On Tuesday, September 22nd, our staff returned to Roy E. Lee Field, home of the SIUE Cougars, to host our third annual Fall Games event. The inaugural event ran by our staff in September of 2024, this invite-only event offers uncommitted juniors and seniors the opportunity to participate in a showcase style workout, followed by a simulated game, all of which take place in front of college coaches.
To see all of the stats from this event, both from the workout and game, click HERE.
Now that the event is a few weeks behind us, we’ve broken down some of the top prospects and performers from the day within these ‘Scout Notes’. You can find our staff’s thoughts, with video, by reading below.
POSITION PLAYERS
+ Arguably the top prospect from the event was CIF/RHP Elijah Johnson (Quincy Notre Dame, 2028). Physically advanced in stature for his age, Johnson’s tools match his inherent strength, and he showed more juice on both sides of the ball on this day than we’d seen from him on any look before. Johnson’s hardest batted ball came off his bat at 99.1 mph, his personal best at our events, and his furthest ball was also a personal best, traveling 355.7 feet, while his average exit velocity of 89.6 mph wasn’t too far behind. The most impressive part of Johnson’s day, however, came when he took the mound. While there’s still all-around rawness to his operation and feel on the mound, the arm talent and sheer strength is hard to ignore. He touched 91.1 mph with his fastball, pitching in the upper-80s throughout, and did flash a short, tight slider at 76-77 mph. The polish in Johnson’s game is only going to become more refined over the next few years, and we’d expect him to be a name coaches follow closely coming out of next off-season.
Eljiah Johnson
+ Few in the St. Louis area impact the baseball with as much authority as CIF Uriah Reardon (Veritas Christian, 2027), who’s still uncommitted and put his sheer strength on display in front of our staff once again. It’s easy bat speed and hand strength from a loose, fluid right-handed swing that stays long through the zone, elevating out front. Reardon’s hardest ball screamed off his right-handed barrel at 104.9 mph, leading this event by a few ticks, and he also had the day’s furthest batted ball (377.7 ft). He also ran a 7.09 60-yard dash, an impressive mark given his 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame.
Uriah Reardon
+ An uncommitted outfielder from the central part of the state that’s always given us quality looks – in a showcase and game setting – is OF Hunter Barber (Pawnee, 2027). The strong, compact right-handed hitter sprayed line drives off the barrel to all fields throughout his BP rounds from a simple, controlled swing. His average exit velocity (85.66 mph) was close to his max (90.3 mph), an indicator of his ability to stay on the barrel often. In game, Barber started things off with a pull-side triple in his first at-bat of the day. Additionally, he was one of the fastest runners of the day with a 6.88 time in the 60-yard dash.
Hunter Barber
+ A physical, uncommitted right-handed bat that’s shown well and posted at multiple events for us this year is CIF Aidan Gusta (Carterville, 2027). The 6-foot-5, 220-pound southern Illinois prospect lifted to the pull-side throughout both BP rounds, swinging a strong, more leveraged right-handed barrel. He recorded the highest max exit velocity (95.1 mph) that we’ve seen from him at our events on this day, and his furthest ball traveled 341 feet. Gusta picked up a handful of hits in the gameplay portion of the event as well.
Aidan Gusta
+ 1B Ryan Whitworth (Duchesne, 2027) gave our staff the best look he’s given us to date. The strong left-handed hitter was consistently on the barrel to the pull-side in both of his rounds, flashing the feel to backspin and elevate that way. Whitworth set personal bests, at our events, in average exit velocity (92.43 mph) and max exit velocity (97.3 mph) as well.
Ryan Whitworth
+ OF Dayton Travis (Glenwood, 2027) popped onto our radar after a strong showing at one of our summer showcases in July, and the uncommitted left-handed bat left another impression at this event. There’s some strength in the barrel with a longer, more uphill path through the zone, impacting his hardest ball at 95.4 mph, with an average exit velocity at 85.3 mph. Travis also ran a 6.84 60 and threw his hardest ball home from the outfield at 86 mph.
Dayton Travis
+ Two uncommitted outfielders from Illinois in the 2027 class to know from this event are OF Nick Miles (Roxana) and OF Nathan Klucker (Triad). Miles has been on an upward trajectory since the spring’s high school season as a strong left-handed bat that performs in game, plays with a high motor, and runs a 6.8 60. Klucker took one of the louder BP rounds on the day, and showed more strength in the barrel than we’d ever seen from him at our events. All of his hardest batted balls were in the air to the pull-side gap, including his peak mark at 100.6 mph, which happened to travel 371.9 feet, the second furthest batted ball of the day. Klucker’s average exit velocity (93.4 mph), his outfield velocity (87 mph), and his 60-yard dash (7.11) are all personal bests of his at our events.
Nathan Klucker
+ INF Luke Witte (St. Charles, 2028) may have been one of the highest ceiling juniors that attended this event. Long and lanky with plenty of room to tack on strength, Witte got off hack after hack in BP, leveraging the baseball to the pull-side from a longer, more leveraged left-handed swing. The ball is already jumping off his barrel for his age – 88.83 mph average EV, 90.6 mph max, 354 ft. max distance – and once Witte gets more physical, the chance for him to be an impact left-handed bat is high. Additionally, he ran a 6.96 60 and took a clean round of infield defense.
