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Top Tier Scout Day: Takeaways

June 25, 2020
By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

On Sunday, June 14th PBR Illinois hosted a Scout Day for Top Tier baseball at The MAX in McCook, IL. The event featured close to 120 players in the 2021 and 2022 class. Position players took a round of BP with TrackMan and Blast, went through a defensive workout and pitchers threw scripted bullpens with TrackMan as well.

Today we take a look at some of the standout performances from the day, featuring committed and uncommitted prospects. We also broke down all of the numbers from the event and posted a statistical analysis at the bottom of the story.

CLICK HERE for the roster.

COMMITTED STANDOUTS

OF/RHP Alex Stanwich (Lincoln-Way East, 2022) is the No. 1 prospect in the state and No. 37 overall. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-handed hitter has elite tools across the board (6.58 60, 95 OF, 106 EV) and put together arguably the loudest round of BP on the day. Stanwich has electric hands, creating easy bat speed and multiple swings registered exit velocities north of 100 mph off the bat. He also jumped on the mound later in the day and sat mostly 89-90 mph with minimal effort and spun a sharp slider up to 2700 RPM's, per TrackMan.

Another right-handed hitter known for loud contact and physicality in the box is CIF Vytas Valincius (Baylor (TN), 2021), a South Carolina commit. Valincius is ranked No. 4 in Tennessee and No. 39 overall. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Valincius takes aggressive, angry swings in the box and was routinely squaring baseballs up at 100+ mph off the bat, according to TrackMan. Valincius also registered a 108 mph exit velocity off a tee was 87 mph across the infield and 92 mph from the outfield. Continues to solidify himself as one of the top right-handed hitters in the class. 

A pair of Bradley commits, RHP Noah Edders (Downers Grove South, 2021) and LHP/OF Luke Trepanier (Manteno, 2021), have both made jumps in velocity and were two of the more impressive arms on the day. Edders has a durable, wide-shouldered, 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame, clean arm, four-pitch mix and worked down in the zone throughout his pen. Edders sat comfortably at 90-91 mph with finish through the zone and angle at times. Trepanier touched 89 mph and sat at 88 throughout his pen working with minimal effort, a clean arm and a repeatable delivery. Trepanier also took a polished round of BP. The left-handed hitter has a quiet swing, stays within himself, creates easy bat speed and showed feel for the barrel. 

An infielder that continues to rise, especially offensively every time we see him, is MIF Jaylon Nauden (Marian Catholic, 2021). Nauden, a Butler commit, continues to add strength to his athletic 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame and it has paid dividends offensively. Nauden showed strong fast hands, barrel control and consistently peppered hard line-drives up the middle of the field. Defensively, he has athletic defensive actions, plays with body control and his arm continues to get stronger (84 mph).

UNCOMMITTED STANDOUTS

When it comes to uncommitted prospects, there are still a plethora of high-level arms still on the market throughout the program. 

UNCOMMITTED ARMS

One of the biggest eye-opening bullpens came from RHP DJ Morand (Loyola, 2021). Morand sports a strong, athletic, 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame and continues to see his velocity climb. Morand topped at 91 mph and showed off a competitive three-pitch mix. The uncommitted 2021 backed-up his performance at the Top Prospect - Chicago a few days later where he showed similar velocity and tilt to his firm fastball. 

 

RHP David Andolina (Oak Park-River Forest) is a 2022 making a name for himself so far this summer. Andolina has a 6-foot, 180-pound frame and low-effort arm that works loose and clean. Andolina topped at 89 mph, sitting 87-88 while showing feel for a three-pitch mix. Andolina should be a high-follow 2022 moving forward.

Speaking of high-follows, RHP Brady Ginaven (Munster, (IN), 2022) looks to be another physical, power-arm coming out of Indiana. Ginaven has a broad-shouldered, barrel-chested, 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame and controls his body well given his advanced frame for his age.  Ginaven has presence on the mound, along with a compact, repeatable arm stroke and lively fastball. His fastball topped at 89 mph, sat 87-88 and he paired it with a low-spinning changeup (1455 RPM, per TrackMan) at 78 mph.

RHP Tom Egan (Mount Carmel, 2021) and RHP Alex Alberico (Providence Catholic, 2022) are two Team Illinois 2019 Future Gamers that are still on the market. Egan was up to 88 mph and features two of the better breaking balls in the class. Alberico also touched 88 mph with his fastball.

C/INF/RHP Brian Rapanan (Warren, 2021) can do a little bit of everything on the baseball field; he has advanced defensive actions behind the plate and on the infield, a simple, barrel controlled, loose right-handed swing and feel on the mound with increasing velocity. Rapanan set his personal PBR high, touching 88 mph, consistently locating to his glove-side and at the bottom of the zone. He also recorded a minimum RPM of 1690 on his fastball, per TrackMan and showed feel for a sharp slider.

A couple of other RHP’s to keep an eye on are Ethan Cook (Plainfield North, 2021), Daniel Reischl (Loyola Academy, 2021) and Evan Jones (Normal University, 2022). Cook has a clean, quick arm and sat 86-87 mph. Reischl has an upside, 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame and touched 87 mph. Jones has a strong 6-foot-2, 183-pound frame, sat 84-86 mph, 89 from the outfield and has two-way abilities.

