2026 Prep Baseball Dakotas Top Prospect Games: Top Outlier Pitches

July 8, 2026
Dayne McNaughton
Upper Midwest, Prep Baseball

The Dakotas - The 2026 Dakota Top Prospect Games had its fair share of fuel and filth. Utilizing our Trackman Baseball unit, we collected data including Velocity, Spin Rate, Induced Vertical Break, Horizontal Movement, Vertical Approach Angle and more. Today we will be looking at 5 arms that showcased plus stuff at the Top Prospect Games.

Interested in getting these numbers for yourself? Attend one of our Summer ID events and get evaluated with Trackman and our other tech partners.

JACK BLOMGREN - SL 🧹

We've highlighted Jack Blomgren's low-90s fastball multiple times this year, but his slider is not a pitch to be overlooked. From many standards, this pitch is considered a sweeper, due to its lack of depth and horizontal movement that nearly clears the entire plate. Looking at the tilt at 8:45, it is nearing complete side spin (9:00), which allows for -15.1 inches of horizontal break. These factors, with above average velo for the movement, allows for this pitch to be thrown in nearly any count in a competitive way.

Velo	Spin	IVB	HB	Tilt	VAA
77.9	2294	-0.4	-15.2	8:45	-6.6

Diving deeper into the weeds, sliders with a higher vertical break at the MLB level actually produce a higher run value compared to sliders with more depth - Ben Clemens

BRADY WADDELL - CH 🛸

Brady Waddell showed a diving changeup to go with his effective fastball/slider. Waddell flashed the saucer that killed spin (1410). The induced vertical break at -0.2 led the entire event in changeup depth. While he doesn't throw it often as his slider, it's another offering to potentially generate whiffs.

Velo	Spin	IVB	HB	Tilt	VAA
79.3	1410	-0.2	10.3	3:00	-7.4

TATE JOHNSON - 4SFB 🔥

Tate Johnson grabbed our attention, raising his velo floor and tossing a breaking ball with north of 3000 RPMs of spin. His fastball showed well up in the zone, due to a combination of metrics. Velocity wise, the fastball ranked in the top-third in the entire 2029 class nationally. Movement wise, Tate creates near pure back spin with 12:45 tilt. Tate combines a low release height (5ft) and a -4.8 Vertical Approach angle to create a "rise" effect on the ball, even with average IVB metrics.

Velo	Spin	IVB	HB	Tilt	VAA
87.9	2443	14.5	7.0	12:45	-4.8

JAXON OMDAHL - CH ↘️

Jaxon Omdahl showed plus metrics on his changeup. While only throwing 2 of them, the velocity and depth allows for a power-change look. It's a small sample, but the shape and separation off his effective fastball. Providing a wrinkle to an already effective arsenal, Omdahl has another possibly advanced card to play when on the hill.

Velo	Spin	IVB	HB	Tilt	VAA
85.0	1963	5.6	14.4	2:15	-7.8

CALE CLEVELAND - FB 🔪

Cale Cleveland brought a unique fastball profile to the mound. His fastball maxed out at 86.0 MPH and had a cut-profile, with the horizontal movement being close to 0. The slight variation to a standard fastball profile can allow Cleveland to get weak contact, providing a different look to hitters.

Velo	Spin	IVB	HB	Tilt	VAA
84.4	2078	13.8	0.1	11:15	-5.6