By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director

Several 2017 prospects have made impressions this summer and fall, while two have made Prep Baseball Report headlines as Ryan Kutt (Illinois) and Bobby Seymour (Wake Forest) became the first in their class to make college commitments. Some prospects who played varsity baseball as freshmen, such as Westmont’s Joe Donovan, are easy to track down, but for the majority of 2017’s who played freshman or sophomore baseball, it gets a little trickier hunting down the top prospects in the class; hence why the PBR scouting staff has kept our initial 2017 ranking capped at twenty players.

The following players (in alphabetical order) have made an impression recently and look to be high follow recruits over the next several years. Today in Part One, we will take a look at some of the top 2017 pitchers, tomorrow's Part Two will highlight position players.

Top 2017 Pitchers (In Alphabetical Order)

+ Glenn Albanese, RHP, Batavia, 2017
Physically advanced 6-foot-4, 206-pound right-handed pitcher looks to be one of the premier 2017 prospects in Illinois we’ve seen thus far. Currently ranked No. 5 in Illinois’ 2017 class. Showcased the 2017 Top Prospect Games best fastball velocity, touching 86 multiple times in his second outing of the event. In the first day, Albanese sat 82-84, touching 85. In a brief second outing on Day 2, he was stronger, showing consistent 85-86 velocity with arm-side life down in the zone. Should see significant velocity spike in future when he begins to involve lower half more aggressively. Works from high three-quarter slot, stays tall, works downhill well. Upper-70s changeup shows excellent promise as well; threw a few in game play that had plus arm-side action. Pitch can evolve into power changeup. Also showed feel for curveball, in 69-71 range; showed ability to throw for strikes with gradual break. With his size and arm, Albanese should become one of the more coveted 2017 prospects in the coming years.