Two 2021 LHP’s to follow moving forward are Lucas Spence (Crete-Monee) and Charlie Cmiel (York). Spence has a short, quick lively arm, touched 85 mph and spins a sharp slider up to 78 mph and 2456 RPMs, according to TrackMan. Cmiel has a smooth delivery, loose arm, pitchability and sat 82-83 mph, touching 84 with more in the tank. 

Arguably the top uncommitted two-way prospect on the day was INF/RHP Jorgie Vazquez (Mount Carmel, 2022). Vazquez was one of the biggest surprises at this winter’s Underclass Invitational and he continued to prove it was no fluke. Vazquez, a right-handed hitter, has a polished approach at the plate, uses the entire field, repeats and is consistently on the barrel. Defensively, he is a natural infield defender with smooth actions, confident hands and an accurate arm plenty strong enough for the left side. On the mound he touched 87 mph, sat mostly 85-86 mph and has a true three-pitch repertoire.

UNCOMMITTED POSITION PLAYERS

CATCHERS

Matt Tarr (West Aurora, 2022), Danny Nuccio (Plainfield North, 2021), Justin Cappis (Niles North, 2021), Braeden Gonzalez (Geneva, 2022) and the aforementioned Rapanan, are all uncommitted catchers to follow in their respective classes.

Tarr is a 6-foot, 185-pound, right-handed hitter with strong hands, bat strength and creates lift in his swing. According to TrackMan, Tarr hit multiple balls over 350 feet that left the bat at 90+ mph. Defensively he has a strong arm (81 mph from the crouch) and his pop times ranged from 1.95-2.05.

Nuccio is an offensive-minded catcher who runs a sub-7.0 60. The wide-shouldered, right-handed hitter has a knack for the barrel and five of his 10 swings registered 90+ mph off the bat. 

Cappis has a smooth, fluid, repeatable left-handed swing with natural lift and barrel control. Cappis routinely made hard contact to the pull-side gap and is clean and efficient out of the crouch.

Gonzalez had an impressive day defensively, topping at 76 mph from the crouch and recording a low pop time of 1.97. 

Rapanan plays light on his feet, is quick and clean out of the crouch and his arm plays highly-accurate at 79 mph from the crouch; also had a low pop time of 1.96.

INFIELDERS

INF Ethan Bowers (Vernon Hills) is one of the toolsiest 2021 infielders still on the market in Illinois. Bowers runs a 6.61 60, is 94 mph off a tee and 83 mph across the diamond. The 6-foot, 185-pound, defined right-handed hitter, is relaxed in the box, hits with rhythm and the ball jumped off the bat at times. Defensively he has athletic infield actions and plays light on his feet.

INF Luke Adams (Hinsdale Central, 2022) moved back from North Carolina and looks to be one of the top 2022 corner infielders available in Illinois. Adams has a wide-shouldered, physical, 6-foot-3, 197-pound frame and big tools to match. Adams was 89 mph across the infield, 100 mph off a tee and took one of the more impressive rounds of BP on the day. The right-handed hitter swings with intent, stays flat through the zone, gets extension through contact and made a ton of hard gap-to-gap contact. Adams top exit velocities during BP came on pitches out over the plate (averaged 95.94 mph on pitches middle-down and 94.78 mph on pitches middle-away; per TrackMan).

A 2019 Team Illinois’ Future Gamer still on the market is INF Jack Scheri (LaSalle-Peru, 2022). Scheri is an athletic, hard-nosed middle infielder with an above-average run tool (6.79 60) and is a tough out at the plate. Scheri showed quick, strong hands, feel for the barrel and used the whole field. Scheri’s top exit velocities came on balls on the outer half of the plate (92.17 mph middle-away and 92.90 mph on pitches down and away).

INF Rance Bryant (Schlarman, 2021) has had multiple strong showings as of late. Bryant is a wiry, athletic 5-foot-10, 160-pound and his right-handed bat profiles at the top of an order. He creates whip in his swing, stays on top of the baseball and sprays line-drives to all fields. Defensively, he ranges well to both sides, maintains body control on the move and his arm plays strong and accurate.

OUTFIELDERS

5-foot-11, 165-pound, Angelo Luna (St. Laurence), is one of the top 2022 outfielders still on the market. Luna has an impressive combination of tools across the board (6.72 60, 91 mph OF arm and 96 mph exit velocity) and has the athleticism and actions to play all three outfield spots. Offensively, he has loose, athletic hands and is consistently on time.

OF Jermaine Young Jr. (St. Patrick, 2022) is becoming a highly-offensive prospect. The right-handed hitter continues to add quality strength to his 6-foot-2, 215-pound frame and creates advanced bat speed and bat strength while exerting minimal effort. Young stays quiet and balanced in the box and the ball jumps off the bat thanks to his strong hands and wrists.

Below we take a look at the statistical leaders from the day.

STATISTICAL LEADERBOARD


MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY

 


MAX EXIT VELOCITY

 

MAX INFIELD VELOCITY

 

MAX OUTFIELD VELOCITY

 

MAX CATCHER VELOCITY

 

TOP POP TIMES

CLICK HERE for the entire statistical breakdown from the day.

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