Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

PBR Illinois Limited Series: Quick Hits Day 2

July 13, 2019
By Illinois Scouting Staff

Our weekend will be spent at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois watching some of the best 15U and 16U teams in Illinois compete in the inaugural PBR Limited Series. The eight team tournament provides PBR with the opportunity to see high-level talent under a much smaller scope. Our Illinois staff will be on-hand throughout the weekend to keep tabs on some of the elite talent in the state.

At the end of each day, we’ll be showcasing the day’s top highlights. Below are the biggest takeaways from Day 2.

DAY 2 QUICK HITS


2022 PROSPECTS

 + If you are looking for some talented 2022s to follow, look no further than the Top Tier 15U squad. RHP Alex Alberico (Providence Catholic) stepped on the mound and made a lasting impression in his one inning of work out of the bullpen. The 6-foot, 188-pound, right-hander features a strong lower half and long, quick arm action from a high ¾ slot. Alberico almost exclusively sat at 88-89 mph, touching 90 one time with his fastball that jumps out of his hand. He also featured an 11/5 curveball at 74-76 mph that has a chance to be an above-average offering in the future. Alberico emerged as a high-follow with one of the strongest arms in the Midwest. 

+ Another high-follow 2022 on Top Tier is OF/RHP Alex Stanwich (Lincoln-Way East). Stanwich, has a physically-advanced, highly-athletic, 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame and is one of the toolsier prospects in the class. Stanwich creates easy bat speed at the plate and the ball jumps off the barrel. Defensively, he is athletic enough to potentially stick in center field moving forward and his most impressive tool may be his arm. With the game tied, two outs and the bases loaded, Stanwich came out of the bullpen and induced a groundout to the second baseman to get out of the inning. Stanwich, who only threw a handful of pitches, sat an easy 85 mph with seemingly much more in the tank. 

+ 2022 SS Jack Scheri (LaSalle Peru; Top Tier 15U) is a highly-athletic infielder to keep an eye on moving forward. He has yet to put together a great stat line on the weekend but the right-handed hitter, competes in the box, understands how to play the game and gets down the line at an impressive clip for a 2022. Scheri has turned in multiple run times between 4.10-4.15 on infield groundouts. Defensively, he has the athleticism, range and arm to play anywhere on the infield. 

+ The Central Illinois Outlaws have one of the more intriguing 2022 prospects in attendance in LHP Gus Lucas (Washington). Lucas has a long, lean, extremely projectable 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame and clean arm. He is still growing into his body but he does an impressive job syncing up his slightly cross-fire delivery, given his extra-large frame. Lucas turned in a complete-game win, firing seven innings on 96 pitches, scattering four hits, one run, none earned, striking out six and walking three. Lucas sat anywhere from 79-82 mph throughout and still had 82 in the tank in the seventh inning. Lucas also showed feel for a three-pitch mix throughout the outing, featuring a 1/7 curveball at 63-67 mph and a changeup at 67 mph with sink. Lucas will be fun to watch develop in the coming years. 

+ White Sox ACE played the final game of the day and OF/INF Brandon Rogers (Brother Rice) joined them for the first time all weekend. The athletic, multi-positional prospect made an immediate impact. Rogers, a right-handed hitter, is aggressive and confident in the box and swings the bat with intent. Rogers finished 1-for-3 and ran a 4.25 and 4.26 down the line on two infield ground balls. Rogers looks to be another high-level prospect coming out of Brother Rice. 

PRO PLAYER CANES

+ For the second straight game Pro Player walked off their opponent by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Canes, 3-0 on the weekend, got a game-winning sacrifice fly by Alex Milone in the bottom of the seventh to shock the White Sox Elite by a final score of 4-3. 

+ LHP Ryan Weaver (Cary-Grove, 2021) has been on the rise this summer and impressed once again in his start today. Weaver pounded the bottom of the zone in his six innings of work, running his fastball up to 85 mph, sitting anywhere from 81-84 mph. On top of that, Weaver features a swing-and-miss changeup with advanced feel. Weaver continues to solidify himself as a high-follow 2021 left-handed arm.

