By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Director – Illinois/Wisconsin

It was well worth the trip for Portage Northern (MI) 2015 graduate Benjamin Keizer to attend the Chicagoland Open. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound left hander was the top pitcher in attendance and showed a wealth of projectability. His long gangly frame and wide back with a quick, loose arm action makes him a prospect to dream on for recruiters.  Also in the mix are two 2017 graduates who are already in the low 80’s with their fastball. If Tyler Woynerowski and Brady Corrigan continue to progress at that pace there is no telling how far they can go.

Here is a look at our top ten pitchers from the Chicagoland Open.

Scouting Reports by Griffin Phelps

Top Pitching Prospects

1. Benjamin Keizer, LHP, Portage Northern (MI), 2015
6-foot-2, 175-pound lanky pitcher. On the mound he has a tall and fall style delivery with rhythm and an athletic finish. Throws with a loose, quick arm, from a high ¾ slot, with easy effort. Throws his fastball on a downhill plane, with occasional cut, sitting 83-85 mph, touching 86 mph one time. Has solid feel for his curveball that he throws with arm speed similar to the fastball. It has an 11/5 shape, occasionally flashing a true 12/6 shape, and comes in at 61-64 mph. His changeup has occasional sinking action and is 71-73 mph. His loose arm and easy effort, combined with his lanky frame give him solid projectability. Keizer is one of the top Class of 2015 graduates in the state of Michigan and is a high follow in the Midwest.

2. Jimmy Perkins, OF/RHP, Cary Grove, 2015
5-foot-11, 150-pound two way player with solid projectability. Showed off his foot speed by running a 6.86 60. In the outfield he throws with a short arm, from a high ¾ slot with solid accuracy and carry at 85 mph. His actions were strong and athletic. Offensively he has a wide stance with a short stride and quality balance through the swing. Has a level bat path, with above average bat speed, posting and exit velocity of 81 mph off the tee. Overall, the swing is very athletic and allows for him to make consistently strong contact. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot, with a short, quick arm action. Showed quality feel for his fastball, consistently throwing it with hard, late, arm side run at 82-84 mph, flashing 85 mph once. His curveball comes in with an 11/5 shape, sharp action and depth, at 72-73 mph, flashing 75 mph once. The changeup was thrown at 76-78 mph, with similar arm speed as the fastball, and quality fading action.

3. Tyler Woynerowski, 3B/RHP, St. Rita, 2017
6-foot, 190-pound two way player with high quality projectability. On the mound his delivery has rhythm and is athletic. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a short arm that shows solid acceleration. He threw a fastball with occasional run that sat 80-81 mph, touching 82 mph once. His curveball had a sharp sweeping action to it, sitting 66-68 mph. In the infield he showed quality hands while throwing the same high ¾ slot at 73 mph. At the plate he has a balanced setup and uses a leg kick trigger and has solid bat speed. His exit velocity off the tee was 78 mph. He ran a 7.78 60.

4. Brady Corrigan, RHP, Plainfield North, 2017
6-foot-2, 185-pound strong, athletic pitcher that shows good projectability on the mound. He throws from a high ¾ slot, with a long arm and regular effort, with a tall and fall style delivery. He showcased a straight fastball sitting 80-81 mph, touching 82 mph, and was able to throw it for strikes. His curveball has an 11/5 shape to it, showing a touch of depth at 65-67 mph. His changeup flashed quality fading action and came in at 70-74 mph.

5. Brandon Petersen, LHP, Waubonsie Valley, 2016
6-foot-1, 210-pound southpaw. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot with a loose arm that works well. His delivery has good lines and is athletic. Fastball has solid arm side run and crisp finish at 77-80 mph. Showed feel for his changeup, throwing it with consistent sink and fade at 71-74 mph. His curveball has an 11/5 tilt and sits 66-68 mph.

6. Adrian Gonzalez, INF/RHP, Brother Rice, 2015
6-foot, 160-pound athletic, two way player. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot with a quick, loose arm action. Showed solid feel for his fastball, sitting 79-81 mph with consistent running action. He throws his changeup with fastball arm speed, sitting 68-71 mph with sink. His curveball has a true 12/6 shape, with occasional late bite, at 68-71 mph. He also throws a knuckleball at 70-71 mph. Defensively he showed athletic actions getting to, and working through the ball. Hands were soft and quick with the exchange. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a long arm and solid carry at 76 mph. At the plate he has a balanced setup and a short stride, and maintains balance through the entire swing. Has a short bat path with a gap-to-gap swing, with above average bat speed, producing an exit velocity of 79 mph off a tee.  He also ran a 7.63 60.

