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Unsigned Senior Showcase: Quick Hits

October 5, 2022
By Illinois Scouting Staff

On Oct. 2, PBR Illinois hosted the fall’s Unsigned Senior Showcase, as it does each and every fall, at The MAX complex in McCook, Ill., where nearly 70 prospects participated. These Class of 2023 athletes remain uncommitted headed into the final offseason of their prep careers, and this group that performed at The MAX last weekend underscored the unsigned talent still remaining in Illinois.

 Today, we’ll begin breaking down the event’s highlights inside of this Quick Hits post. Stay tuned throughout this week as we continue to spotlight these ‘23s in additional analysis that on-site technology like TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Swift helped produce.

 For now, here’s some of the day’s top performers, broken down by position players and pitchers.

POSITION PLAYERS

+ INF/RHP Jeremy Yanow (Deerfield) is a polished two-way prospect who showed as well as we have ever seen him at this event. On the mound, he has an uninterrupted, athletic arm and sat 85-87 mph with a three-pitch mix. The fastball played with an average of 12.6 inches of horizontal movement while spinning at an average of 2,275 rpm. The breaking ball plays in the mid-70s with 2,175 rpm of spin on average, and the changeup gets late fade at 79-80 mph. On the infield he plays with clean, fluid, controlled actions, presents the glove and plays natural and confident on the move; throws topped at 87 mph across. At the plate, he has quick/strong hands, works level through the zone with a line-drive approach, and stays up the middle. He averaged an exit speed of 88.9 mph, with a max of 96.6, and a max batted distance of 335 feet. Yanow also ran a 7.19 in the 60-yard dash.

+ Joseph Greene (Hammond Central, IN), is an upside left/left outfielder hailing from northwest Indiana, and he turned in one of the better all-around performances at the event. Greene – listed at a long-limbed, high-waisted, 6-foot, 170 pounds – ran a 6.95 in the 60-yard dash to start off his day and then proceeded to take a smooth round of BP, creating leverage and jump to the pull-side gap with relative ease. In the outfield, Greene is an athletic mover with long, quick strides and a loose arm that topped at 86 mph to home. 

+ Kyrent Cole (Leo) was one of the smoothest, most confident middle infielders at the event. Cole has a wiry 5-foot-9, 145-pound frame and there’s an ease to everything he does on the diamond. On the infield, Cole plays naturally and fluidly on the move, with soft hands and an easy glove-to-hand release, and from multiple, athletic arm angles. At the plate, he has a balanced, barrel-controlled right-handed swing and he used it to spray line-drives back up the middle of the field. Additionally, Cole ran a 7.13 in the 60-yard dash.

+ OF Christian Seminaro (Mundelein) has above-average tools across the board and was on the barrel with hard contact consistently throughout his round, averaging a 90.8 mph exit velocity (92.5 max). Seminaro also registered a 67 percent hard-hit rate at the plate, and on defense his strength showed on his throws home, measured at a high of 88 mph. He has a quick arm and he plays light on his feet. Overall, Seminaro is an upside, athletic prospect to know, especially as an uncommitted senior.

+ All INF Taylor Voorhees (St. Joseph-Ogden) was able to do at this event was hit, but his performance at the plate should draw next-level attention his way on its own. Voorhees took a polished round of BP, staying controlled and relaxed throughout while peppering loud barrels into each gap with loose, strong hands that stay on plane and work slightly uphill through the zone. His barrel feel is underscored by a sweet spot rate measured at 80 percent on TrackMan, and it enhances his batted-ball profile given his inherent strength. Voorhees registered a max exit velocity of 97.6 mph (90.0 average) and his furthest batted ball traveled 326 feet.

+ Brothers Kevin and Spencer Geake are two names to know out of Glenbrook North. Kevin is an active 5-foot-10, 180-pound, right-handed-hitting catcher with quick, strong wrists at the plate and his arm plays compact and true out of the chute, topping at 78 mph. Kevin registered a max exit velocity of 94.2 mph and ran a 7.09 in the 60-yard dash.

As for Spencer, he’s a 6-foot-2, 195-pound, left-handed-hitting outfielder with two-way potential and well-above average athleticism across the board. Spencer has advanced hand speed and bat speed – he registered the second highest average in both categories, at 24 mph and 73.6 mph, respectively. He stays short to the ball and creates all kinds of jump off the barrel and backspin to the pull-side gap. His furthest ball off the bat traveled 345 feet with a max exit velocity of 99.0 mph. Spencer also topped at 88 mph from the outfield it translates to a live, upside arm on the mound. He topped at 86.7 mph and spun his breaking ball up to 71.8 at an average spin rate of 2,252 rpm.

