MLB Draft Recap: Illinois

Round 1, Pick 10, Los Angeles Angels

The No. 10 overall pick in the draft, out of Louisville, was Detmers, the former Chatham-Glenwood star. A draft darling headed into the week, Detmers has garnered effusive praise for his competitiveness that we’ve been lucky enough to view first-hand since his high school days. He was a strikeout artist with pinpoint command of a low-90s fastball and knee-buckling breaking ball. Detmers’ ability to pound the strike zone helped him continually improve, year over year, at Louisville and it eventually built him a resume that stacked up alongside the draft’s best arms. The Angels used their first overall pick on him, and he was able to witness his Cardinals’ staffmate land a first-round selection from a neighboring organization.

Round 1, Pick 16, Chicago Cubs

Howard had been accustomed to wearing the White Sox’s black and white colors as a member of the White Sox Ace program during his prep summers until his junior-to-senior season where he starred on the national showcase circuit. He’ll be wearing different, though familiar, colors from now on since the Cubs selected him 16th overall on Wednesday. The hometown Howard will still be able to represent Chicago at the next level in one of the draft’s most exciting and heartwarming stories, in a year where we were all searching for one. He’s one of the most electric prep prospects in this class, as a true shortstop with wiry strength in his upside right-handed bat.

Round 1, Pick 29, Los Angeles Dodgers

Both Miller and Detmers repped Illinois at the 2017 PBR Super 60 and at the top of Louisville’s rotation this spring, and both went on to earn first-round selections on Wednesday. If all goes according to plan, the two will also share similar addresses, with Detmers headed to Orange County and Miller headed to L.A. with the Dodgers. Miller’s a muscled-up 6-foot-5 fireballer with mid-90s stuff, capable of reaching back for more, featuring hard arm-side action. His biting slider is a next-level outpitch and he’s finding the feel for a power change that could help him become a more effective starter in pro ball. The former McHenry star is as tough as they come and he’ll be another exciting Illinois prepster to watch ascend to the MLB. 

Round 2, Pick 41, Kansas City Royals

The top-ranked arm in Illinois’ 2020 class, Hernandez, heard his name called early on Day Two, at No. 41 overall on behalf of the Royals. He comes attached to easy low-90s velocity that’s been into the 94-95 mph range, as recently as February at this year’s Super 60 showcase. His separator is a power changeup that was among the best offspeed pitches in this prep class. Hernandez will be tasked with carving out an effective third pitch in pro ball to enhance his chances of sticking inside of a rotation – he’s already improved physically, defining more muscle, to improve those odds.

Round 5, Pick 150, New York Mets

Orze starred at Glenbard North as a prepster, earning DuPage Valley Conference Player of the Year honors for his near-immaculate work on the mound as a senior. He flew under some radars to get to this point and there’s an obvious reason why: Orze’s a two-time cancer survivor who’s earned limited work in college to this point. His diagnoses robbed him of what would have surely been a successful collegiate career. He made 15 appearances in both his first and second seasons at the JUCO Northwest Florida State before moving to the University of New Orleans. As a junior, he made nine appearances and was ultimately forced to miss his senior spring. As a redshirt senior in 2020, finally healthy, Orze was off to a hot start with 29 Ks in 19.2 innings before the season was cancelled. It was an unjust and rocky collegiate career for the Carol Stream native, but he’ll get this pro ball opportunity anyway within the Mets’ organization, giving us another reason to root for this former Illinois prep prospect.