7. Gunnar Stanke, RHP, Marmion, 2014
6-foot-3, 190-pound pitcher with a quick arm. Throws from a ¾ slot, with a short, loose, quick arm action and an athletic delivery. Throws a straight fastball, for strikes, at 80-83 mph. His curveball has an 11/5 shape with short action and was thrown for strikes at 70-72 mph. His changeup flashed fading action at 72-74 mph. Stanke is a wiry right hander with some projection and the ability to throw three pitches around the zone.

8. Daniel Teska, RHP, Hinsdale Central, 2015
6-foot-1, 155-pound lanky pitcher. He throws with a long, quick arm action from a ¾ slot. His fastball was thrown for strikes with occasional run and sink at 78-80 mph, flashing 82 mph once. Throws a curveball with 11/5 tilt at 68-70 mph. He also throws a sweeping slider at 71-74 mph. Showed a changeup with fading action at 69-71 mph.

9. Jeff Haas, RHP, Plainfield South, 2016
5-foot-11, 180-pound, broad shoulder pitcher with feel for three pitches.  He filled the zone up with his fastball, sitting 75-76 mph, flashing 77 mph one time with occasional running action. His curveball has an 11/5 shape, occasionally sharp action, and comes in at 71-73 mph. He throws his changeup with fastball arm speed at 69-72 mph, with consistent arm side run. His arm works well and shows potential to be a solid pitcher.

10. Brandon Rossiter, MIF/P, Minooka, 2016
5-foot-7, 160-pound two way player. At the plate he has a balanced setup, with an open stance. Has a smooth load, with a leg kick trigger and a short stride. His swing has fluid rhythm to it, and is of the line drive variety. He showed the ability to repeat the swing on a consistent basis. Off the tee he had an exit velocity of 75 mph. Defensively, he showed standard hands and footwork. He throws with a long arm, from a ¾ slot, and a velocity of 74 mph. On the mound he throws with the same long, loose arm action, from a ¾ slot. His fastball sat 77-79 mph, touching 80 mph once, and showed occasional running action. His curveball was 60-64 mph, with a sweeping, slurve action. He commanded both pitches for strikes. He also ran a 7.61 60.

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Shane Barlas, LHP/1B, Cary Grove, 2015
5-foot-8, 195-pound right hand hitting, two way player. Offensively, he has an open stance with a short leg kick trigger. Swing has above average bat speed, registering an exit velocity of 84 mph off a tee. He consistently made strong contact with his short swing. At first base he showed soft hands and quality athleticism for his size. He throws from an over-the-top slot at 69 mph. On the mound, throwing from the left side, he throws from a high ¾ slot, with a short arm action. His fastball flashed running action, sitting 72-76 mph, touching 77 mph once. Showed feel for his breaking ball, thrown with an 11/5 shape, with some depth, at 63-65 mph. His changeup was thrown with similar arm speed to the fastball, at 62-64 mph, with arm side run and sink. He also ran a 7.6 60.

Zaccary Bianucci, LHP, Naperville Central, 2016
6-foot-2, 170-pound quality body pitcher. On the mound he throws from a ¾ slot with a rigid arm and regular effort. His fastball was 72-73 mph with occasional run. His curveball sat at 63 mph. The changeup was straight and 68-70 mph.

David Blutcher, 1B/RHP, Southland College Prep, 2015
6-foot, 255-pound, strong bodied two way player. At the plate he has a closed stance with a long stride and uses a toe tap load and launch technique to make consistently hard contact. Has a line drive type swing with a pull side approach. Off the tee he had an exit velocity of 81 mph. From first base he throws 67 mph across the diamond. On the mound he uses a drop and drive technique and throws from a high ¾ arm slot. His fastball had occasional run and sat 68-70 mph.  His curveball has an 11/5 tilt with loose action, ranging 54-59 mph. Throws a changeup with sinking action at 62-68 mph. He ran an 8.29 60.

Matt Cappelletti, SS/RHP, Romeoville, 2016
6-foot-3, 170-pound lanky, athletic, two way player. Defensively he throws from a high ¾ slot with a long arm. Threw across the diamond with accuracy and solid arm strength at 74 mph. At the plate he sets up with quality balance and a long stride. He looks to pull the ball and has solid bat speed. His exit velocity of the tee was 81 mph. On the mound he throws from the same high ¾ slot with a long stiff arm. His fastball was straight, in the 73-75 mph range for strikes. His breaking ball was 61-64 mph. He showed a changeup that he threw with fastball arm speed, at 66-70 mph, with sink. He also ran a 7.22 60.

Joey Christensen, LHP/OF, Benet, 2016
5-foot-10, 140-pound, left hand hitting, two way player. On the mound he has a tall and fall style delivery with smooth rhythm and an athletic finish. Throws from a high ¾ slot with a short, clean arm action. He threw a straight fastball for strikes at 65-68 mph. He threw a rolling breaking ball with a 12/6 shape at 49-53 mph. His changeup showed occasional fade, with similar arm speed to the fastball at 61-63 mph. From the outfield he throws with the same arm action, from the same slot, at 66 mph, with accuracy. At the plate he showed a balanced setup with a leg kick trigger and short stride. Bat path was level and had quality extension.  Off a tee his exit velocity was 72 mph.

