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St. Louis Open: Quick Hits

June 16, 2022
By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Wednesday, June 15, the PBR Illinois and PBR Missouri staffs collaborated to host the annual St. Louis Open at the Billiken Sports Center on the campus of Saint Louis University. This event regularly allows both us an opportunity to check in on players from the Greater Metro region, including prospects that attend from central and southern Illinois.

To see which prospects were in attendance, and for a look at the day’s stat leaders, click HERE. 

We’ll begin to roll-out several post-event content pieces at the event’s conclusion, starting with today’s ‘Quick Hits’. Below you’ll find which prospects stood out to our staff amongst a talented crowd, all of which are still uncommitted. 

WINNERS

+ Arguably the day’s top prospect, INF Brendan Pyle (Fort Zumwalt East, 2026) emerged a high-follow incoming freshman at Wednesday’s event. Pyle showed all sorts of upside at the plate, repeating a clean right-handed stroke in rhythm and maintaining posture throughout. He looked advanced for someone his age offensively, and his ability to stay back up the middle with loose, easy bat-to-ball skills suggest he’ll certainly hit throughout the entirety of his high school career. Pyle could potentially add a boost to a Fort Zumwalt East team that finished this spring in the ‘Final Four’, and he’s absolutely a name-to-know in Missouri’s 2026 group.

+ RHP/OF Ronnie Willenbrink (Affton, 2023) is an uncommitted soon-to-be senior with twitchy arm strength that stood out at Wednesday’s event. Willenbrink recorded the hardest throw home from the outfield, peppering his target with lively bullets before uncorking an 87 mph max, and he fired the day’s hardest fastball on the hill too by also reaching an 87 mph high. Though he’s still developing feel to spin his breaking ball, Willenbrink’s raw spin data is a key building block, ripping a handful of hooks at 2,300+ RPM. He’s an upside athlete with twitch and lively stuff that’s still on the market.

+ Perhaps the day’s most impressive true two-way talent was 1B/LHP Hayden Gilmore (Kennett, 2025). Gilmore’s physicality for his age is noteworthy, as he stands at a well-proportioned 6-foot-1, 175-pounds with room to add on strength as he gets older. He started his day off by barreling up baseballs on repeat into the pull-side gap, peaking at 89 mph and showing flashes of what he’s capable of at the plate. Gilmore hopped on the mound later on in the day and bumped his fastball up to 82 mph, pitching at 79-81 mph with feel for the zone. He threw a fading changeup at arm speed in the low-70s and landed a mid-60s slurvey-type breaking ball for strikes on occasion. Gilmore is a projectable follow in the state’s 2025 group as he prepares to enter his sophomore season.

+ Trending upward at the right time is INF Eric Williams (Fort Zumwalt East, 2024), who played a major role in the Lions’ state run this spring and recently stood out as a winner from the Top Prospect Games: Underclass event. Williams’ flashed the potency attached to his right-handed stroke in BP, finding the barrel to all fields and in all quadrants of the zone while reaching a 93 mph max, averaging 86 mph of the bat. He started his round by squaring his first few balls up to the pull-side, including a high-and-in pitch that he comfortably stayed inside of, and shifted to working the other way with authority towards the end. Williams continues to prove he’s one of the state’s most physical right-handed hitters and there’s certainly an arrow-up next to his name at the moment. 


MORE NAMES-TO-KNOW

+ OF Kaden Kinsler (Elsberry, 2023) ran the day’s fastest 60-yard dash at 6.78 on our lasers. He’s a strong 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete with a thick lower half that displayed above-average hand speed (21.7 mph) and bat speed (73.5 mph) at the plate. Kinsler stayed flat through the zone to contact, working on top of the baseball with a line drive approach, peaking at 93.2 mph.

+ OF/LHP Reiss Beahan (Columbia Hickman, 2023) flashed plenty of intrigue attached to a 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame at yesterday’s event. Beahan kicked off his workout with a 7.10 in the 60-yard dash, an impressive number given his lanky levers. He recorded the day’s hardest hit ball at 94.8 mph and finished towards the top in nearly all our Blast Motion categories, including average hand speed (25.4 mph), bat speed (72 mph), and rotational acceleration (24.8 g). Beahan later hopped on the mound and bumped his fastball up to an easy 80 mph, spinning his curveball at a 2,300+ RPM average.

+ INF Henry Zenor (St. Louis University, 2023) was another uncommitted incoming senior that showed well at yesterday’s event. A lean 6-foot, 170-pound left-handed hitter, Zenor elevated the baseball throughout BP and worked long to contact, keeping his barrel in the zone. He showed clean actions on the infield with sound footwork to pair as well.

