Aurora Preseason ID: TrackMan Files
February 10, 2022
On Feb. 5, the PBR Illinois team hosted the Aurora Preseason ID at the Sport Zone in Aurora, Ill. This open event featured players from the 2022-25 high school grad classes, providing our staff with an ample opportunity to learn more about the area’s baseball talent.
Earlier this week we published Quick Hits highlighting the top prospects of the event by class. We also rolled out a Statistical Analysis pointing out the top recorded stats by category.
Now we'll continue to roll out the data we gathered from this event, starting with the analytics we have at our disposal from our TrackMan units. Below we'll look at which players had noteworthy batted ball and pitch metric data.
MAX FASTBALL & PEAK SPIN RATE
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
1 | Michael Belbot | IL | Stevenson | 2023 | RHP | 88.8 mph |
2 | Luke Brown | IL | Plainfield North | 2023 | LHP | 87.3 mph |
3 | Dominic Voegele | IL | Columbia | 2023 | RHP | 87.3 mph |
4 | Cole Kratzberg | IL | Orion | 2023 | OF | 84.6 mph |
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Spin Rate (max)
1
Luke Brown
IL
Plainfield North
2023
LHP
2483 rpm
2
Cole Kratzberg
IL
Orion
2023
OF
2398 rpm
3
Michael Belbot
IL
Stevenson
2023
RHP
2349 rpm
4
Luke Goss
IL
Pekin
2024
RHP
2242 rpm
5
Dominic Stringham
IL
Oswego
2024
SS
2229 rpm
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
Average Fastball Horizontal Movement
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
HM (avg)
1
Sam Rohlfing
IL
Harvest Christian Academy
2023
3B
17.5
2
Keller Westman
IL
Highland Park
2024
RHP
15.6
3
Thomas Walla
IL
St. Edward
2023
2B
15.3
4
Jackson Kottmeyer
IL
Kaneland
2024
RHP
14.7
5
Eric Strom
IL
Morris
2021
SS
14.4
6
Cole Harris
IL
Providence Catholic
2025
RHP
14.2
7
Antonio Villanueva
IL
Kaneland
2025
OF
-14.1
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
Average Slider Spin Rate
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Spin Rate (avg)
1
Michael Belbot
IL
Stevenson
2023
RHP
2629
2
Dominic Stringham
IL
Oswego
2024
SS
2512
3
Luke Brown
IL
Plainfield North
2023
LHP
2192
4
Josh Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
3B
2179
5
Sam Rohlfing
IL
Harvest Christian Academy
2023
3B
2129
6
Nolan Hooper
IL
Yorkville Christian
2025
RHP
2121
Average Curveball Spin Rate
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Spin Rate (avg)
1
Cole Kratzberg
IL
Orion
2023
OF
2638 rpm
2
Dominic Voegele
IL
Columbia
2023
RHP
2499 rpm
3
Dominic Stringham
IL
Oswego
2024
SS
2377 rpm
4
Josh Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
3B
2107 rpm
Average Changeup Horizontal Movement
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
HM (avg)
1
Antonio Villanueva
IL
Kaneland
2025
OF
-16.7
2
Luke Brown
IL
Plainfield North
2023
LHP
-16.2
3
Jackson Kottmeyer
IL
Kaneland
2024
RHP
15.7
4
AJ DAVIS
IL
Morton
2024
RHP
15.5
5
Michael Belbot
IL
Stevenson
2023
RHP
15.4
Average Exit Velocity (Hitting)
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Exit Velocity (avg)
1
Josh Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
3B
94.5 mph
2
Nick Mardis
IL
Bloomington Central Catholic
2023
C
91.3 mph
3
Daniel Blickhan
IL
West Chicago
2023
3B
87.9 mph
4
Ryan Groberski
IL
Lockport
2024
1B
87.5 mph
5
Taylor Kujak
IL
Plainfield Central
2023
MIF
86.7 mph
Exit Speed: Also according to TrackMan’s own website: “The speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.”
Peak Exit Velocity (Hitting)
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Exit Velocity (max)
1
Josh Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
3B
99.2 mph
2
Jacob Buysse
IL
Mundelein
2022
1B
98.7 mph
3
Nick Mardis
IL
Bloomington Central Catholic
2023
C
97.3 mph
4
Taylor Kujak
IL
Plainfield Central
2023
MIF
97.1 mph
5
Mike Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
OF
94.8 mph
Peak Estimated Batted Distance (Hitting)
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Distance (max)
1
Jacob Buysse
IL
Mundelein
2022
1B
372 ft
2
Mike Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
OF
370 ft
3
Taylor Kujak
IL
Plainfield Central
2023
MIF
359 ft
4
Josh Polubinski
IL
Oswego East
2023
3B
351 ft
For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.
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