Joseph
Chiarodo

Alabama commit and one of the top arms in Illinois’ junior class; ranked No. 8 overall in the state. 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete with strength throughout his frame, particularly in the lower half. Took the mound for the Tigers in a conference win over Collinsville; tossed five strong innings, striking out six with a walk and three earned runs. Power mover, sits into his back hip and works downhill in a drop/drive pattern with noticeable athleticism, repeats. Strong front side, stays closed up front and finishes onto a firm lead leg through release. Bulldog-like demeanor on the mound, highly competitive and in control. Short arm draw out the glove, travels to release on a short, compact arm circle that finishes out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball touched 93 in the first, sat 90-92 mph early, settled at 88-90 mph. Jumps out the hand with life on the corners, strikes often and pitches off it. Slider was the best it has ever been over our numerous looks. Stays on fastball tunnel with sharp, late swing-and-miss break at 80-84 mph. Able to land it for strikes too, though mostly used for whiffs in this look. Depth and more vertical action to a 74-76 mph curveball, tight spin and strike feel. Starting to show more comfort and feel for a changeup at 81-83 mph, favored it to left-handed hitters. High level athlete that has four-pitch feel and polish who consistently performs each time we see him.

Alabama commit and one of the top arms in Illinois’ junior class; ranked No. 8 overall in the state. 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete with strength throughout his frame, particularly in the lower half. Took the mound for the Tigers in a conference win over Collinsville; tossed five strong innings, striking out six with a walk and three earned runs. Power mover, sits into his back hip and works downhill in a drop/drive pattern with noticeable athleticism, repeats. Strong front side, stays closed up front and finishes onto a firm lead leg through release. Bulldog-like demeanor on the mound, highly competitive and in control. Short arm draw out the glove, travels to release on a short, compact arm circle that finishes out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball touched 93 in the first, sat 90-92 mph early, settled at 88-90 mph. Jumps out the hand with life on the corners, strikes often and pitches off it. Slider was the best it has ever been over our numerous looks. Stays on fastball tunnel with sharp, late swing-and-miss break at 80-84 mph. Able to land it for strikes too, though mostly used for whiffs in this look. Depth and more vertical action to a 74-76 mph curveball, tight spin and strike feel. Starting to show more comfort and feel for a changeup at 81-83 mph, favored it to left-handed hitters. High level athlete that has four-pitch feel and polish who consistently performs each time we see him.

Alabama commit, currently ranked No. 8 in the state, No. 282 nationally. Listed at 5-foot-11, 180-pounds with some strength throughout and in the lower-half. Started on the mound for a State Title rematch from 2023 and was dominant over his 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit and no runs while punching out five against no walks. Chiarodo is a clear athlete on the mound, working with a repeatable delivery that gets into his legs and creates a lower release height, delivering his arsenal from a high ¾ slot. His fastball plays with jump out of the hand, holding plane at the bottom of the zone and also possessing carry in the upper quadrant. His go-to secondary was a sharp 10/4 slider in which he could spin in any count, playing comfortably in the low-80s, landing for strikes and to put hitters away. He occasionally flashed a downer curveball with bigger 11/5 shape, playing in the mid-70s. He briefly showed his changeup in warmups, playing at 77 mph with heavy/late dive to the bottom of the zone. High-level athlete, also made an impressive outfield assist from centerfield to third base off his back foot the inning after he came out from pitching. On Saturday, launched a no-doubt home run to straight away center field that got out in a hurry. High-level prospect in the 2025 class.

Alabama commit. Currently slotted at No. 6 in the Illinois 2025 class as well as No. 222 nationally. Fills a 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame with noticeable upper and lower body strength. Was the Tigers’ starting arm on the mound, also hit in the two-hole. Drop/drive mover, sits onto his backside and gets down the mound with intent, staying in line to target, with deception. Full loose, fast high ¾ arm slot. Fastball played in the mid to upper 80s, touching 91 mph, working both sides of the plate to both handed hitters. Advanced slider with swing-and-miss traits, late-snapping shape, 75-80 mph. Occasionally landed 11/5 shaping curveball for strikes with more depth than slider at 71-74 mph. Change-up played 80-83 mph effectively kept hitters off balance. Chiarodo’s 5.1 IP 8 K 1 R 5 H outing was a successful finish to a strong 2025 campaign. 

Alabama commit and one of the top prospects in the Illinois’ 2025 class. 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete with strength throughout, particularly in the lower half. Took the mound for Edwardsville in a key conference game against Belleville East, departing his outing with a lead. Athletic mover that sits into his backside early and rides it downhill, uses a high front side and gets down the mound with controlled aggression and intent through release. Competitor with a presence to him. Short arm action from a tight window that finishes out of a fast high ¾ slot. Fastball touched 92 mph in the first, holding 87-91 mph throughout his outing, while working most effectively down in the zone and on both corners. Landed a high-arching curveball with depth and downer spin at 72-74 mph for strikes, turned to a firm, more laterally spun slider at 76-78 mph. Another high-end arm located in the state’s southern region. 

