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Illinois Underclass Showcase: Preview

October 22, 2020
By Andy Sroka
Illinois and Wisconsin Assistant Director

This Sunday, Oct. 25, the PBR Illinois team is hosting its final event on the 2020 calendar with the Underclass Showcase, an open event for the state’s 2023, 2024, and 2025 players. Presently, there are nearly 140 players set to join us at The MAX facility in McCook, and we’ll be adjusting our standard showcase format to accommodate this number in both a safe and efficient manner.

We ask that you read through the check-in times under our ‘Itinerary’ section below thoroughly, in order to limit the number of people entering and exiting the facility at one time.

For a look at the most up-to-date version of the roster, click here. For more information about the structure of the event itself, click here.

ROSTER

We’re looking forward to closing out the 2020 season with an exclamation point, as there are a number of heralded underclass prospects set to join us on Sunday.

We’ll start by taking a look at the sophomores registered, including C/RHP Cooper Cohn (McHenry, 2023). He recently earned an appearance inside one of our ‘Illinois 2023 Watchlist’ stories as a genuine two-way standout. We last saw him at July’s prestigious Underclass Games event where he demonstrated a repeatable, twitchy, strong right-handed swing in addition to quick actions from behind the plate and what’s become trademark arm strength. Cohn gets to that arm strength on the mound, too, as he was reportedly up to 88 mph in front of our PBR Georgia staff at a recent LakePoint tournament.

Here’s a look at his big arm from behind the plate at that same tourney:

Fellow sophomore backstop Colin Barczi (Naperville Central, 2023) will be making his PBR event debut at this showcase, but he’s another player in this class who’s managed to stand out early in front of our own staff. We had the pleasure of seeing Barczi on several occasions this summer and fall, and most recently at our Limited Series event at Illinois State University. There, the Naperville Central sophomore took “quality at-bats throughout the weekend” with a right-handed swing that projects for the middle of an order. Barczi’s also a flexible receiver with above-average arm strength inside a projectable 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame.

Colin Barczi (10/3/20)

SS/3B Eduardo Letamendi (Von Steuben, 2023) will also be making his PBR event debut, and he’s one player we’re excited to see up close. He stole our attention earlier in the summer at a PBR Wisconsin tournament, and continued to do so in looks elsewhere along the summer circuit, including the Kansas City area where our area colleague Andy Urban captured this impressive reel of in-game action.

Eduardo Letamendi (7/10/20)

SS/3B Tony Konopiots (Downers Grove North, 2023) exhibits a similar profile as Letamendi, it appears. A projectable 6-foot, 170-pound athlete with an upside, gap-to-gap right-handed bat. He’s another prospect headed to The MAX having also performed well at the July Underclass Games event. And we’re intrigued in updating our notes on SS/2B Ryan Niedzwiedz (West Aurora, 2023), who earned a spot on the top-10 overall rankings from our winter’s Aurora Preseason I.D. event – we just weren’t able to catch a live look at him since.

This is far from a complete list of sophomores to know ahead of time, so be watchful for more in-depth analysis coming out of Sunday.

There are also a couple freshmen worth mentioning, like RHP Luke Oblen (DePaul Prep, 2024), who just a couple of weeks ago was sitting at an uber easy 82-84 mph, touching 85, combined with a projectable breaking ball.

And it was at that same tournament that versatile INF/OF Luke Jurack (Hinsdale Central, 2024) impressed offensively with his right-handed bat, while also utilizing his athleticism to make plays at almost every spot on the infield.

Perusing Sunday’s roster, we’re set to meet a majority of players who’ve not yet attended a PBR showcase, and we’re eager to add more names to our underclass lists as a result.

ITINERARY

Due to state guidelines, and The MAX McCook Athletic Expo facility requirements, there will be a limit to the number of people inside the facility at one time, this showcase will operate in segmented groups, by position, under the format as follows (Note: Players registered for multiple sessions will need to leave the facility after completing their first session and arrive at the designated check-in time of their next session):

POSITION GROUPS

+ Outfielders:

  • Contactless Check-in: 8:30 to 8:45 a.m. (inside of the lobby)
  • Workout: 9 to approximately 10 a.m.

+ 2023 Infielders:

  • Contactless Check-in: 10 to 10:15 a.m.
  • Workout: 10:30 to approximately noon

+ 2024-25 Infielders:

  • Contactless Check-in: noon to 12:15 p.m.
  • Workout: 12:30 to approximately 1 p.m.

+ Catchers:

  • Contactless Check-in: 12:45 to 1 p.m.
  • Workout: 1:15 to approximately 2 p.m.
  • Catchers will be counted on to stay for both pitching sessions, while still participating in smaller groups.

+ Two-Way Pitchers:

  • Returning Two-Way Players Contactless Check-in: 1:45 to 2 p.m.
  • Workout: starting between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m.

+ Pitchers-Only:

  • Pitchers-only Contactless Check-in: 2:45 to 3 p.m.
  • Workout: starting at approximately 3:15

EVENT AND FACILITY REGULATIONS

  • There can be no more than 50 people (players and staff) on any of the sectioned fields at one time.
  • Upon check-in, players, staff, coaches will be administered a temperature scan in the lobby.
  • Because of the limited number of people allowed within the facility, absolutely NO parents will be allowed to enter the building.

SHOWCASE FORMAT

While still working out within their positional groups, players will participate in the typical showcase format. Outfielders, Infielders, and Catchers will perform at stations in this order:

  • Arrive, grab a your assigned PBR t-shirt, stretch out
  • Run the laser-timed 60-yard dash
  • Begin offensive evaluation:
    • Warm-up
    • Exit velocity station
    • Live batting practice, featuring TrackMan and Blast Motion technology
  • Begin defensive evaluations:
    • Arm strength
    • Defensive mobility
    • Positional projectability

Pitchers:

  • Arrive, grab a your assigned PBR t-shirt, stretch out
  • Throw a bullpen session of approximately 15-20 pitches
    • Mechanical evaluation
    • Charting velocity and pitch action through TrackMan data
    • Catchers will be evaluated during this time as well for their abilities as a receiver

Additionally: Masks are strongly encouraged during non-baseball activity. We will facilitate a contact-less check-in. Staff will wear masks throughout the event. Hand sanitizer stations will be accessible. Wear baseball clothes; assigned and numbered PBR jerseys will be provided.

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