McCook Rising Stars ID: Takeaways & Statistical Analysis
April 11, 2025
On Wednesday, April 9th, the Prep Baseball Illinois staff traveled to The Max in McCook, Illinois to host the McCook Rising Stars ID. This event served as an open identifier into the state's 2029 and 2030 graduates, providing our staff an early look at the area's top players as they continue to progress as prospects.
These early Rising Stars events also serve as key identifiers for future invite-only events, including the Prep Baseball Junior Future Games.
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
A name to know from the day is switch-hitter Julian Torres (Fenwick, 2029). The young catcher showed an athletic operation from both sides of the plate with feel to work on the barrel and an upside swing.
RHP/SS Leo Kelly (Loyola, 2029) will be another name for our staff to follow closely. Listed at a projectable 5-foot-11, 150-pounds, Kelly took a loud round of BP with strong hands and present bat-speed, reaching up to 93 mph for his EV. He also showed similarly well on the mound with a controlled delivery and fastball up to 83 mph.
A trio of Indiana prospects made the trip over the border and stood out, with INF Andrew Jones (Undecided, 2029), OF/RHP Paulie Hobbs (Hanover Central, 2029) and LHP Townes Cinninger (St. Joseph, 2029) all showing well on the day.
Jones is an athletic right-handed hitter that showed some bat-speed in his round, while Hobbs showed impressive strength for his age with a peak EV of 97 mph, also creating length through the zone with an intentful swing.
Hobbs also gave a loud look on the mound with a fastball up to 83 mph, and Cinninger is a projectable left-hander with easy movement patterns and a fastball up to 80 mph.
Some more names that caught our attention that will need to be followed closely throughout the coming years are OF Charlie Kohman (Downers Grove North, 2029), OF Enzo Villacci (Oswego East, 2030), 3B Justin Les (St. Laurence, 2029), SS/RHP Easton Pickrel (Galesburg, 2029) and SS Van Ozment (Crystal Lake Central, 2030).
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
FASTBALL VELOCITY (MAX)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Vicente Amaro | IL | De La Salle | 2029 | RHP | 83.3 mph |
| 2 | Paulie Hobbs | IL | Marist | 2029 | OF | 83.0 mph |
| 3 | Leo Kelly | IL | Loyola Academy | 2029 | 3B | 82.9 mph |
| 4 | Andrew Jones | IL | Marist | 2029 | SS | 82.2 mph |
| 5 | Adam Wilk | IL | St. Laurence | 2029 | RHP | 80.3 mph |
FASTBALL SPIN RATE (AVG.)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
| 1 | Cain Dekeyrel | IL | Rockridge High School | 2029 | SS | 2158 rpm |
| 2 | Vicente Amaro | IL | De La Salle | 2029 | RHP | 2104 rpm |
| 3 | Andrew Jones | IL | Marist | 2029 | SS | 2051 rpm |
| 4 | Rocky Kostyk | IL | St. Rita | 2029 | RHP | 2048 rpm |
| 5 | Julian Torres | IL | Fenwick | 2029 | C | 2043 rpm |
60-YARD DASH
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | 60-yd |
| 1 | Chase Boykin | IL | Marian Catholic | 2029 | SS | 6.90 s |
| 2 | Knox Breitzke | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2029 | OF | 7.02 s |
| 3 | Andrew Jones | IL | Marist | 2029 | SS | 7.08 s |
| 4 | Paulie Hobbs | IL | Marist | 2029 | OF | 7.13 s |
| 5 | Chase Carithers | IL | Nazareth Academy | 2029 | OF | 7.34 s |
EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velocity (max) |
| 1 | Paulie Hobbs | IL | Marist | 2029 | OF | 97.1 mph |
| 2 | Dempsey Steinmetz | IL | Marist | 2029 | 1B | 93.5 mph |
| 3 | Leo Kelly | IL | Loyola Academy | 2029 | 3B | 92.9 mph |
| 4 | Chase Carithers | IL | Nazareth Academy | 2029 | OF | 91.0 mph |
| 5 | Andrew Radziwon | IL | Lincoln-Way Central | 2029 | 1B | 90.6 mph |
TOP INFIELD VELOCITY
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Leo Kelly | IL | Loyola Academy | 2029 | 3B | 83 |
| 2 | Vicente Amaro | IL | De La Salle | 2029 | RHP | 80 |
| 3 | Justin Les | IL | St. Laurence | 2029 | 3B | 77 |
| 4 | Cain Dekeyrel | IL | Rockridge High School | 2029 | SS | 76 |
| ^ | Dempsey Steinmetz | IL | Marist | 2029 | 1B | 76 |
| 5 | Ethan Gonzalez | IL | St. Laurence | 2029 | SS | 75 |
| ^ | Chase Watson | IL | Brother Rice | 2029 | OF | 75 |
TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Pop Time |
| 1 | Julian Torres | IL | Fenwick | 2029 | C | 2.00-2.09 |
| 2 | Blake Harmon | IL | Barrington | 2029 | C | 2.19-2.33 |
| 3 | Kyle Gesiakowski | IL | Richards | 2030 | 1B | 2.37-2.51 |
| 4 | Shane Berks | IL | Stevenson High School | 2029 | C | 2.43-2.47 |
| 5 | Ryan Walker | IL | Naperville North | 2030 | C | 2.45-2.70 |
TOP CATCHER VELOCITY
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | C Velo |
| 1 | Julian Torres | IL | Fenwick | 2029 | C | 70 |
| 2 | Blake Harmon | IL | Barrington | 2029 | C | 66 |
| 3 | Kyle Gesiakowski | IL | Richards | 2030 | 1B | 62 |
TOP POP TIMES
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | OF Velo |
| 1 | Paulie Hobbs | IL | Marist | 2029 | OF | 85 |
| 2 | Townes Cinninger | IN | St Joseph High School | 2029 | LHP | 82 |
| ^ | Chase Watson | IL | Brother Rice | 2029 | OF | 82 |
| 3 | Owen Nolte | IL | Mattoon | 2029 | LHP | 81 |
+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.
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