On Sunday, January 19th, the ScoutConnect staff traveled to Ina, IL, to the campus of Rend Lake JC to host the WowFactor Midwest Scout Day. Eight players from the WowFactor Midwest program, all of them uncommitted 2026 or 2027 grads participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff. Attendees received TrackMan data, Diamond Kinetics bat sensor data, positional velocities, and a fully edited recruiting video sent to them shortly after the event.
For all of the stats collected at this event, click HERE.
Interested in a Scout Day with ScoutConnect or want more information on what we can provide to your program? Please reach out to Diego.solares@sportsbarn.org
Below you will find our scout notes, and video, on all of the players our staff saw in this past Sunday’s look.
+ Last Sunday provided us an up-to-date look at one of the top sophomores in Illinois in MIF/RHP Trevor McClure (Mt. Vernon, 2027). Right in the middle of basketball season, where he’s a key producer for a 12-5 Rams’ club that’s on a five-game winning streak, McClure continued to look like his usual self in this brief look. He works with an ease and calmness to him at the plate that really stands out, keeping his balance throughout with a simple, flat right-handed bat path. McClure primarily stayed up the middle of the field in both of his BP rounds, though he did square a few up deep into the left-center gap. Perhaps our biggest takeaway from this look was his glove, as McClure moved around the infield with ease while consistently staying in rhythm. His soft hands work quick to release and he’s able to throw on platform from multiple arm angles as well. McClure did not get off the mound in this look, though he’s been up to 89 mph with a sharp 12/6 curveball in the past. Expect big things from the Rams’ sophomore this upcoming spring and he should be a popular name on August 1st of this year.
+ A sophomore that our staff was not familiar with that really popped in this look was RHP/INF Beau Flinn (Fort Zumwalt North, 2027). Flinn was the day’s biggest winner on the mound, working around the zone with a low-80s fastball that peaked at 84.3 mph. He’s a strong, broad-shouldered athlete in the present, though there’s plenty of physical projection to come, and he’s only going to continue to tick up from a velocity perspective in the coming years. His go-to secondary pitch was a tight curveball with depth at 69-72 mph that he was able to land for strikes on the arm-side corner of the plate throughout his ‘pen. Flinn also flashed feel for a changeup with late fade, throwing it from a similar arm angle to his fastball and effectively limiting spin (1349 RPM) and vertical break (6”). He looked the part at the plate as well, flashing bat speed and pull-side juice from a long, uphill right-handed swing that’s going to impact the baseball at a higher rate as he continues to fill out physically. Flinn will be one to watch this summer and should play a key role, especially on the mound, for his Panthers’ team this spring.
+ It’s hard to miss the 6-foot-6 frame that RHP/1B Cale Maurer (Mt. Vernon, 2026) has when he walks in the building. Last spring, Maurer was a long, lean-limbed athlete that didn’t have much muscle mass on him, but he’s continued to add strength to his frame over the last 12 months and there’s still room for plenty more. He’s a really good basketball player and that athleticism showed quickly in this look, as he led the event in average peak hand speed (24 mph) and maximum acceleration (30 g), both of which are calculated in BP. Maurer will consistently find the barrel as he continues to learn how to control his long levers, but we saw flashes in both of his BP rounds and the ball jumps off his barrel when he finds it. Defensively, Maurer’s basketball talents were on display at first base, as he moved effortlessly around the bag with clean, in-rhythm footwork that covered ground and had a complete feel for where he’s moving. We didn’t see him throw in this look, but we’ve heard reports his fastball has climbed into the mid-to-upper-80s, which only adds intrigue to an uncommitted junior college coaches should follow this spring and summer.
+ INF/RHP Nolan Lebert (Mascoutah, 2026) was another name our staff came away impressed with in this look. Lebert’s tacked on notable strength this winter since the last time we saw him and it showed at the plate in this look as he’s starting to swing a more physical right-handed barrel with control for his body and added bat speed. Lebert’s second round of BP may have been the day’s most polished, as he repeatedly backspun line drives into the left-center gap. He hopped on the mound later on and pitched at 81-83 mph with his fastball and showed a mid-60s curveball at 2300+ RPM that averaged over 17 inches of horizontal break.
+ INF Rhett Lambert (Centralia, 2027) is a lanky, long-limbed, upside name to follow from this event. Lambert works on top of the baseball from a flat, direct right-handed swing that stays through the zone and produced almost exclusively line drives back up the middle of the field in BP. Though his exit velocity numbers don’t stand out, Lambert’s repeatability and feel for the barrel are advanced for his age and his ability to impact the baseball will certainly tick up as he continues to physically mature. He showed well on the infield as well, especially on the move, where he trusts his hands and has a quick release with the ability to accurately throw from a lower ¾ arm angle. Lambert is 15-to-20-pounds away from being a highly intriguing follow and is primed for a big spring for Centralia.
+ Another sophomore to know from this event is switch-hitting MIF Ryker Perigo (Mt. Vernon, 2027). Perigo repeated a short, compact swing from both sides of the plate and flashed gap-to-gap feel from both sides as well. He showed sure-handed actions on the infield and has the ability to play multiple spots on the dirt.
+ INF/C JJ Cates (Belleville East, 2027) is a scrappy, competitive, gamer-type prospect that showed well in multiple aspects of his workout. Cates sprayed pull-side line drives throughout his round of BP from a flat path through the zone. He took a clean round of infield defense and also showed well behind the plate with quiet hands and a willingness to chest up the baseball on blocks.
+ OF/LHP David Schulte (Mascoutah, 2026) is a lean, long-levered athlete that flashed intrigue on the mound in this look. Schulte works directly over-the-top, releasing his fastball from a near 6-foot-7 release height on average, and he averaged 21 inches of vertical break on his heater. It’s a pitch that could be fairly effective as he continues to add mass to his 155-pound frame and tick up from a velocity perspective. At the plate, Schulte worked uphill to contact and favored the pull-side in his round of BP.
