Prep Baseball Report

Top Prospect - Chicago: Statistical Analysis


By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

On Tuesday, June 16th, the Top Prospect - Chicago took place at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, IL. 40 of the top uncommitted 2021 prospects in Illinois participated in a pro-style workout in front of close to 20 college coaches. 

The event was also recorded live via Periscope and can be viewed HERE and HERE

Today, we’re going to begin breaking the event from a statistical perspective, utilizing the measured data we gathered. We’ll share the leaderboards from each of the statistical categories, highlighting the top performers at the Top Prospect - Chicago, all of whom remain uncommitted.

TOP 60-YARD DASH

OF Cole Luckey (Glenbrook South) has established himself as one of the top uncommitted 2021 position players still on the board with his performances at the first two Top Prospect events of the summer. Luckey backed up his 6.63 60-time at the Top Prospect - St. Louis with a 6.64 in Chicago.

Rank Name State School Class Pos 60-yard
1 Cole Luckey IL Glenbrook South 2021 OF 6.64
2 Quinton Schwartz IL Jacobs 2021 OF 6.72
3 Noah Jouras IL Lyons Township 2021 C 6.81
4 Mario Ferri IL Addison Trail 2021 SS 6.82
5 Grant Palmer IL Neuqua Valley 2021 2B 6.85
6 Michael Rivera IL Warren 2021 RHP 6.87
7 Jake Tapia IL Belvidere North 2021 2B 6.93

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY

Another uncommitted prospect making his case as a high-follow 2021 is RHP DJ Morand (Loyola Academy). Morand posted the top fastball of the day at 90.71 mph, per TrackMan. Right behind Morand is another high-follow right-hander in Nick Walczak (Maine South). Walczak sat mostly 87-88 mph and featured one of the best off-speed pitches on the day, a late fading swing-and-miss changeup at the bottom of the zone. 

Rank Name State School Class Pos Max FB
1 DJ Morand IL Loyola Academy 2021 RHP 91 mph
2 Nick Walczak IL Maine South 2021 RHP 88 mph
^ Anthony Sorrentino IL Lyons Township 2021 RHP 88 mph
^ Michael Rivera IL Warren 2021 RHP 88 mph
3 Bradin Baucum IL Altamont 2021 RHP 87 mph
4 Ryan Weaver IL Cary-Grove 2021 LHP 86 mph
^ Mason Telford IL Streator 2021 RHP 86 mph
^ Will Morris IL Plainfield South 2021 RHP 86 mph
^ Drew Martin IL Mt. Pulaski 2021 RHP 86 mph
5 Conner Lutes IL Libertyville 2021 RHP 85 mph
^ Brady Wells IL Libertyville 2021 RHP 85 mph
^ Andrew Nichols IL Olympia 2021 RHP 85 mph
6 Noah Klein IL Loyola Academy 2021 RHP 84 mph
^ Keagan Bobbitt IL Lincoln-Way West 2021 LHP 84 mph
^ Benjamin Benoit IL Hampshire 2021 RHP 84 mph

MAX EXIT VELOCITY

C Benji Ries (Stevenson) not only led the position players in exit velocity but he also took one of the top rounds of BP on the day. Ries swings with intent, and is consistently on the barrel while creating advanced bat speed – measured at 78.3 mph, according to BLAST. 

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velo
1 Benji Ries IL Stevenson 2021 C 96
2 Maxwell Thompson IL Warren 2021 1B 95
3 Cole Luckey IL Glenbrook South 2021 OF 94
^ Nicholas Shiu IL Warren Township 2021 1B 94
4 Daniel Contreras IL Boylan Catholic 2021 C 93
^ Darryl Loyd III IL Morgan Park 2021 1B 93
^ Kyle Mack IL Yorkville 2021 2B 93
5 Jake Tapia IL Belvidere North 2021 2B 91
6 Rance Bryant IL Bismarck-Henning 2021 SS 90
^ Grant Palmer IL Neuqua Valley 2021 2B 90
7 Noah Jouras IL Lyons Township 2021 C 89
^ Zachary Kim IL Glenbrook North 2021 SS 89
^ Brant Singler IL Providence Catholic 2021 1B 89
^ Max McCallum IL St. Francis 2021 OF 89

MAX INFIELD VELOCITY

SS/RHP Michael Rivera (Warren) continues to show true two-way potential, topping at 87 mph across the infield and 88 mph on the mound. To go along with his big arm across the infield, Rivera also ran a 6.87 60.

Rank Name State School Class Pos INF Velo
1 Michael Rivera IL Warren 2021 RHP 87
2 Kyle Mack IL Yorkville 2021 2B 86
3 Mario Ferri IL Addison Trail 2021 SS 85
^ Grant Palmer IL Neuqua Valley 2021 2B 85
4 Tristan Samuelian IL Burlington Central 2021 SS 84
^ Zachary Kim IL Glenbrook North 2021 SS 84
^ Jake Tapia IL Belvidere North 2021 2B 84
5 Nick Gehrke IL Minooka 2021 2B 83
6 Alex Milone IL Prairie Ridge 2021 SS 81
^ Darryl Loyd III IL Morgan Park 2021 1B 81
7 Quinton Schwartz IL Jacobs 2021 OF 80
^ Nicholas Shiu IL Warren Township 2021 1B 80
^ Maxwell Thompson IL Warren 2021 1B 80

MAX OUTFIELD VELOCITY

Luckey matched his high-end speed with premium outfield arm strength. Factor that in to an emerging right-handed hit tool with plenty of upside still to un-tap and Luckey is one of the more intriguing position players still available in the state.

Rank Name State School Class Pos OF Velo
1 Cole Luckey IL Glenbrook South 2021 OF 90
2 Nick Varon IL Fremd 2021 1B 86
3 Will Girardi IL Deemack 2021 OF 85

MAX CATCHER VELOCITY

The trio of catchers made up arguably the top position player group on the day, and all three of the backstops should be on college coaches' radars moving forward.

Rank Name State School Class Pos C Velo
1 Daniel Contreras IL Boylan Catholic 2021 C 76
2 Benji Ries IL Stevenson 2021 C 75
^ Noah Jouras IL Lyons Township 2021 C 75

TOP POP TIMES

Rank Name State School Class Pos Pop Time
1 Noah Jouras IL Lyons Township 2021 C 2.01-2.08
2 Daniel Contreras IL Boylan Catholic 2021 C 2.02-2.10
3 Benji Ries IL Stevenson 2021 C 2.07-2.19

CLICK HERE for the entire statistical breakdown from the day.

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