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PBR IL: Harper JC Scout Day: Takeaways

October 6, 2022
By: Peter Hamot
Area Scout, Staff Writer

On Monday, October 3, PBR Illinois hosted the Harper JC Scout Day at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois. The event gave our staff an in-depth look at a number of intriguing players the Hawks have to offer for this coming spring season. 

You can read up on the players that stood out to our scouting staff, found below. 

Position Players

Ehinger Adrianza, MIF, Felix Varela Senior (FL), 2021
True Sophomore. Adrianza looks to be one of the top returning players for the Hawks this season, coming off Second Team All-Conference and Second Team All-Region selections from last year. He led the team in batting average last season, cruising to a .369 clip in 168 at-bats with 13 doubles, 37 RBIs and 25 runs scored. The left-handed hitter has a compact and easy swing, remaining fluid throughout the operation while consistently producing line-drives (94.9 max EV). His 6.83 60-time compliments his approach at the plate as well as his defensive capabilities; cruising the infield with a range to both sides and a bounce to his step - also pairing with athletic/clean actions. His arm is plenty strong to remain at shortstop moving forward, reaching up to 86 mph across the diamond. Adrianza’s defense alone should make him a name to know for colleges looking to add an above-average defender to their lineup, but his left-handed bat with battle-tested success should come as an added bonus. 

Nicolas Castrovillario, MIF, Bartlett (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. Standing 6-foot, 192-pounds, Castrovillario stands out immediately thanks to his strong/athletic build. The right-handed hitter creates easy juice off the bat, reaching up to 97 mph for a max exit velocity, using the whole field throughout his round with power and back-spin to his pull-side in particular. Last season he recorded a .289 batting average to go along with 37 runs scored. He possesses above-average speed to pair with his power at the plate, cruising to a 6.81 in the 60-yard dash. On the infield, his actions are steady and reliable, also reaching up to 86 mph across the diamond. Above-average power and speed player with the ability to remain on the infield moving forward.  

George Betevis, OF, Bartlett (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. The 5-foot-11, 188-pound outfielder had some of the loudest tools in attendance on Monday. He started his day by cruising to an event-best 6.60 in the 60-yard dash. The right-handed hitter then went on to produce the event-best exit velocity at 98.2 mph with another event-best 25.4 max hand speed according to BLAST. In the outfield, Betevis is an athletic mover with steady actions, once again turning in an event-best with his outfield velocity at 91 mph. One of the top returning position players for the Hawks this coming spring, Betevis turned in a .296 batting average last season in 125 at-bats with 12 doubles and 10 stolen bases on 10 attempts.  

Matthew Schalk, 1B, Fremd (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. The left-handed hitter took a quality round of BP, using his long/loose levers to create line-drives to the whole field up to 92.5 mph. His swing is fluid and repeatable with an approach to the gaps. On the infield, his actions are steady while keeping the ball in front to both sides.  

Kyle Odeshoo, C, Prospect (IL), 2022
True Freshman. 6-foot-1, 190-pounds with an athletic build and room for added strength in the coming years. The right-handed hitter impressed with some impressive BLAST metrics; with a max hand speed of 24.7, max rotational acceleration of 29.4 and average on-plane efficiency of 92.8. His hands are noticeably quick throughout his swing, creating exit velocities up to 97 mph with power to the whole field. Behind the plate, Odeshoo reached as low as 1.97 second for his pop-time, pairing with a clean transfer and max velocity of 77 mph down to second.  

Quinton Johnson, MIF, Great Lakes Secondary (ON), 2022
True Freshman. Athletic build, standing 5-foot-11, 165-pounds with room for added strength. The right-handed hitter impressed with an easy effort swing and loose/whippy levers, reaching up to 93.1 mph for his max exit velocity with a pull-side approach. 6.97 runner in the 60-yard dash with steady actions on the infield. Reached up to 83 mph across the diamond.  

Micah O’Neal, OF, Guerin Prep (IL), 2020
Sophomore. Twitchy athlete standing 5-foot-10, 173-pounds. Started his day by running to a 6.70 in the 60-yard dash. At the plate, the right-handed hitter has a handsy swing that is quick through the zone with a slightly uphill path, creating a max exit velocity of 93.7 mph. Defensively, O’Neal cruises the outfield with athletic actions and strides, working through the ball and reaching up to 87 mph from a crow-hop.  

