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Illinois Mailbag: Top Questions of the Week

January 11, 2014

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Director – Illinois/Wisconsin

The Mailbag is a feature which allows readers to ask our scouting directors any questions they wish about high school baseball in their state. Whether it’s about possible state title contenders, top prospects, recruiting, etc. your questions will get put into our “Mailbag” via the ask.fm app and our scouts will answer your questions through Twitter (@PBRIllinois) and Facebook.

This week’s top questions feature recruiting information, what colleges look for and more team previews.

To submit a question about Illinois high school baseball to the PBR scouting staff simply follow the link HERE. Also if you have a burning question about the national landscape of high school baseball or draft specific questions you can send them to National Supervisor Nathan Rode HERE.

Top Questions of the Week

Showcasing provides college coaches with measurables, how much does actual game performance in front of coaches, grades, and other intangibles matter in the process?

Games are very important. However, in the spring, college coaches don't have a lot of time to get out and see games, because they are in season. In the summer is when they get out and see a lot of game play, so playing on a higher exposure travel team is important. Showcases usually helps coaches identify who they want to go see play in games. ... Grades are certainly important as well. The better your grades are, the more opportunities you have; conversely, if you're a poor student, then your options are more limited. And we all know, the best decisions in life are begot by having choices.

What are your thoughts on Morgan Parks season for 2014?

Have some very exciting position players, led by OF James Davison and SS Lavar Reed. Morgan Park also has a really good group of younger players I've seen, too. Had Rahman Williams not transferred to a Florida school, MP would've been even better. MP should be one of the favorites in the CPS.

What do you think would cause a player to decommit?

It's a personal thing, and changes from player to player, but I'd say the most frequent reason of decommitting I hear is a player blows up later in the process and bigger schools come sniffing around. Other times, players may see the writing on the wall when a school recruits several more players at his position. Or that 65 percent offer has decreased to 35 percent for various reasons. Or sometimes when a coaching staff changes. Again, every reason is different.

I play in the NI Big 12 and played against 3 kids last season who already are getting draft buzz. 2014 Haacker, 2015 Shimp, and 2016 Holubecki. Do you think any of those guys have a chance to be drafted out of HS?

To clarify, there is no such thing as "draft buzz" when talking about juniors and sophomores. "Draft buzz" deals with the current draft class. No pro scouts are speculating 2016 prospects now. With that said, Haacker will certainly generate buzz this spring. In the following years, I'm sure both Shimp and Holubecki will garner plenty of attention as well.

What do you think about the four recruits so far for Chicago State University?

Chicago State is bringing in a good 2014 class. The new staff is certainly making a much larger footprint on the recruiting scene than past staffs. Their new field should definitely help as well.

If you have better results in a perfect game showcase than you did in a PBR showcase can that change your info on PBR?

No. All statistics in players' profiles must be verified by a PBR scout, either at a showcase or in game play.

Does a D1 commitment help a player rank over other players?

No.

What do you think about Bradley's two new commitments?

Great gets for the Braves. Two top-level players in their backyard.

What do you think about Bartonville Limestone? And what do you think they will do this year?

Perennially one of the top programs in Central Illinois. The Rockets certainly opened a lot of eyes when they tied Metamora for the conference crown last year. Pretty sure they have several starters coming back, but the RHP that threw the gem vs. Metamora last year (name escapes me), he's graduated, now at ICC. Not sure what type of pitching Limestone has, to be honest.

Do you think Diontrell Earls and Darius Day could lead the young Wolverines squad to another title run? And maybe even a run in state

Yes, I would think Simeon would be right there vying for another city title. In order to compete for state, however, they may need to find a few more pitchers

When you actually scout a game do you note a players ability to grind? What about attitude, hustle and demeanor?

For sure. That stuff certainly matters - and that stuff you mention often serve as separators between good and very good players. With that said, a player needs to have some skill. Hustle, attitude, and grind are great attributes, and certainly valuable, but hustle doesn't barrel 82 mph sliders.

35 is the limit for D1 and D2 rosters. Do they cut players in the program to bring in new players?

Yes. It happens more frequently at the highest end of D1 baseball. Many times they won't out-right cut players. They will pull their money, or tell them they have no chance of playing, or both - leaving a player no option other than to transfer. But yes, players do get cut, too.

Do verbal commitments really mean anything?

In a word, No. Both the player and college can back out at any point prior to signing his National Letter of Intent. Think of verbal commitments like a Gentleman's Agreement. You expect people to abide by that handshake deal, but in the end, nothing is binding. More times than not it's the player who backs out of the verbal for one reason or another. College recruiters don't want to get the reputation of backing out of commitments, but it does happen, but may happen in a different way. Like changing the scholarship number, or telling the player to go to junior college for a year or two to develop more.

Any sleepers from Illinois do you think might get drafted that people aren't really talking about ?

I wouldn't classify him as a sleeper by any stretch, as he's a top-ranked kid in the PBR coverage area, but a player who doesn't get mentioned a lot, especially in the greater Chicagoland area, who will undoubtedly receive plenty of pro interest this spring is RHP Tanner Houck from Collinsville HS. Another player I can see getting some pro interest in the spring is C Nathan Haacker from Sycamore.

