On Saturday, February 15th, the ScoutConnect staff hosted its inaugural Winter Showcase at the SportsBarn East in Wood River, Illinois.
This event was for high school graduates representing the 2025-to-2028 grad classes and offered participants an opportunity to get in front of our staff while also getting an updated look at their metrics with TrackMan, Rapsodo, Blast Motion, and VALD. Additionally, participants will receive an edited recruiting video shortly after the event that will include everything they participated in at the event. More than 130 players registered for this event.
To learn more about ScoutConnect, like our brand, what we offer, and more, click HERE. For all of the data collected at this event, click HERE.
To host all of our data and video, ScoutConnect uses a third party platform called Virtual Combine, an industry staple as far as player recruiting goes. By signing up for a ScoutConnect event, players receive the free version of a Virtual Combine profile, essentially serving as an individual’s recruiting resume. For more information about Virtual Combine, click HERE.
Last week, our staff rolled out our ‘Scout Notes’ for the 2026 grads in attendance, which you can find by clicking HERE, and the 2027s HERE. We’ll turn our attention to the 2028 grads that caught our staff’s eye on February 15th today, and you can find a multitude of notes on several freshmen from this event.
SCOUT NOTES: 2028 GRADS
+ Of all the players at this event, INF/RHP Calvin Stanczyk (Chaminade, 2028) may have been the day’s top prospect, when you factor in age and upside. His round of BP was highly impressive, working on the barrel from a fast, rhythmic right-handed swing that lived gap-to-gap and produced highly impressive batted ball data for his age / size. Stanczyk led the entire event in average batted distance (299.75 ft.) and swatted his furthest ball 333.9 feet, which was top mark amongst 2028 grads in attendance. Additionally, his max exit velocity was 91.6 mph, and his average mark checked in at 86.5 mph, which is typically an indication of high barrel feel. Stanczyk ran one of the fastest 60 times of the entire event (6.98), a number that should only continue to rise, and his 88 mph arm across the infield was 10 mph faster than any other 2028 grad in attendance. After all of that, Stanczyk hopped on the mound and showed his two-way ability with a clean, crisp delivery and easy arm speed to pair. His fastball played for strikes at 83-84 mph and he spun a tight slider with late break around the zone in the low-70s off it. Expect Stanczyk to be one of the top prospects in the St. Louis area for the 2028 class.
+ C/RHP Anderson Kaufmann (Alton, 2028) is another dynamic, high-follow freshman from Southern Illinois that was an absolute standout at this event. One big notable from Kaufmann off the top was his physicality, as he’s a 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete with broad shoulders, a wide back, and plenty of room to tack on more strength as he continues to develop. His round of catcher defense was exceptional, as he was all over the bag with carry through his target and a max arm velocity of 78 mph, popping at 1.98 at his best. He ran a 7.01 60 – an impressive mark for any 2028 grad but amplified given he’s a catcher – and swung a strong, uphill right-handed barrel that averaged 85.56 mph, peaking at 92.8 mph, with a max distance of 326.6 feet. The biggest takeaway from Kaufmann was his work on the mound, as he unequivocally strung together the day’s most polished bullpen. Kaufmann threw all four of his pitches for strikes, starting with a fastball that sat 84-85, touching 86 mph, and playing free out the hand with 17.6 inches of vertical break on average. He landed a 69-70 mph curveball with depth and arch for strikes, while also showing a tighter, more laterally spun 71-72 mph slider that figures to be his out-pitch. Kaufmann also threw a low spin (1562 RPM) and low lift (3.1” VB) changeup that had 14.5” of horizontal movement on average at 76-77 mph. Expect Kaufmann to be an immediate impact for Alton as a freshman this spring and is a high-follow 2028 from the area.
+ It’s hard to miss OF Quincy Fulton (Newton, 2028) anytime he walks into a building, as one of the top freshmen in Illinois boasts a highly physical and premium 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame. At that size, and at his age, Fulton, who’s also a football and basketball player, ran a 7.13 60-yard dash. He averaged 74.8 mph of bat speed and 22.1 mph of hand speed – both highly impressive marks for any player, but amplified by his age. A switch-hitter, Fulton’s left-handed round was particularly impressive, as he was on the barrel to right-center field consistently with a peak exit velocity of 91.7 mph – a number that’ll almost certainly continue to climb. Fulton’s size, physicality, and athleticism paired together equate to a fairly high ceiling, and he’ll be a must-follow name throughout his high school career.
