Matthew
Salomonson

Verbally committed to Northern Illinois.

6-foot-1 195-pound, right-handed hitting/throwing two-way player, athletic frame, carries strength well. Salomonson saw little trouble working off of an 86-88 mph fastball that touched 89 mph, played with above average action in the hitting zone, cut at times early in game, progressed to sinking action later in contest. He works with a high front side, long high ¾ arm action and drives the baseball down in the zone while mixing a 73-75 mph curveball. Then on Saturday, Salomonson played shortstop and hit second against Pro Player Canes (Belo) and then hit leadoff later in the day, same position. He made hard contact in five of his at-bats going a combined 3-for-5 with a pair of singles, a double, a walk, a HBP,  two runs scored, an RBI and one stolen base. Path works uphill looking to create leverage, favors pull side but showed a two strike approach flaring one of his singles to right field, while the other was barrelled down the third base line in game one. In game two, he led off the game with a double that hit half way up the left field fence at Fenway. He also flew out deep to right/center twice - one for a sacrifice - and popped up to short, present lift in swing. High-follow uncommitted 2020.

Positional Profile: RHP/SS Arrow trending up this summer, arm to watch.
Body: 6-foot-1, 195-pounds. Athletic frame with strength, high waisted.
Delivery: Tall at balance point, slight tilt over the rubber, high front side adds deception, hides the ball, lands across body, toe strikes closed, easy at finish.
Arm Action: RH. Long arm action, clean over the top slot, works loose and out front, gets tilt through delivery. 
FB: T88, 86-87 mph. Plays straight with downward angle at the bottom of the zone. 
CB: 73-76 mph. 11/5 shape with aggressive arm speed, present depth down. 
CH: 80-81 mph. Flashed feel for it, occasional cut.

Uncommitted, currently ranked No. 116 in the Illinois’ 2020 class. 6-foot-2, 195-pound, athletically-built, well-proportioned, right-handed pitcher. Started on the mound for the Dons and got the win in his four inning outing. Scattered four hits, one run, none earned, struck out three and walked two. Tall and fall delivery, exaggerated high-front side, hides the baseball and works slightly across his body. Fastball, worked straight, conscious effort to work the bottom of the zone, hard tilt. Sat comfortably at 85-86 mph throughout his outing. Mixed in a curveball, 12/6 shape, occasional depth, developed better feel as the outing went on, sat 74-75 mph. Follow 2020 right-handed pitcher.

2/10/19 - 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-handed pitcher. High front side delivery, short stride, deliberate action, slight cross body. Arm action is long and firm, arm strength from and over the top slot, above average feel for three pitches. Fastball plays with tilt, straight action, showed feel for the zone, sat 84-86 mph, touched 87 mph. Curveball has 12/6 shape, showed feel, near fastball arm speed, 75-76 mph. Changeup fades, fastball arm speed, showed control, 79-81 mph.