Prep Baseball Report

Northwest Suburban Open: Statistical Analysis and Takeaways


By: Peter Hamot
Area Scout, Staff Writer

On Tuesday, July 5, the PBR Illinois Staff hosted the Northwest Suburban Open at Judson University in Elgin, IL. The event featured 29 prospects and gave our scouting staff an quality look at players from all ranks of high school.

We will be taking a look at the top statistical performers from the event, as well as a number of prospects that stood out to our scouting staff, found below. 

Takeaways

+ OF Jonny Carrera (Bolingbrook, 2023) was one of the biggest winners from Tuesday’s event. The 6-foot, 180-pound right-handed hitter started his day off with a quality round of BP, boasting quick hands through the zone with a loose/fluid swing, working the ball to the whole field. His barrel stays flat through the zone while looking to keep the ball on a line, also flashing some pop to his pull-side. In the outfield, Carrera moves athletically and plays through the baseball, transitioning into a high ¾ release that produced a top velocity of 84 mph from a crow-hop. 

+ C Hayden Dieschbourg (Cary-Grove, 2025) gave our scouting staff a strong look both behind the plate and at the dish. Defensively, his hands are steady and work into a quick/efficient exchange, producing a pop-time as low as 2.14 with a top velocity of 68 mph. At the plate, the right-hander has an athletic swing; moving with a short/flat path through the zone that creates extension through contact. He was repeatedly on the barrel throughout his round with quick/strong hands, creating backspin at times on balls to his pull-side. 

+ A couple two-way prospects that stood out to our scouting staff were 1B/RHP Griffin Kelly (Buffalo Grove, 2025) and C/RHP Quinn Drews (Huntley, 2024). Kelly, a 5-foot-11, 183-pound rising sophomore, showed one of the strongest left-handed bats in attendance with his 90 mph exit velocity. At the plate, he has loose/strong hands through the zone that stay flat through contact, staying on the barrel up the middle and to the opposite field throughout his round while showing some pop off his bat. He also moves well around the bag at first-base, showing fluid footwork and soft/reliable hands. On the mound, the southpaw ran his fastball up to 77 mph while also showing some feel for a tight 1/7 breaking ball and sinking changeup. Moving onto Drews, the catcher popped the best time behind the plate out of all prospects in attendance; getting as low as 2.01 down to second with quick hands/feet and a loose arm. His arm translated over to the mound as well, where he worked his fastball up to 83 mph, tied for the highest in attendance. He also showed feel for a sharp/tight slider and downer changeup that flashed ASR at times.  

+ INF Orlando Vazquez (St. Laurence, 2026) was the only rising freshman in attendance, and he fit right in with the older crowd. Standing 5-foot-8, 188-pounds, Vazquez showed off a repeatable right-handed stroke at the plate; moving with a short path to the ball that works slightly uphill through the zone at times, staying on the barrel with line-drives up the middle throughout his round.   

+ RHP Kaleb Zaielski (Burlington (WI), 2023) was the first pitcher to toe the mound in the event and he set the bar high with his impressive showing. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound right-hander cruised with his fastball in the 80-82 mph range, topping out at 83 mph while playing heavy through the zone with slight sinking action. He flashed two different breaking ball throughout his ‘pen; the first was a 11/5 curveball at 68-69 mph, and the second being a tight 10/4 slider at 72-74 mph. His final offering was a downer changeup that flashed sink, thrown hard at 78-79 mph. 

+ LHP Cooper Harris (Stevenson, 2025) was an intriguing 5-foot-11, 185-pound southpaw that showed some upside in his clean arm. Harris moves with a controlled tempo down the mound, working with a tall/fall lower-half that remains in-line to the plate while striding home, leading with a strong front hip and finishing with a square landing foot. He ran his fastball up to 75 mph, with his four-seam playing straight and his two-seam moving with sinking action. He showed feel for two breaking balls; first being a sharp 1/7 curveball with downer shape at 63-66 mph, and the second being a tight slider with 1/7 shape at times, 67-68 mph. His final offering was a changeup at 70-72 mph, flashing cutting action.

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For a complete look at each of the statistics measured at this showcase, CLICK HERE.

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