Metro East Open: Statistical Analysis
June 26, 2020
On Tuesday, June 23, the PBR Illinois staff made the trip down to the St. Louis area to host the Metro East Open at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., an event that featured almost 50 players that put together some stand-out performances to take note of. Today, we’re going to spend some time dissecting the statistical leaderboards produced at this showcase, highlighting the top performers across the measured categories.
TOP 60-YARD DASH
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
60-yard
1
Aiden Heberlie
MO
Valle Catholic
2022
OF
6.55
2
Jayden Gegg
MO
Valle Catholic
2021
OF
6.74
3
Bret Yarger
MO
Rolla
2024
OF
6.75
4
Jack Lally
MO
Marquette
2023
OF
6.77
5
William Hannah
IL
Massac
2021
OF
7.05
6
Kannon Kirk
IL
North Mac
2021
SS
7.08
7
Joseph Villarreal
MO
Hickman
2021
OF
7.11
Well, despite a relatively small roster as compared to some of our other events, this field recorded some stellar times in the 60-yard dash, led by Aiden Heberlie (Valle Catholic, MO, 2022). He clocked in at a premium 6.55, nearly 0.2 seconds quicker than the next best, an excellent 6.74 from Jayden Gegg (2021), another Valle Catholic prospect. Gegg was fractionally in front of a 2024 prospect, Bret Yarger (Rolla, MO), who clocked in at 6.75 – an exceptional mark for an incoming freshman. Jack Lally (Marquette, MO, 2023) narrowly trailed the two just ahead of him with a 6.77 mark of his own.
MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Max FB
1
Kaydon Norkus
IL
Neuqua Valley
2021
RHP
88 mph
2
Charlie Weber
MO
Chaminade College Prep
2022
RHP
85 mph
3
Cole Smith
IL
Auburn
2022
RHP
84 mph
4
Daniel Vogt
IL
Trico
2021
RHP
83 mph
^
Drew Politte
MO
Lindbergh
2022
3B
83 mph
^
Gavin Kinworthy
MO
Windsor
2021
RHP
83 mph
RHP Kaydon Norkus (2021) made the trip south from Neuqua Valley to pace the pitcher’s leaderboard with an 88 mph max fastball velo. The strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete sat 87-88 mph in his ‘pen. From Chaminade (MO), RHP Charlie Weber (2022) led the incoming juniors by sitting 84-85 mph, a tick better than RHP Cole Smith’s (Auburn, 2022) 84 high.
MAX EXIT VELOCITY
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Exit Velo
1
Bret Yarger
MO
Rolla
2024
OF
95
2
Aiden Heberlie
MO
Valle Catholic
2022
OF
92
3
Joseph Villarreal
MO
Hickman
2021
OF
90
4
Cade Tomhave
IL
Pittsfield
2021
3B
89
5
Jude Sullivan
IL
Paris
2021
OF
87
^
Austin Adcock
IL
Rochester
2022
OF
87
^
William Hannah
IL
Massac
2021
OF
87
^
Mitch Dye
IL
Sacred Heart-Griffin
2022
RHP
87
Emerging as a high-follow member of Missouri’s 2024 class, Yarger starred at the top of this leaderboard as well, recording a 95 mph best at the exit velo station. He’s an athletic 6-foot, 170-pound prospect who looks like an impactful right-handed bat with serious speed. And like Yarger before him, Heberlie doesn’t just run – he’s a premium 6-foot-3, 185-pound athlete who put himself at the top of each of the day’s leaderboards in the categories he participated in. His game-changing speed and bat strength combination should have our PBR Missouri colleagues on high alert. OF/2B Joseph Villarreal (Hickman, MO) was one of the better 2021 prospects coming out of Tuesday’s showcase, and he topped 90 mph at this station, which marked the third-best of the day.
MAX INFIELD VELOCITY
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
INF Velo
1
Drew Politte
MO
Lindbergh
2022
3B
84
2
Mitch Dye
IL
Sacred Heart-Griffin
2022
RHP
81
^
Austin Martin
IL
Roxana
2021
SS
81
^
Eli Hensley
IL
Normal West
2022
SS
81
3
Kannon Kirk
IL
North Mac
2021
SS
80
From Lindbergh (MO), 3B Drew Politte (2022) led this group of infielders with an 84 mph high across the diamond and he sat 81-83 on the mound, too. A foursome tied for second, at 81 mph: Mitch Dye (Sacred Heart-Griffin, 2022), Drew Lenz (Rochester, 2021), Austin Martin (Roxana, 2021), and Eli Hensley (Normal West, 2022).
MAX OUTFIELD VELOCITY
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
OF Velo
1
Aiden Heberlie
MO
Valle Catholic
2022
OF
85
2
Austin Adcock
IL
Rochester
2022
OF
84
^
Cole Smith
IL
Auburn
2022
RHP
84
3
Jude Tenny
MO
Lafayette
2022
LHP
81
^
Jeffery Morgan
MO
Christian Brothers College
2022
OF
81
Another leaderboard Heberlie is at, or at least near, the top of. His 85 mph high to home shows that he’s a versatile prospect with coveted tools. It was a great PBR event debut for the Valle Catholic incoming junior. The aforementioned Smith and Austin Adcock (Rochester) were a pair more 2022s who were just a tick short of Heberlie’s high.
MAX CATCHER VELOCITY
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
C Velo
1
Jackson Toberman
IL
Edwardsville
2022
C
76
2
Andrew Coats
IL
Normal West
2022
C
72
3
Conner Freeze
IL
Breese Central
2023
3B
67
4
Lukas Hannah
KY
McCracken County
2024
C
65
Edwardsville’s Jackson Toberman (2022) put together a strong all-around day, standing out amongst this small crop of catchers. He’s a solid follow for his well-rounded profile as a backstop with a little strength from the right-handed box inside a prototypical build, at 6-foot-1, 187 pounds.
TOP POP TIMES
Rank
Name
State
School
Class
Pos
Pop Time
1
Jackson Toberman
IL
Edwardsville
2022
C
2.06-2.14
2
Andrew Coats
IL
Normal West
2022
C
2.22-2.33
3
Lukas Hannah
KY
McCracken County
2024
C
2.25-2.37
4
Conner Freeze
IL
Breese Central
2023
3B
2.43-2.52
Toberman naturally led this group on this leaderboard, too. His arm strength and quick overall actions helped him average the lowest catch-and-throw times on the day by a fair margin.
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