Luke Witte
+ One name that made a strong debut at our events on this day was OF Ayden Fejzic (Lindbergh, 2028). A wiry 5-foot-10, 170-pound left-handed hitter that’s only going to get stronger, Fejzic was one of the day’s fastest runners, posting a 6.82 in the 60-yard dash. He was at his best backspinning off the barrel to the pull-side in BP, where he flashed above-average raw power for his age – 94.6 mph peak EV, 343 ft max distance.
Ayden Fejzic
+ An intriguing multi-sport athlete from the day was OF/INF Jack Harris (Belleville West, 2027). The 6-foot, 185-pound uncommitted senior has a short, level right-handed swing that was on the barrel gap-to-gap in BP, averaging 88.26 mph per batted ball with a 97 mph max output. In game, Harris jumped on a breaking ball and barreled it to the left-center field gap for a double.
Jack Harris
+ C Jonah Bates (Lindbergh, 2028) took an impressive round of catcher defense in his workout. It’s a quick release behind the plate with in-line footwork that allow him to work on the bag, popping a 1.98 on his quickest bullet, with 77 mph arm strength to match. At the plate, Bates has always shown barrel strength from the right-handed batter’s box, averaging 89.5 mph per batted ball, while peaking at 96.2 mph.
Jonah Bates
+ OF Will Pals (Oakville, 2027) is an athletic right-handed hitter that ran a 7.00 60-yard dash, hit his hardest ball 94.1 mph, and his hardest throw from the outfield checked in at 86 mph.
PITCHERS
+ RHP Will Vanderheyden (O’Fallon, 2028) has cemented himself as one of the top arms in the Metro East’s 2028 class over the past calendar year, and our look at this event only strengthened that sentiment. He started things off with a clean inning, punching a few tickets, and showing the best fastball of the event; 88-89 mph, 20+ inches of vertical break on average, played regularly at the top of the zone, several uncomfortable swings-and-misses. From a secondary standpoint, Vanderheyden threw his curveball in the low-70s with bigger depth and shape to it, and he also flashed a 76-77 mph changeup.
Will Vanderheyden
+ RHP Hunter Holst (Liberty, 2027) showed some of the day’s more intriguing raw stuff to match a 6-foot-7, 230-pound frame. The uncommitted right-hander threw three fastballs above 88 mph, peaking at 88.6 mph, while averaging 86.1 mph with his heater, at more than seven feet of extension. The pitch profile – largely enhanced by his size and ability to get down the mound – equates to a highly intriguing fastball that could be nightmarish on hitters at the next level. Holst showed a slider in the low-70s, and he also threw an upper-70s cutter, both of which he flashed feel for, though will need continued development as he gets older. Nonetheless, the pure raw stuff, physicality, and uniqueness make Holst one of the more intriguing uncommitted senior arms in the St. Louis’ area.
Hunter Holst
+ RHP Chase Dorris (Effingham, 2027) made the trip down from central Illinois and sparked as an uncommitted senior arm that’s taken some notable jumps since we’ve last seen him. Long and lanky with plenty of physical maturity to come, Dorris sat 85-86 mph with his fastball, peaking at 87.3 mph. He’s up, on average, three ticks from when he came to our Winter Showcase, IL in February, and there’s room for him to continue trending upward in that regard as well. Off his fastball, Dorris threw a short, tight slider at 77-78 mph.
Chase Dorris
+ One name that has continuously shown well to our staff this fall, including at this event, was RHP Damien Hinze (DeSmet, 2027). The strong, compact uncommitted senior turned in a clean inning at this event, sitting 84-85 mph on both of his fastballs – a four seamer that flashed some carry, and a two seamer that showed late depth (9 VB, 14 HB) at its best. Hinze killed spin (1279 RPM) and lift (7 VB, 16 H) on a 71-73 mph changeup, and he also threw a short slider in the low-70s.
+ Another talented, intriguing arm with upside from this event is RHP Hudson Wesley (Civic Memorial, 2028). A lanky, long-limbed athlete that’s only going to keep getting stronger, Wesley’s fastball sat 84-85, touching 86.5 mph, from a short, compact arm stroke. The separator for Wesley was his consistent feel to spin a big, top-to-bottom breaking ball at 72-74 mph (2300+, -1 VB, -10 HB) with a chance for it to shape into a whiff pitch as he starts to throw it harder. He’s an arm we are particularly intrigued in and are expecting to take a big jump forward after a productive off-season.
Hudson Wesley
+ From a pure stuff standpoint, RHP Cash Linderer (Hillsboro, 2028) was a name that our staff circled as a close follow coming away from this event. He’s a strong, athletic right-hander with a long, quick arm swing that finished out front from a loose high ¾ slot. Linderer threw two different fastballs, both of which were 84-86, touching 87 mph on the former; a four-seamer with carry (18 VB) and a two seamer with more run/depth (10 VB, 16 HB). His slider flashed swing-and-miss traits, throwing it at 74-76 mph from a slightly lower release angle, sweeping it some (3 VB, 9 HB) at 2400+ RPM. To round out his arsenal, Linderer limited both spin (920 RPM) and lift (4 VB) on a 79-81 mph changeup.
Cash Linderer
+ Two more junior arms we’ve liked in the past that flashed in this look are LHP Tyler Mehrtens (Highland, 2028) and RHP/INF Jacob Hornburg (DeSmet, 2028). Mehrtens threw the hardest fastball we’ve seen from him at our events, peaking at 85.6 mph, while Hornburg is an athletic mover with a fastball that played in the low-80s while showing consistent feel for a 74-75 mph changeup.