Any big 4A sleepers this year?

Don't know if they're sleepers, but let's say non-traditional powers ... Some 4A teams who I think will make some noise this season include (in no specific order): Loyola, Moline, Batavia, Plainfield South, and Homewood-Flossmoor to name a few.

With Mitchell Janssen recently committing, who are the next few 2015 RHP's you could see making a commitment?

Not to be evasive, but it all depends on who wants to pull the trigger at this point. I know there are a lot of offers out there. Depends on the player and when he wants to decide.

Hitting over 300 in the CCL Blue is different than in other conferences. Every team has D1 pitching on their roster and that in conference games it is our D1 pitcher versus your D1 pitcher. Is there a conference locally that compares?

High school statistics are never apples-to-apples comparison. With that said, pound for pound, the Catholic Blue pitching clearly has the most high-level pitchers in the state.

What is the best catholic vs. public baseball rivalry?

Interesting question. I thought about this one for a while, and I can't think of a classic Public vs. Catholic rivalry, chiefly because many good public schools don't schedule the neighboring Catholic school. Or the neighboring Public-Catholic schools, one is traditionally good and the other not-so-good, and the result is often lopsided. ... With that said, I can recall, maybe in 2010, one of the top games I ever scouted was between St. Rita and Sandburg in the supersectionals. The two teams don't play each other in the regular season. That year was especially interesting because a chunk of St. Rita's starters were from Orland Park, where Sandburg is. It was a classic game, and the atmosphere was electric.

Thoughts on St. Charles North this year?

Over the last 8 years, St. Charles North has traditionally had one of the top programs in Illinois. I know they had a down year or two, but they should be on the upswing once again with a good nucleus of talented underclassmen, led by 2015 1B/LHP Cory Wright.

Will there still be opportunities in June to receive an invitation to the Midwest Future Games?

Yes. While we do invite players prior to the summer, we will have at least one event in June to finalize the Midwest Future Games roster. We will have the summer event schedule posted by the end of the month.

Just curious, how can a player be ranked in the top 15 for the state of Illinois by Perfect Game and not be ranked anywhere in the top 100 by PBR?

Perhaps we haven't seen the player, or perhaps Perfect Game hasn't seen the player. What player specifically are you speaking of?

Plainfield South has to be one of the most stacked teams in the state as far as pitching, but will they have the hitting to do major damage? Lost a lot of key offensive guys.

Good question, and I don't know. What I do know, however, is winning begins with pitching, and Plainfield South certainly has its share.

Any sleeper teams to watch out for in 3A?

I don't know if they qualify as "sleepers" per se, but there are a few Central/Southern Illinois teams would should be very dangerous. The first one that comes to mind is Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. SHG has high-level talent all over the field. Another team to look out for in 3A is Metamora.

Top 5 pitchers in the state right now?

Hard to answer that one, but the list would have to begin with Jake Godfrey, Brad Bass and Jake Latz. There are so many good pitchers in Illinois, it's really hard to say. I might throw Bryan Pall with that group, too, because I just can't imagine a high school hitter touching that slider of his.

Who had the best recruiting class this year for 2017's?

Funny, probably 90 percent of the state wouldn't know what you're talking about, but I'm assuming you're talking about the Catholic schools' recruiting classes. Way too early to tell, as I don't have enough info on the 2017 class and only time will tell if the classes were really good in the end. From what I hear, and limited info I've personally seen, Brother Rice has a good group of 2017s, as does Mount Carmel and Joliet Catholic. I'm sure several other schools have excellent classes, too, but those are the ones I've heard about.

What do you think of O'Fallon this year?

O'Fallon seems to be good for 25-30 wins a year every year, so I'm expecting much of the same. With two-way standout Jeff Hahs leading the way, O'Fallon should be in for another excellent season. Coach Portz always has his team prepared.

Why is Lewis appealing to prospects? They got a good 2014 recruiting class

Lewis gets good players because the coaching staff gets after it.

Even though it's early what do you think about the top 2016 IL power arms? Fellows, Holubecki, Coughlin, Heiss, etc. seem to be more advanced at 15-16 years old than I recall pitchers being in past classes at that age.

Indeed, Illinois' 2016 class definitely has an impressive list of pitching prospects already, with many more yet to be discovered. The 2016 class seems advanced, perhaps more in exposure at this juncture than in overall ability than recent classes.

How do you think Wheaton North will do this year in the DVC?

Wheaton North is in contention every year it seems. Not sure what the Falcons have coming back on the mound, but they are always well-coached and well-prepared. I expect them to be in the hunt once again this year.

Does a personal bio help to send to colleges for recruiting?

A bio by itself I doubt really helps a lot. If you send it with a video or a link to watch their video, then the bio would augment it.

Are there plans to expand the rosters for the Super 60 in the future? Seems like with so many new states the event would still have great quality players if the event expanded to 100-150‎?

We've considered it, but want to keep it to a smaller number with the highest concentration of draft prospects. Also, since it's on Super Bowl Sunday, we want to get everyone out at a decent hour so they can see or listen to the game if they want.

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