Orange County Rising Stars ID: Event Analysis
March 4, 2025
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Santa Ana, Calif.- This past Sunday, March 2nd, the Prep Baseball California team hosted our first SoCal based Rising Stars ID with the Orange County Rising Stars ID being held at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Cal. This was an open event for rising stars prospects (2029-2030), and gave our staff an impressive look at 11 rising players from around the Southern California region.
Players attending the Rising Stars ID series underwent a modified Pro-Style workout geared towards players of the 7th/8th grade level. They began their day by running a 60-yard sprint where we utilized Vald Technologies to gather an electronic time for their speed. From there players participated in a defensive workout where our staff gathered radar gun metrics of their present arm strength and evaluated their defensive actions from their primary/secondary positions. The position player portion of the day completed with a batting practice session with players taking three rounds of batting practice where we gathered batted-ball data on each player in attendance using Trackman Technologies. The final aspect of the day featured pitchers toeing the rubber to throw a bullpen session using Trackman Technologies to gather valuable data on their present pitch arsenal.
For a closer look at the showcase details and the technologies we had on-site to assist our in-person evaluation for all in attendance, click here.
Today, we take a look at a few of the standout performances of the day with our Quick Hits (Top Performers) and Statistical Analysis. For information on all players in attendance please click here.
QUICK HITS (TOP PERFORMERS):
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Jacob Wang OF / RHP / Villa Park, CA / 2029The wiry athletically built Wang checked in at 5'9 143.7 lbs presently and posted a very solid overall workout. Running an event best 7.1 60 yard dash he moves with athletic strides and strong body control. Then moving into the defensive workout his arm/actions in RF were impressive for a rising 8th grader who uncorked consistently online/accurate throws to both 3B and home plate with a present top arm velocity of 78 MPH. He finished up his day with an intriguing performance during batting practice where his RH swing showed an ease of operation with present bat speed that allowed him to consistently drive the baseball with authority in the air to the middle/pull side of the field. Wang demonstrated a sound feel for hard contact producing a top end exit velocity of 88.1 MPH while averaging 77.6 MPH throughout his rounds of batting practice. His swing path generates more hard line drive contact than loft at present reaching a max distance of 303' while working to a 60% sweet spot rate. The future Villa Park product is a name to keep eyes on for the future of SoCal High School baseball. |
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McKay Skarlanic RHP / 1B / Carlsbad, CA / 2029While size does not guarantee success in baseball the impressive frame that Skarlanic cuts catches your eye quickly checking in at 6'3 and 183 lbs. with a wiry present build that has room to add plenty of strength as he matures. Skarlanic is much more than just an impressive physical presence as a rising 8th grader which he displayed with a strong overall two-way performance. As a position player his rounds of batting practice stood out for the raw power he displayed. Using an uphill swing which is geared to try and elevate the baseball for loft/carry to the middle-pull side of the diamond he posted an impressive max exit velocity of 94.5 while averaging 84.5 MPH during his batting practice rounds with a 368' max distance on a deep fly ball HR to straight away LF. There is some inconsistency to his ability to get the ball in the air, but as he polishes his approach/timing the upside for his RH power is intriguing. As good as what the San Diego product did at the plate was it may have been his turn on the mound that impressed even more. With an easy operation getting down the mound showing a loose quick arm that has almost no recoil after release he does an impressive job of maintaining his direction and pitching with body control/minimal effort. The delivery in and of itself would earn him a spot here, but the pitching metrics gathered on Trackman were just as impressive. Skarlanic showed a present 81-83 MPH with both ride and run in the shape. He backs it up with an intriguing 73-75 MPH CHG with deception in his arm speed and arm side fade with some tumble. The righthander uses a SLD and a CB to produce spin with both pitches showing solid present ability coming in at 66-70 MPH, but he might eventually be best served to pick one offering. While he still has plenty of time before he will grace a high school baseball field the profile for this San Diego based product is one to follow. |