Justin Gadomski, INF, Schaumburg (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. Gadomski impressed at the plate with a strong right-handed stroke, reaching up to 96.1 mph for a max exit velocity. Defensively, Gadomski reached up to 86 mph across the infield with steady actions. 7.14 runner in the 60-yard dash, has been down to 6.98 in past years.

Cole Ratliff, OF, Fremd (IL), 2022
True Freshman. 6-foot, 180-pounds with a projectable build. The right-handed hitter has a simple swing at the plate, staying flat through the zone while consistently making hard contact to his pull-side (94.5 max EV). 6.99 runner in the 60-yard dash. Steady defender in the outfield with a max velocity of 85 mph from a crow-hop.  

Three more position players worth mentioning are C TJ Kutil (Lake Park, 2021), C/INF Justin Cappis (Niles North, 2021) and 1B John Swiderek (Ridgewood, 2021). Kutil, a redshirt-freshman, stands at a physical 5-foot-11, 195-pounds. His left-handed swing is compact and simple, creating an exit velocity up to 94 mph while using the whole field - also recording a pop-time as low as 2.07 with a clean transfer. Cappis, a redshirt freshman as well, impressed throughout his round of BP, using a simple stroke from the left side to produce exit velocities up to 96 mph, using the ground through impact and whippy/loose levers. Swiderek, a sophomore, stands at a strong-bodied 6-foot-1, 195-pounds with broad shoulders. His right-handed swing uses the whole field, reaching up to 92.8 mph for his max exit velocity. Reliable defender at first-base with steady hands.  

Pitchers  

Jason Gutkowski, RHP, Lake Park (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. Gutkowski looks to return to the Hawks rotation after being heavily relied on last season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound right-hander impressed with control over four quality pitches throughout his ‘pen. His fastball sat right in the 80-82 mph range, topping out at 83 mph with an IVB up to 19.3 (T2229 RPM). His curveball and slider are both above-average offerings; with the curveball coming in at 70-72 mph with sharp 11/5 action and spin rates over 2,400 RPM - while his slider sat 71-74 mph with late 10/4 action and a spin rate up to 2,600 RPM. His final offering was a changeup at 71-72 mph, fading heavily to the arm-side with up to 18 inches of run at times.  

JT Adams, RHP, Huntley (IL), 2020
Sophomore. Adams returns as one of the horses atop the Hawks staff after leading the team in innings pitched last season. The 6-foot-1, 153-pound right-hander has some upside in his wiry frame, as well as upside in his fluid moving delivery. His fastball reached up to 84 mph, sitting mostly around 82 mph throughout the duration of his ‘pen with 14” of run on average. His curveball came in at 70-72 mph, missing up in the zone occasionally but flashing tight 11/5 action when kept down. His final offering was a deceptive changeup thrown with near-identical fastball arm-speed and release height, 70-72 mph with feel for the zone.  

Shawn Lacy, RHP, Centennial (IL), 2021
Sophomore. Standing 6-foot-4, 190-pounds, Lacy has already jumped six mph since the last time we saw him a year ago. Still some rawness to his delivery, the athletic right-hander maxed his fastball out at 87 mph, sitting mostly 84-86 mph with up to 22” of run (T2338 RPM). His curveball has improved since our last look as well, playing off an 11/5 plane with depth at 65-67 mph. He also featured a changeup at 75-78 mph, fading to the arm-side with up to 17” of run at times. The pure athleticism of Lacy is something to make note of, having recorded a 6.76 60-time in years past.  

Jermaine Salcedo, RHP, Rolling Meadows (IL), 2020
Sophomore. Built physically at 6-foot-2, 220-pounds, Salcedo is another arm for the Hawks that has seen a substantial increase in velocity over the past year. His fastball velocity increased roughly five mph since our last look, topping out at 85.7 mph on Monday with heavy sink at times. He showed a knack for spinning the breaking ball; ripping off a sharp 11/5 curveball at 73-75 mph (T2562 RPM) and late breaking 10/4 slider at 73-76 mph (T2443 RPM). 

Connor Fitzgerald, RHP, Lake View (IL), 2021
True Sophomore. The right-hander provided a tough look for would-be hitters throughout his ‘pen on Monday. Standing 6-foot-4, 213-pounds and coming from a low ¾ release, the right-hander topped his fastball out at 84 mph, sitting right at 83 mph throughout his ‘pen. He went to a short horizontal slider at 74-77 mph (T2288 RPM), backing up on him at times but flashing short bullet action. His final offering was a fading changeup at 71-75 mph.  

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