Chicago Preseason I.D.: TrackMan Files
March 14, 2021
On Feb. 28, the PBR Illinois team hosted the third annual Chicago Preseason I.D. at the Pullman Community Center in Chicago, Ill. The event featured nearly 50 players from high school graduates from classes 2022-2025 across the Chicagoland area, including a handful of prospects from across the Indiana state line.
Previously, our staff collaborated to highlight the biggest takeaways and highlights from this showcase, and we published them within our Quick Hits piece. We also shared the event's traditional leaderboards, published inside this Statistical Analysis. Today, with the help of our TrackMan unit, we're diving a little deeper into the data to see what we can find.
MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & PEak SPIN RATE
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
1 | Waylon Deck | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | RHP | 86.5 mph |
2 | Ryan Kramer | IL | The Latin School of Chicago | 2022 | 3B | 84.7 mph |
3 | Connor Frey | IL | Normal University | 2022 | RHP | 84.1 mph |
4 | MJ Liyeos | IL | Waubonsie Valley | 2023 | RHP | 84.0 mph |
5 | Jack Armstrong | IL | Shiloh | 2022 | RHP | 83.9 mph |
6 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 83.3 mph |
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (max) |
1 | Ryan Kramer | IL | The Latin School of Chicago | 2022 | 3B | 2490 rpm |
2 | Waylon Deck | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | RHP | 2442 rpm |
3 | Christian Arenibar | IL | St. Laurence | 2024 | SS | 2334 rpm |
4 | Joseph Pieper | IL | Palatine | 2023 | RHP | 2267 rpm |
5 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 2258 rpm |
6 | MJ Liyeos | IL | Waubonsie Valley | 2023 | RHP | 2250 rpm |
7 | Nick Lagges | IL | Lane Tech | 2022 | SS | 2245 rpm |
8 | Jaren Jackson | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | 2B | 2172 rpm |
9 | Spencer Boudreau | IL | Bradley Bourbonnais | 2024 | RHP | 2130 rpm |
10 | Jack Armstrong | IL | Shiloh | 2022 | RHP | 2128 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 | MJ Liyeos | IL | Waubonsie Valley | 2023 | RHP | 14.2 |
2 | Christian Arenibar | IL | St. Laurence | 2024 | SS | 13.6 |
3 | Jaren Jackson | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | 2B | 11.5 |
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
Ryan Kramer
IL
The Latin School of Chicago
2022
3B
2387
2
Jaren Jackson
IL
Homewood-Flossmoor
2022
2B
2352
3
Connor Frey
IL
Normal University
2022
RHP
2138
4
Samuel Castillo
IL
Ogden international
2024
RHP
2057
5
Richard Gomez
IL
St. Laurence
2023
2B
2044
AVERAGE CURVEBALL SPIN RATE
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Spin Rate (avg)
1
MJ Liyeos
IL
Waubonsie Valley
2023
RHP
2691 rpm
2
Richard Gomez
IL
St. Laurence
2023
2B
2434 rpm
3
Ryan Kramer
IL
The Latin School of Chicago
2022
3B
2381 rpm
4
Jaren Jackson
IL
Homewood-Flossmoor
2022
2B
2372 rpm
5
Waylon Deck
IL
Homewood-Flossmoor
2022
RHP
2268 rpm
6
Jack Armstrong
IL
Shiloh
2022
RHP
2153 rpm
7
Joseph Pieper
IL
Palatine
2023
RHP
2131 rpm
AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Waylon Deck | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | RHP | 15.3 |
2 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 15.1 |
3 | Christian Arenibar | IL | St. Laurence | 2024 | SS | 14.9 |
4 | Nick Lagges | IL | Lane Tech | 2022 | SS | 14.2 |
5 | Jaren Jackson | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2022 | 2B | 13.7 |
6 | Joseph Pieper | IL | Palatine | 2023 | RHP | 12.9 |
7 | Jack Armstrong | IL | Shiloh | 2022 | RHP | 12.8 |
8 | MJ Liyeos | IL | Waubonsie Valley | 2023 | RHP | 12.4 |
AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (avg) |
1 | Ryan Kramer | IL | The Latin School of Chicago | 2022 | 3B | 88.8 mph |
2 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 87.2 mph |
3 | William Hill | IL | Brooks | 2023 | OF | 86.3 mph |
4 | Donyae Smith | IL | Gwendolyn Brooks | 2022 | 3B | 85.7 mph |
5 | Sean Bolin | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2021 | 1B | 85.5 mph |
6 | MJ Liyeos | IL | Waubonsie Valley | 2023 | RHP | 85.2 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 | Ryan Kramer | IL | The Latin School of Chicago | 2022 | 3B | 95.6 mph |
2 | Donyae Smith | IL | Gwendolyn Brooks | 2022 | 3B | 95.0 mph |
3 | William Hill | IL | Brooks | 2023 | OF | 94.3 mph |
4 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 93.7 mph |
5 | Sean Bolin | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2021 | 1B | 93.7 mph |
6 | Alijah Rainey | IL | Homewood Flossmoor | 2023 | 1B | 91.9 mph |
7 | Charlie Dumo | IL | Deerfield | 2023 | OF | 91.6 mph |
8 | Kaleb Chatman | IL | Morgan Park | 2021 | OF | 91.3 mph |
9 | Grant Raber | IL | Moline | 2023 | 90.9 mph | |
10 | Omar Alday Jr | IL | St. Rita | 2023 | SS | 90.8 mph |
PEAK ESTIMATED BATTED DISTANCE (HITTING)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Distance (max) |
1 | Ryan Kramer | IL | The Latin School of Chicago | 2022 | 3B | 344 ft |
2 | Donyae Smith | IL | Gwendolyn Brooks | 2022 | 3B | 342 ft |
3 | Richard Gomez | IL | St. Laurence | 2023 | 2B | 334 ft |
4 | Angel Tapia Jr. | IL | Solorio | 2023 | C | 332 ft |
5 | Kaleb Chatman | IL | Morgan Park | 2021 | OF | 328 ft |
6 | Nick Lagges | IL | Lane Tech | 2022 | SS | 324 ft |
7 | Savion Flowers | IL | Kenwood Academy | 2024 | OF | 319 ft |
For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.
RELATED CONTENT
- PBRPlus Chicago Preseason I.D.: Top Overall Prospects 4/21/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Pitcher Analysis 4/20/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Outfield Analysis 4/19/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Infield Analysis 4/16/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Catcher Analysis 4/15/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Blast Motion Board 3/21/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: TrackMan Files 3/14/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Statistical Analysis 3/03/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Quick Hits 3/02/21
- IL Chicago Preseason I.D.: Preview 2/25/21