Ian Delleman, RHP/OF, Lyons Township, 2017
5-foot-8, 130-pound, lanky, two way player. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot with a long arm action. He throws a straight fastball at 66-68 mph. His curveball was 54-59 mph with a soft breaking action. The changeup sat 58-62 mph, with occasional sink. In the outfield he throws from the same slot, with the same long arm, at 65 mph. Offensively, he has a balanced setup and a short stride with an uphill bat path. Off the tee he had an exit velocity of 68 mph. He ran an 8.11 60.

Andrew Dominik, RHP/MIF, Oak Forest, 2015
6-foot-2, 150-pound lanky, two way player. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ arm slot and also drops down to the side to throw. From over the top his fastball is straight at 72-76 mph. From the side arm slot the fastball has a sinking action at 72-73 mph. The curveball comes in with an 11/5 shape at 60-62 mph. From the side arm slot he throws a slider at 61-63 mph. Throws his changeup from over the top, for strikes, at 61-64 mph. Filled the zone up with strikes from both arm slots. On the infield he showed standard actions and threw it 72 mph across the diamond. Offensively he has a balanced setup with a short stride. His exit velocity was 66 mph. He ran an 8.5 60.

Carlo Falcioni, SS/RHP, Marian Catholic, 2015
5-foot-7, 135-pound, athletic, two way player. Defensively, he throws with a short arm action, from a high ¾ slot, with above average carry at 78 mph. Showed high quality body control with soft hands and a clean, quick exchange. At the plate he has a closed stance with a smooth loading action and a short stride. He has a line drive swing with a flat path, and had an exit velocity of 62 mph off the tee. On the mound he throws from the same high ¾ slot with a tall and fall style delivery. He threw his fastball for strikes, sitting 72-74 mph with occasional sink. The curveball comes in with an 11/5 shape, and side spinning action, sitting 59-62 mph, touching 64 mph once. His changeup showed occasional sinking action at 60-63 mph. He also ran a 7.94 60.

Jack Howard, LHP/1B, Joliet Catholic, 2016
6-foot-1, 220-pound, left hand hitting two way player. Defensively, he showed athletic actions with standard hands. He throws with a long arm, with an over-the-top slot at 66 mph. At the plate he uses a balanced setup with a short stride and a toe tap load and launch sequence. Bat path is uphill and creates powerful lift to the pull side. His exit velocity off the tee was 79 mph. On the mound he has a tall and fall style delivery. Throws from a high ¾ slot with a short arm action and smooth rhythm. Showed command of the fastball, that he threw 75-76 mph with running action. Throws a curveball with 11/5 tilt for strikes, at 59-62 mph. His changeup showed quality sink and fade action, for strikes, at 69-71 mph.

Zach Jarosz, MIF/RHP, Plainfield North, 2016
5-foot-9, 140-pound, athletic two way player with solid projectability. At the plate he has a tall, balanced setup with a toe tap load and launch sequence. It’s a gap-to-gap swing, with fluid rhythm, above average bat speed, and quality extension. Off the tee his exit velocity was 84 mph. During batting practice he consistently drove the ball on a line with solid contact. In the field he plays through the ball athletically with soft hands and fluid feet. Throws from an over-the-top slot, with accuracy and carry, at 75 mph. On the mound he throws from the same slot and a short arm action. He has a tall and fall type delivery with rhythm, and he lands slightly closed. His fastball was straight, for lots of strikes, at 75-78 mph. The curveball has an 11/5 shape and is 64-66 mph for strikes. His changeup was 69-71. He also ran a 7.32 60.

Steven Joyce, LHP/1B, Lake Park, 2014
6-foot-2, 175-pound left handed hitting, two way player with a good frame. Defensively he showed quality footwork around the bag. Across the diamond he throws it with accuracy at 72 mph. At the plate he has a balanced setup and uses a short stride. The bat path is level, occasional working uphill, with good extension. Showed a line drive type swing with above average bat speed. Exit velocity off the tee was 83 mph. Ran a 7.5 60. On the mound he showed three pitches with quality off-speed offerings. His fastball was flat at 73-75 mph, flashing 76 mph. His curveball comes in at 67-69 mph with flashes of quality bite and depth. The changeup has arm side run and comes in at 68-70 mph.

Zach Kaloustian, LHP, Lyons Township, 2016
6-foot-3, 155-pound southpaw. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a short, stiff arm action and regular effort. His fastball flashed sinking action and sat 65-69 mph. Showed a slider that was 61-63 mph. Also threw a changeup with occasional sink at 60-63 mph. He also threw a cutter at 63 mph.