+ Expect RHP Haiden Lange (Carterville) to be one of the top prospects in the Illinois’ 2028 class with all sorts of upside on the mound. He’s already physical for his age, standing at 6-foot-4, 185-pounds, but it’s a long, lean, athletic frame that’s only going to continue to fill out as he continues to mature. Lange works with ease down the mound and in rhythm, working from a short, clean, compact arm stroke. His fastball bumped up to 84.1 mph, pitching in the low-80s, working so free and easy out of his hand that it’s clear he’s only going to keep ticking upward from a velocity perspective. Lange throws his slider with the same effort and intent as his fastball and it’s a pitch that plays with tight spin at 74-75 mph. He rounded out his arsenal with a 76-77 mph changeup that averaged 22.3 inches of horizontal movement. Lange has the talent to be an impact arm for Carterville’s varsity club in his first year of high school action.
+ You will be hard-pressed to find a freshman in the area with more advanced infield actions than INF Landon Maisenbacher (Pleasant Plains, 2028). Maisenbacher’s glove has long been his carrying tool, as his hands, footwork, and ability to control his body on the move are all highly impressive for someone his age. He’ll stay on the infield in the long term and his versatility to move around the diamond, whether it be up the middle or at third base, boosts that defensive value even more so. At the plate, Maisenbacher worked gap-to-gap from a balanced, leveraged right-handed swing that showed polish in this look, as well as in previous looks.
+ INF Andrew Potthoff (Pleasant Plains, 2028) was one of the day’s top offensive performers, taking a highly polished round of BP from the left side. Potthoff’s swing plays short and direct to contact, working level through the zone to backspin baseballs to the middle-pull side of the field, with the makings of a true top-of-the-order type of bat. He also showed clean actions on the infield with steady hands and a clean, secure glove-to-hand transfer.
+ One name from Missouri that our staff was not familiar with before this event was INF Robert Grosch (Fort Zumwalt North, 2028). Grosch took a loud and impressive round of BP, working with a barrel wrap out of his load that helped him keep a flat path through the zone. When he was on the barrel, Grosch backspun line drives to the middle-pull side of the field, recording an 88.2 mph max exit velocity with above-average hand speed (20.5 mph) for his age. He took the mound later in the event and ran his fastball up to 82.1 mph as well.
Two name-to-know prospects from this event that attend Waterloo are 1B/LHP Chase Zimmerman (2028) and RHP Avner Christian (2028):
+ Zimmerman really looks the part in a uniform, boasting a well-proportioned frame with lean strength throughout and plenty room for more. Zimmerman intrigued on both sides of the ball, starting at the plate, where he swung a strong left-handed barrel that stayed flat to contact and barreled line drives to the middle/pull side of the field. He jumped on the mound afterwards and repeated a simple, athletic delivery with a short, compact arm path to pair. Zimmerman threw three pitches for strikes, starting with a mid-to-upper-70s fastball that played on the corners and should only continue to rise from a velocity standpoint. He threw a slider with sweeper traits in the upper-60s and consistently spotted a changeup to the arm-side corner at 71-73 mph.
+ Christian toes the rubber at a projectable 6-foot-1, 165-pounds and has a clean, quick arm that pumped his fastball on the glove-side corner at 80-81 mph for strikes. He mixed in a 70-71 mph curveball with tight, downer spin that he was able to land for strikes and also spot beneath the zone for potential whiffs, and rounded out his arsenal with a 74-75 mph changeup.
Four other 2028s from this event worth a mention:
+ LHP Keagan Puckett (Richland County) is a compact left-hander with present strength throughout his frame, especially in the lower half. Puckett threw a clean ‘pen, working all three of his pitches for strikes, including an upper-70s fastball that touched 79.2 mph at peak. He also showed a 67-68 mph slider and 72-74 mph changeup.
+ 1B/LHP Brock Rust (Civic Memorial) showed well on both sides of the ball in this look. He produced some of the highest average hand speed (20.1 mph), average exit velocities (83.1 mph) and peak exit velocity (87.70 mph) of the 2028 graduates in attendance. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound southpaw was also up to 77.9 mph with his fastball and showed a slider/changeup mix.
+ RHP Carter Cappellin (Taylorville) has long, lean, and loose limbs that are going to continue to fill out as he gets older and create an uptick in velocity from the 78 mph high he touched with his fastball at this event. Additionally, Cappellin flashed some feel to spin a mid-to-upper-60s slider around the zone.
+ C/RHP Hudson Wesley (Civic Memorial) stands at a physical 6-foot-1, 175-pounds and was up to 77.7 mph with his fastball, flashing bat strength at the plate, too.