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Max Kelley SS / 2B / Villa Park, CA / 2029Another potential future Villa Park High School product Kelley put together the most intriguing INF performance from the group in attendance. Kelly checked in with a wiry lean, but athletic 5'11 149 lbs. frame with good actions across the board. He posted a solid 7.59 60 yard time at present which as he adds strength to his leaner frame will go down giving him plenty of potential to profile as an up the middle defender long term. His actions moving around during the INF workout including a present 75 MPH INF arm velocity with clean footwork and smooth hands gives you reason to dream on him as another talented SoCal Shortstop for the future. His batting practice for me personally may have been the most impressive of the day for the simplicity of the operation which still produced strong present bat speed with impact through contact. A RH hitter with more of a leveraged bat path which produced hard line drive contact while getting carry to the pull side of the field Kelly posted intriguing present batted ball data including: 91.2 MPH max EV, 87.1 MPH avg EV, 345' max distance, 89% sweet spot rate and for a rising 8th grader a 22% hard hit rate. |
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Dylan Hendon C / OF / Mater Dei, CA / 2029The potential future Mater Dei Monarch baseball product Hendon put together an interesting day on what likely one day will be his varsity baseball field. Checking in with a solid present 6'1 177.9 lbs. frame and quality present athletic ability including a 7.69 60 yard time with a high quality foundation at a premium defensive position there was plenty to like about this Orange County Rising Stars product. Hendon showed an aggressive high intent RH swing with an approach that looked to elevate the baseball with authority and when he connected on the barrel produced strong present Trackman data including: 90.2 MPH max EV, 84 MPH avg EV, 341' max distance on a homer to LF with a 45% sweet spot rate and 9% hard hit rate. He added to his overall profile by showing his potential behind the plate with a solid showing during bullpen work with a quality receive and during the defensive workout posting a 70 MPH C arm velocity with pop times in the 2.14-2.26 range showing online accuracy, but can improve the carry on his throws as he continues to mature. Another high quality name to follow in the future. |
Positional Stats:
TOP INFIELD VELOCITY
TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY
TOP CATCHER VELOCITY
TOP POP TIMES
Postional Data Dive:
VALD
60-YARD
Traditionally, the 60-yard dash has been the in-event standard to help measure a player's speed tool.
EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)
EXIT VELOCITY (AVERAGE)
Exit Velocity: This metric measures the speed of the ball, measured in miles per hour, as it comes off the bat at the moment of contact.
Batted Ball (MAX)
Sweet Spot %
Sweet Spot percentage: This metric is determined by how often the player produces a batted ball during the session with a launch angle between 8 to 32 degrees.
Pitchers Data Dive:
Trackman
FASTBALL
VELOCITY (MAX)
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiencies. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of vertical approach angle.
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Average MLB pitchers throw 62% strikes, and better pitchers throw strikes 65% of the time, or roughly 2:1 strikes to balls.
CURVEBALL
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
SLIDER
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Upcoming Events
| Showcase | State | Date | Location |
| Central California Rising Stars ID (2029-2030 Grads) | CA | 03/23 | Ventura College - Ventura, CA |
| Inland Empire Rising Stars ID (2029-2030 Grads) | CA | 03/30 | Corona High School - Corona, CA |
| Los Angeles Rising Stars ID (2029-2030 Grads) | CA | 04/27 | O'Malley Field - Sepulveda Basin, CA |
| 2025 Future Games Tryout: Fullerton | CA | 05/31 | Fullerton College |
| 2025 Future Games Tryout: Los Angeles | CA | 05/31 | Loyola Marymount University |
| 2025 Future Games Tryout: Malibu | CA | 05/31 | Pepperdine University - Malibu, CA |
| 2025 ProCase - West | CA | 06/01 | Loyola Marymount University - Los Angeles, CA |
| 2025 Future Games Tryout: Central California | CA | 06/07 | Antelope Valley College - Lancaster, CA |
| 2025 Future Games Tryout: Northern California | CA | 06/14 | Consumnes River College - Sacramento, CA |