a gradual 11/5 curveball at 68-69 mph and changeup in the same range, flashing fade to his arm-side. 

Pitchers 

So. RHP Tommy Haggerty (Homewood-Flossmoor, 2023) 
6-foot-2, 240-pounds, durable frame with a developed lower-half. Up-tempo delivery, high leg-kick into a coiled balance point, moves quickly down the mound and works in-line. Long arm out of the glove, high ¾ release. Fastball has some life at 87-89 mph, spinning at nearly 2,400 rpm at times with finish through the zone. Slider showed gradual 10/4 shape, flashed sharp put-away action to his glove-side, 75-77 mph. Rounded out his three-pitch mix with a running changeup, kept mostly to his arm-side, 80-82 mph. 

So. RHP Eric Santaguida (Crown Point, 2022) 
6-foot-3, 215-pound frame, evenly distributed strength throughout. The right-hander works with a controlled tempo into a high leg-kick, slight tuck into balance point, holds bend in the back knee down the mound and works in-line. Longer arm swing out of the glove, ¾ slot. Fastball has some jump out of the hand at 88-89 mph, topping out at 90 mph and setting up a sharp slider at 74-77 mph - maintains arm-speed and cruises around 2,300 rpm, some feel for the zone. Final offering was a changeup that he could land for strikes, 77-79 mph, plays with some downward action and fade. 

So. RHP Luka Zakman (Hanover Central, 2023) 
6-foot-3, 180-pounds, lean build with some projection. The right-hander works with a quick tempo, high and coiled leg-lift into balance point, tall/fall down the mound, works downhill and stays in-line. Short arm circle, clean path into a high ¾ release. Fastball has some tilt through the zone in the 82-85 mph range, topping out at 86 mph with finish and over 2,300 rpm at times. Curveball and slider both look to be put-away pitches; CB sits around 75-77 mph and can get over 2,400 rpm, hard downer action, thrown with intent. The slider shows more lateral and shorter action, sharp break, 75-77 mph (T2522 rpm). Finished off his arsenal with a changeup at 78 mph, slight fading action. 

So. RHP KJ Jones (N/A, 2023) 
6-foot, 175-pounds. Pounded the zone with three pitches in his ‘pen, starting with his fastball that sat 82-84 mph, plays with carry and is comfortable moving it around the zone. His slider showed 10/4 shape with feel to land it for strikes and to put hitters away, 74-75 mph (T2423 rpm). Changeup landed for a strike every time he threw it, showed some arm-side action at 74-75 mph. He flashed a cutter with short, lateral break, playing around 77-80 mph. 

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