Alex Kielion, RHP, Batavia, 2016
6-foot1, 150-pound lanky pitcher. He throws from a high ¾ slot with a short arm action. His fastball was 69-70 mph, touching 72 mph once, with sink. He throws a curveball at 61-63 mph. His changeup was 65-66 mph.  

Connor Lovely, SS/3B/RHP, Metea Valley, 2016
6-foot-1, 168-pound infielder with a loose arm. Showed soft hands and throws it with a short arm at 73 mph. Offensively he has a balanced setup with a short stride. Hits off his back leg with a level path. Off a tee he had an exit velocity of 72 mph. He ran a 7.53 60. On the mound his fastball was 75-76 mph and straight. His curveball was 63-66 mph. The changeup was 66-70 mph.

Ben Lynam, LHP/1B, Batavia, 2016
6-foot-3, 230-pound left handed hitting two way player with a solid frame. At the plate he has a balanced setup and uses a short stride. Has an uphill bat path with a pull side approach. Showed strength in the swing and had an exit velocity of 82 mph off the tee. Defensively he showed good hands and feet around the bag. Throws from an over-the-top slot at 73 mph. On the mound he throws from the same over-the-top slot with a long arm action. His fastball came in with arm side run and a heavy finish at 77-80 mph. Showcased a curveball sitting in the 56-61 mph range. The changeup was 61-63 mph with arm side action. Also threw a knuckle ball at 62-66 mph. Ran a 7.61 60.

Jake Moeller, RHP, Richmond Burton, 2016
6-foot, 140-pound lanky pitcher. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot with regular effort through the delivery. Showed feel for his fastball, throwing it at 72-74 mph. His breaking ball has a sweeping slurve action and sits 53-55 mph, touching 57 mph once. The changeup showed sinking action at times, sitting in the 63-65 mph range.

Michael Ryan, OF/RHP, Benet, 2015
6-foot-1, 187-pound, strong body two way player. At the plate he has a balanced setup with a short stride and does a good job getting the lower half involved in the swing. Has a short swing with an uphill path that can create quality lift.  Has above average bat speed and makes consistently strong contact. Off a tee he had an exit velocity of 79 mph. Defensively, he showed standard actions. Throws from a high ¾ slot at 70 mph. On the mound, he throws from the same arm slot with a long arm action. Fastball flashed some sinking action at 73-77 mph. His breaking ball has a sweeping slurve shape to it, at 67-69 mph. He also throws a changeup with occasional sink at 66-71 mph. He ran a 7.18 60.

Kevin Sheehan, RHP, York, 2014
5-foot-11, 160-pound sidearm pitcher. He throws with a long arm action and regular effort. His fastball sits 61-64 mph, touching 65 mph one time, with consistent sinking action. His curveball has a side spinning action and sits 54-56 mph. His changeup showed a sinking action at 53-55 mph.

Nick Stahl, RHP, Kaneland, 2014
6-foot3, 210-pound pitcher who throws from a high ¾ arm slot and stiff arm action. Showcased a 76-78 mph fastball, flashing 80 mph, with occasional arm side run. Threw a curveball with an 11/5 shape and sweeping action, coming in a 62-66 mph. The changeup was 69-71 mph, with sink, and thrown with near fastball arm speed.

Jack Stephens, OF/RHP, Benet, 2016
6-foot-3, 220-pound two way player. Defensively he showed standard actions to the ball in the outfield. Throws from a high ¾ slot at 72 mph. At the plate he has a tall, balanced, setup and uses a small leg kick trigger. The swing is quick with an uphill path and showed power to the pull side. Off a tee he had an exit velocity of 84 mph. Ran a 7.94 60. On the mound he throws from a high ¾ slot with a stabbing action on the backside. Throws a straight fastball at 69-71 mph. The changeup had consistent sink at 61-62 mph, and was thrown for strikes. The curveball had a gradual breaking action at 59-60 mph.

Cole Thompson, C/3B/RHP, Minooka, 2015
5-foot-10, 165-pound two way player. As a catcher he throws 72 mph, with pop times in the 2.19-2.3 range. From 3B he throws with a short arm action from an over-the-top slot at 75 mph. Offensively he has a wide, balanced setup with a short stride and explosive lower half. Has a short, level bat path that gets solid extension and above average bat speed. The swing is fluid and produces consistent line drives. Had an exit velocity of 64 mph off a tee. Runs a 7.61 60. On the mound he throws with a long, quick arm action from a ¾ slot. Throws a fastball with run and sink at 74-78 mph for strikes. His curveball has a 10/4 shape, with sweeping break at 60-61 mph. His changeup was 67-69 mph with solid sink.

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