The annual McCook Rising Stars was back yet again this April and took place on the evening of Wednesday, April 5th at The MAX in McCook, IL. The open event designed for 2027 and 2028 prospects featured 70+ prospects, many of whom should be followed closely as they climb the high school ranks.

Today we take a look at a couple of the standouts, as well as breakdown the top statistical performers from the day with our “Statistical Analysis” below. 

TAKEAWAYS

OF/RHP Sebastian Wilson (Lane Tech, 2027; Tennessee commit) put together one of the more impressive showings our staff has seen to date despite his young age. The left-handed hitter was all over the barrel with authority, working hard and elevated contact to his pull-side (85.5 mph avg. EV; T93.6 mph EV). He works with a mature and confident operation at the plate, looking extremely advanced for his age with clear athleticism throughout. His BLAST metrics are also impressive, averaging 22.9 mph for his hand-speed, 69.5 mph for his average bat-speed and 19.7 for his average rotational acceleration. In the outfield, Wilson moves well through the ball with confident hands, boasting a strong arm (T88 mph) from a crow-hop. His arm strength easily translates over to the mound, where he reached up to 84 mph to pair off a slider/splitter combination. 

OF/RHP Kaden Wasniewski (McHenry, 2027) continued to impress once again with a well-above average skill set. Ran a 7.25 60, showed advanced bat speed at the plate and clean outfield actions with a big arm that topped at 87 mph. The former Junior Future Gamer, has also shown well on the mound this winter. 

A member of Team Illinois at the PBR Junior Future Games this past summer, MIF Isaiah Martin (Lane Tech, 2027) has always been an athletic, twitchy prospect with upside. With nearly a year of development, his right-handed swing has increased fluidness and ease, staying on the barrel up the middle and through the ball throughout his round of BP. On the infield, Martin has some bounce to his step with active feet and athletic actions, showing present range and body control with some feel for the position. 

C/RHP Ryan Wilberding and RHP/3B Brady Buenik are two 2027s that Libertyville HS should be excited about having come through the program in the next few years. Both have current arm strength with high-floors on the mound while Wilberding’s arm plays strong and clean behind the plate as well. Buenik is one of the more polished arms we have seen to date in the class and has the arm action and stuff to be highly-sought after down the road. Outside of those two, Libertyville HS was extremely well represented at the event with a number of close follows and the future looks bright for the Northern Illinois program.

C/INF Ryan Rodriguez (Batavia, 2027) emerged a winner from the event. The right-handed hitter utilizes a fluid load before moving with quick hands into a flat path. He showed a clear feel to hit throughout his round, staying on the barrel to the whole field. Defensively, Rodriguez showed steady actions while receiving and throughout his defensive round, reaching as low as 2.25 for his pop-time with directional footwork and a clean transfer. 

C/1B Keegan Seipp (O’Fallon, 2027) and C/INF Shane Torres (Waubonsie Valley, 2027) are a couple prospects that showed well with the bat throughout the day. Seipp, a physical 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-handed hitter, creates impressive power off the bat from his simple load, working with an uphill path and middle of the field approach. Torres, a right-handed hitter, creates easy jump off the barrel, working with a pull-side approach and uphill path with intent to lift.