+ Luke Bafia (Benet) is another strong, toolsy prospect from the event. Bafia, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound, outfielder/infielder, ran a 6.90 in the 60-yard dash, reached a 90 mph high from the outfield, 86 high across the infield, and recorded a max exit velocity of 96.1. Bafia was towards the top of a number of average Blast categories with a 22.9 mph hand speed, 70.9 mph bat speed and 21.6g rotational acceleration.

+ RHP/INF James Traficanti (East Leyden) is another two-way prospect worth knowing from the event. Traficanti stands out thanks to his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame and he used it to register a max exit speed of 93 mph at the plate, with easy hands working off a level bat path. He also topped at 83 mph across the infield and 83 mph on the mound, with a low-spin, heavy sinking fastball that plays best at the bottom of the zone.

+ Here’s a handful of other noteworthy performers at this event, offensively: C/INF Patrick Collins (Kaneland), C Aidan Knipper (Lincoln-Way East), INF Dillon Putty (Huntley), OF Jason Ballard (Homewood-Flossmoor), INF Korey Mulling (Homewood-Flossmoor) and C Liam Egan (Marist), among others. 

PITCHERS

+ RHP William Ho (Hinsdale Central) brought with him the strongest arm of the event, topping at 91.3 mph and he spun two different breaking balls. Ho has a compact, quick arm that plays from an over-the-top slot, with a strong front side and he gets all kinds of carry on his four-seam fastball. Ho has a four-pitch mix, with both breaking balls showing distinct action and thrown firmly and at arm speed, and they go along with a low-80s changeup that he kills the spin on. He’s one of the strongest arms still on the market in Illinois.

+ RHP Drew Koenig (Oak Park-River Forest) has a long and athletic 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame, and he put together one of the top bullpens of the day. Koenig works from a simplified stretch-only delivery with a short, compact arm action that plays from a high ¾ slot. Koenig sat 84-86 mph with life out of the hand and the fastball spun at an average of 2,378 rpm. He also was able to land his curveball and changeup for strikes at times; curveball played at 71-73 mph at 2,128 rpm average spin and 17.5 inches of average horizontal break. He also takes spin off the changeup, which flashed late fade.  

+ RHP Connor Jendraszak (Lincoln-Way East) is another arm to follow closely moving forward. Jendraszak, who also showed well at the Illinois State Games in August, is listed at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and he ran his fastball up to 86 mph with a four-pitch repertoire. Both of his breaking balls play in the low- to mid-70s with the curveball showing depth and sweeping horizontal action at times. The changeup plays at 75-76 mph with arm-side fade and some feel for the zone.

+ RHP Jacob McPherson (Reed-Custer) is in the middle of football season as his high school’s QB1, and yet he was still able to put together a polished ‘pen at this event. The broad-shouldered 6-foot-2, 205-pound athlete is a multi-sport prospect who ran a 6.99 in the 60-yard dash prior to taking the mound. There, McPherson delivered from a long draw out of the glove, working out of a high ¾ slot, and he ran his fastball up to 82.2 mph. McPherson paired it with a sharp 12/6 curveball with tight spin and depth at 68-70 mph, at a 2,280 rpm average spin rate. He also showed a third pitch, a changeup, at 70-74 mph.

+ Joey Vandermeir (Schaumburg Christian) is a 5-foot-10, 180-pound right-handed pitcher who ran his fastball up to 83 mph and showed off a high-spin, late-breaking slider, 68-73 mph, that averaged a spin rate of nearly 2,500 rpm and reached a max over 2,600, with 15.5 inches of horizontal break, too. Vandermeir also flashed the feel for an upper-70s changeup.

+ Colin Kornit (Grayslake Central) is an undersized left-hander with a highly athletic, clean arm and he flashed above-average stuff. Kornit works with fluid rhythm down the mound, generating life to his fastball, which was in the zone frequently at 82 mph. He throws his curveball, 67-69 mph, with conviction that produces tight spin and sharp action, averaging a spin rate of 2,325 rpm. His changeup also looks to be a go-to offering, landing every single one for a strike at 75-76 mph, taking spin off and playing with big fade action. This was an impressive bullpen from the uncommitted left-hander.

For a look at all of the statistics and full roster from the event check out the event page HERE.

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