+ INF Nick Muskopf (Belleville West, 2023; IL) started on the infield for the Maroons throughout the spring and played a key role for a team that reached a regional championship. Muskopf displayed his athleticism early in the box, showing quick hands and bat speed while working directly to the ball. He peppered line drives to the middle-in side of the field, matching planes through contact.

+ RHP Cole Evans (Timberland, 2023) recently attended the GBA Scout Day in late May and he looked the part at Wednesday’s event, too. Evans pumped his low-spin, heavy fastball in at 81-83 mph from a deceptive ¾ arm slot, working east-to-west and around the zone. He threw a 68-69 mph slider for strikes on a consistent basis, and averaged 13 inches of horizontal movement on his high-60s changeup while effectively limiting spin.

+ A winner from the Lockport Preseason ID, INF/RHP Henry Kufa (Carlinville, 2023) was another infielder to show well at Wednesday’s event. Kufa stayed flat to contact in the zone with athletic hands, spraying line drives throughout his round. His Blast Motion metrics were amongst the day’s best, averaging 22.7 mph of hand speed and reaching a 29.9 g max of rotational acceleration. He showcased steady, sure-handed actions on the infield with a quick release and was also up to 83 mph on the mound.

+ LHP Zack Boland (Parkway West, 2023) stands at a well-proportioned 6-foot-2, 205-pounds with plenty of room to add strength as he continues to physically mature. Boland’s fastball played at a low-effort 80-81 mph with more left in the tank, as evidenced by his arm speed and ability to spin his curveball at 2,500+ RPMS on average.

+ One of the more physical athletes in attendance yesterday: 1B/RHP Grainger Yurevich (Woodland, 2023; IL). Built at a sturdy 6-foot-1, 190-pounds with broad shoulders, Yurevich showed above-average raw power to the pull-side in BP, recording a 91.7 mph max exit velocity. He generated some of the loudest Blast Motion metrics as well, averaging 24.1 mph of hand speed and 28.2 g of rotational acceleration.

+ Another physical right-handed hitter from today’s event: C Caden Paxton (Windsor, 2023). Paxton’s a sturdy athlete with compact strength that flashed above-average bat strength to the pull-side in BP, staying inside the baseball for juice off the barrel that way. His hardest hit ball left his barrel at 91.9 mph, and he averaged 86.2 mph throughout BP. Paxton also recorded the day’s furthest batted ball (347 ft.) and his average batted distance (277 ft.) was also an event high. 

+ Built at a compact 5-foot-9, 165-pounds MIF Luke Isaacs (Freeburg, 2023; IL) showed an intriguing athletic profile in his PBR event debut. Isaacs ran a 7.15 in the 60-yard dash on a slow track, and he got off a handful of impact-worthy swings in BP. His 33% hard-hit rate was the day’s highest mark, while his 92.6 mph max exit velocity and 330 foot peak distance were also near the top of this event’s leaderboard.

+ CIF Joseph Bline (Racine Case 2024; WI) is a physical 5-foot-11, 195-pound incoming junior that repeatedly worked to the pull-side gap during BP. Bline thumped some balls that way throughout his round, reaching a max exit velocity of 92.3 mph with a peak batted distance of 338 feet, per TrackMan.

+ RHP/INF Noah Arnold (Harrisburg, 2024; IL) displayed twitchy athleticism and a live arm throughout his workout. Arnold pumped the hardest throw across the infield on the day (83 mph) and was also up to 82 mph on the mound, sitting at 81-82 mph throughout his ‘pen. Arnold’s arm speed allowed him to rip off multiple 2,200+ RPM curveballs, landing them around the zone. 

+ RHP Tommy Kramkowski (Belleville East, 2025; IL) bumped his fastball up to an easy 80 mph yesterday with more in the tank as he fills out a lanky, thin-levered 6-foot, 160-pound frame.

+ Two 2025 prospects from Belleville West (IL) flashed intriguing tools at yesterday’s workout: OF/RHP John Hilpert and OF William Fessel. Hilpert’s hardest throw from the outfield clocked in at 84 mph, and he bumped his fastball up to 80 mph in his ‘pen. He also flashed above-average bat strength for his age in BP, sending his furthest batted ball 323 feet while averaging 22.2 mph of hand speed, per Blast Motion. Fessel ran the second-fastest 60-yard dash of the entire event, and the fastest of any underclassmen, dashing his way to a 7.08 time on our lasers. He showed loose athletic hands and a flat path to contact in BP, working primarily to the pull-side.

+ INF Drew Messey (Westminster Christian, 2026) was another incoming freshman that impressed at this event. There's plenty of room for him to fill out his 5-foot-11, 150-pound frame as he continues to grow, and he showed a natural feel to elevate the baseball from the left side of the plate in BP. Messey's sure-handed actions played well on the infield and he fired a 75 mph high across the diamond from a loose, athletic arm slot.


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