Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 25 Minooka


By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

The Illinois high school baseball season kicks off on March 16, opening day for regular season action under IHSA regulations. Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2020 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, leading into a countdown through the official PBR Illinois Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2020 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Minooka
Preseason Rank: 25
2019 Record: 10-20
Conference: Suburban Prairie
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: Jeff Petrovic
Playoff Run: Regionals appearance
2019 Final Rank: NR
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 8

TOP PLAYERS

NAME STATE SCHOOL CLASS POSITION COMMITMENT
Scott Harper IL Minooka 2020 RHP Wabash Valley JC
Kyle Czarnecki IL Minooka 2020 C Kankakee CC
Nick Serr IL Minooka 2020 SS Lewis
Cooper Herold IL Minooka 2020 RHP/OF John A. Logan JC
John Forneris IL Minooka 2020 RHP John A. Logan JC
Brandon Keyster IL Minooka 2020 LHP John A. Logan JC
Nick Gough IL Minooka 2020 3B William Penn
Jake Allgeyer IL Minooka 2020 2B Spoon River JC
Noah Manning IL Minooka 2020 RHP Iowa Western CC
Sam Buduris IL Minooka 2020 OF Benedictine (IL)
Kyle Anderson IL Minooka 2020 RHP Heartland CC
Bobby Dix IL Minooka
2020 RHP College of DuPage
Andrew Mysliweic IL Minooka 2020 OF -
Kyle Walter IL Minooka 2021 RHP Louisville
Reed Gannon IL Minooka 2021 LHP Kentucky
Hunter Ryan IL Minooka 2021 C -


KEY players LOSt

NAME STATE SCHOOL CLASS POSITION COMMITMENT
Zach Stoner IL Minooka 2019 INF Benedictine (IL)
Dean Procarione IL Minooka 2019 RHP Spoon River JC
Jack Bell IL Minooka 2019 INF Western Illinois


NEWCOMER TO WATCH

One of the top juniors in the state, as well as the country, is LHP Reed Gannon. He spent the late summer in Georgia as a member of Team Illinois’ PBR Future Games roster and eventually landed a verbal commitment to Kentucky in September. It was an eventful 2019 for Gannon but due to the depth of arms at Minooka’s disposal, Gannon did not get any varsity innings. That’s surely set to change this spring, however, as Gannon only enhanced his profile last summer. In Georgia, the 6-foot-3 lefty worked clean and easy at 85-87 mph, with late arm-side action. The offspeed is the separator here; he’s shown the feel for a pair of different breaking balls, as well as a changeup. This, in combination with his ease of effort, clean arm action and high-pitchability helps project him as a starter. With the amount of arms on the staff, roles remain to be seen but Gannon is primed for a big spring for the Indians.

Reed Gannon (7/31/19)

X-FACTOR

The key to the Indians having success in 2020 looks like it will fall on the OFFENSE and how many runs they can generate from game-to-game. This year, along with last, Minooka has arguably the deepest and most talented pitching staff in the state. That unfortunately did not equate to wins last season. The positive for the Indians? They will likely start six senior position players that all return from last season and are committed to play in college. How will that experience from the 2019 season resonate this spring? That remains one of the biggest questions when looking at the Indians on paper and should serve as the biggest x-factor for 2020. If the offense produces this team will be as dangerous as any in the state.

OUTLOOK

Last year, with almost an identical roster, Minooka managed to win only 10 games. This roster has, arguably, the most talented and deep pitching staff in the state and it’s almost completely intact from last season to this one. So, what happened? Well, expectations were too high for a team that returned exactly zero starters from its 2018 spring, and just two arms. And while we were curious where their offense would come from ahead of the season, the Indians just never got into a rhythm from the batter’s box and it was a source of a lot of their underlying issues.

So, while Minooka graduated two of its most relied-on arms, it’s replacing those innings with some substantial talents. Senior RHP Cooper Herold, one of three John. A Logan commits on this staff, was limited in 2019 due to injury, and his return is a welcomed boost for the Indians. Herold’s future JUCO rival RHP Scott Harper, a Wabash Valley commit, was handed a hard-luck loss too many times as a junior last spring, but he’s equipped with the stuff to be one of the top arms on the staff. Harper has a loose, lively arm that works from a low ¾ slot and he can run his fastball into the upper-80’s with two advanced off-speed offerings. The two other Logan-bound arms, RHP John Forneris and LHP Brandon Keyster, will be in play to take on big roles in 2020 – Forneris saw a lot of action as a junior but Keyster, like Herold, was limited in 2019. Fellow seniors Noah Manning, Kyle Anderson, and Bobby Dix will all each earn some innings on the bump this spring, too. Manning, in particular, made a big jump in velocity over the past year and gives Minooka yet another high-level arm at their disposal. Manning, a Iowa Western JC commit, impressed at the PBR Fall Championship, where he struck out the side in a one-inning stint while sitting 86-88 mph. 

This collection of senior on-mound talent alone is a big reason why we’re doubling down on Minooka bouncing back this year, but there are a pair of juniors who can tip Minooka from a rebound spring to a championship-caliber one.

RHP Kyle Walter was a big part of the staff last spring despite being a sophomore. Walter, a Louisville commit, is currently ranked No. 18 in the state and has continued to see his stock rise over the past year-or-so. Walter has a 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame, quick arm and works both sides of the plate with a fastball that sits 84-87 mph. His slider has swing-and-miss action at times and it’ll help him secure even more outs in his junior spring, after seeing plenty of action as an underclassman. The Kentucky-committed southpaw Reed Gannon can be slowly introduced to the varsity scene, as mentioned in the Newcomer section, which only makes a strong staff even stronger.

With a staff like this, it’s important to know the one doing all the catching, and that’s Kyle Czarnecki, another JUCO talent headed to Kankakee in the fall. He’s a strong right-handed hitter capable of being one of, if not the, top run producer on the team, but he can also rudder the rotation from behind the plate.

This is a rotation to gush about, but conversely, the everyday lineup is still lean and in search of more reliability. Czarnecki, Andrew Mysliwiec, Jake Allgeyer, and Nick Serr, are among the top returnees to this order. Serr is a glove-first shortstop and a savvy defender, so any production he can provide from the right-handed box will be a bonus. Juniors like Hunter Ryan, Joey Gould, and Brendan Valdez may also emerge as bats to lean on in 2020, too.

BOTTOM LINE

The story in Minooka is similar to last year’s, only the execution has a greater chance of going as planned. The Indians can and should stifle opposing offenses consistently, allowing their bats to pounce on the lead. We’ve seen time and time again just how impactful a deep, talented rotation can be come May and June, and Minooka has a claim to have one of Illinois’ best. Any uptick in offense might just help this squad reverse its win/loss record from last season to this one.

Make sure to follow @PBRIllinois on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2020 season.

Find more information on the 2020 Indians below:

+ Full Schedule 
+ Team Twitter

PBR ILLINOIS PRESEASON POWER 25