Alabama commit, currently slotted at No. 13 overall in the Illinois’ sophomore class, will rise up the board next update. 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame with strength throughout, particularly in the lower half. Started on the mound for Edwardsville in a conference win, striking out six over four scoreless innings, walking just one. Athletic mover, gets onto his backside and works down the mound in an aggressive, yet controlled, manner, creating momentum towards the plate. Stays closed to footstrike, finishes onto a firm lead leg and maintains direction to target, repeats. Competitive demeanor on the mound, was in control of the game throughout his outing. Tight arm path, stays short on the backside and finishes out of a quick high ¾ slot with arm speed out front. FB reached 91 mph multiple times, holding 88-90 mph throughout his start. Commanded the corners, peppered the glove side at will, plenty comfortable working in to both handed hitters. Breaking ball flashed sharp slurvy spin and late break at 74-76 mph, flipped it in for strikes and got some uncomfortable swings low in the zone, too. Flashed a changeup with fade to left-handed hitters at 80-81 mph. Also singled twice and drove in two runs out of the two-hole. One of the top prospects in the state’s sophomore class that continues to trend upward and impress each time we see him. 

5-foot-11, 180-pound frame with athleticism and strength, particularly in the lower half. Started in center field and hit in the two-hole for the Tigers in this look. Brings a confident and competitive presence into the batter’s box, starts balanced in the box, hands load back with some waggle and rhythm, strides short. Fast hands, works direct to the baseball on a short, level path. Has a clear knack for the barrel with juice off it to all fields - screamed a double into the opposite field gap in his first at-bat, and pushed a hard single through the right side later on. Drove a deep lineout off the barrel to center field too. Finished 2-for-4 with a double, run sored, and a stolen base. Entered yesterday’s game slashing .565/.688/.870 over 32 plate appearances. Also upper-80s on the mound with swing-and-miss spin on his breaking ball and advanced feel for a changeup. One of the top prospects in the state’s sophomore class that’s been a star on both sides of the ball for the Tigers thus far.

Alabama commit, one of the top sophomores in the state. 5-foot-11, 180-pound athlete that’s added strength over the winter, particularly in the lower half, filling out the uniform more. Started on the mound for the top-ranked Tigers on Saturday afternoon, earning the win after three dominant innings, striking out eight. Athletic mover down the mound, creates momentum as front hip coils inward to balance point, stacks onto his backside, works in a drop/drive pattern. Lead leg swings to footstrike, throws onto a firm lead leg, intentful through release with some effort. Short tight arm path, finishes from a high ¾ slot with arm speed out front. Fastball held 87-89 mph, played straight and favored the glove side. Turned to a slider often, flashed late lateral spin at 78-79 mph with comfort to throw it in all counts. Faded a changeup at 82-83 mph almost exclusively to left-handed hitters. Also impressed offensively in this look. Was on the barrel with authority twice to the opposite field from a short, fast right-handed swing, standing up for a triple and plating a run on a single, too. Continues to be a high-end name in the state’s 2025 class. 

Uncommitted, high-level right-handed arm in the 2025 class. Works athletically down the mound with a drop/drive lower-half - arm works from a quick high ¾ slot. His fastball sat at 83-85 mph throughout his inning of work, exploding through the zone and pouring in strikes. Chiarodo also displayed feel for a sharp breaking ball at 63-66 mph, playing off a slurvy shape with sharp action, kept mostly down.

Positional Profile: OF
Body: 5-9, 165-pounds. Lean and developing build with room for added strength and size in the future.
Hit: RHH. Starts with a slightly open stance with a crouched posture and hands getting set at shoulder height. Strong weight stack onto the back leg.  Leg lift stride working back to neutral and into a wider base.  Lower half works linearly through the zone into a firm front leg. Works the lower half underneath the ball well to help with matching plane.  Hands work quickly through the zone and shows good overall bat speed.   Short and compact stroke with the hands without a lot of wasted movements.  Maintains balance well throughout the swing.
Power: 90.7 max exit velocity, averaged 81.1 mph. 316’ max distance.
Arm: RH.   OF - 90 mph. Over the top arm slot with a clean and loose arm action.
Defense: Attacks the ball with aggressive routes and smooth footwork.  Fields the ball out in front of the glove side leg with good glove action and clean exchanges.  Utilizes a quick shuffle crow hop technique with good momentum and direction headed towards the target.  Strong pull down on the arm with good carry on the throws.
Run: 7.16 runner in the 60. 

Delivery: Quick rocker style footwork around the rubber working to an easy pivot foot.  Quick pace and tempo to the delivery.  Works to a high balance point with a strong weight stack and sink into the lower half.  Strong push off the rubber.  Works from the middle of the rubber and strides directionally down the center of the mound with good momentum and direction headed towards the plate.  Repeats mechanics well with good balance throughout the delivery.
Arm Action: RH. High 3/4 arm slot with a clean arm action.
FB: T86.6, 85.3-86.6 mph. Rides flat through the zone with good arm side running action. T2178, 2154 average rpm.
CB: 64.5-69.6 mph. Slurvy shape with good depth and horizontal movement. T2162, 2085 average rpm.
CH: 76.4-77.7 mph. Kills the spin efficiently with fastball hand speed and good arm side fading action.  Makings of a true swing and miss pitch. T1527, 1439 average rpm.