TOP TIER 16U

+ In the final game of the day, Top Tier 16U matched up with White Sox ACE. After a back-and-forth start to the game, LHH leadoff man, Lucas Spence (Crete-Monee, 2021) jumped all over a fastball and hit a long home run over the right-field fence. Chris Schellhorn (Minooka, 2021) immediately followed up with a shot over the center fielders head that resulted in an inside-the-park home run. 

MISCELLANEOUS

+ Day two started with a matchup between the Decatur Commodores going up against Chicago Elite. Decatur took advantage of an eight walk first frame putting a 6-run crooked number on the board early. Commodore RHSP Crayton Burnett (St. Joe-Ogden, 2021) battled through a couple singles early resulting in a two-run bottom half of the first, but his arm stood out on the bump. A thin/athletic frame at 5-foot-11, 145-pounds, Burnett sports a short, loose and whippy arm action out of a ¾ slot with an overall controlled delivery. The fastball came out easy sitting 80-82 mph, topping 83 mph with heavy run at times. Curveball played at 67-69 mph with 10/4 shape and signs of power break. In his 2.2 innings, he allowed four hits, all singles, with two walks and four K’s - two ending with the CB and two with the heater. Follow 2021 athlete. 

+ 2021 C/RHP Matthew Hunzinger (Dietrich) did it on the mound yesterday and showed it with the bat early on day 2. The lean framed and athletic backstop sports a short left-handed stroke at the dish with present pull-side pop. He clubbed a triple the one hopped the right/centerfield wall, while also staying on pitches away. Present approach at the dish. Also scored twice and drew a walk. 

+ Commodore leadoff man, SS Even Herpstreith (Nokomis, 2021) reached base in all four plate appearances calmly taking pitches just outside the zone, drawing two walks in his first two at-bats. He then pulled a high fastball through the 5-6 hole and lifted a ball between the LF/CF for a pair of singles in his next two. He sports a level path that stays through the zone, while showing an all fields approach. To boot, he also reach base in all four at-bats yesterday making that eight straight to start off his Limited Series (5 BB, 3 H). 4.36 down the line on one of his singles yesterday.

+ 2021 INF Kevin McCormick (St. Laurence, 2021) continues to hit. An athletic frame at 6-foot-1, 175-pound, he sports a compact stroke with polish in his approach. Regularly pitched away from, he seems to prefer going the opposite field and does it with ease as he did yesterday. Recurring trend there. McCormick finished 3-for-4 with a run scored, two of the singles to the left side and one pulled down the first base line. Made all the plays at shortstop today, ranged well on the move, got rid of the ball. Follow 2021 bat. 

+ Travis Lutz (Limestone, 2021) took the mound for Central Illinois Outlaws in their first game on Saturday afternoon. The long and lean right-handed pitcher tossed six strong innings against Top Tier 15U, striking out six batters, five looking, and only allowing two runs. His fastball sat at 80-83 mph, worked down in the zone, and maintained velocity throughout his outing. Lutz’ showed confidence in a curveball with 11/5 shape and depth that he used to put hitters away. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound, right-hander displayed pitch-ability on the mound, mixing his pitches well, throwing a high amount of strikes, and primarily generating weak contact throughout his outing. Lutz, followed up his morning pitching performance with one of the more impressive offensive performances in the afternoon game. Lutz, a left-handed hitting outfielder, finished 2-for-3 with a triple to center field and double down the right field line. Lutz uses his long levers to create whip in his swing and can backspin the baseball. Follow 2021 two-way prospect.

+ A pitcher’s duel took place in the day’s third game between Decatur Commodores and 15U Top Tier Americans. Left-hander Tanner Wagnon (Plainfield Central, 2022) took the bump for Top Tier and tossed 6.2 scoreless innings while only allowing one hit. His fastball played at 76-79 mph and was located well, while his curveball sat between 67-71 with a 1/7 shape. Evan Herpstreith opposed Wagnon for the Commodores and turned in an impressive performance just like his counterpart. The right-hander turned in 6.2 innings of one-run ball, striking out eight and surrendering three hits. He ran his heater up to 84 mph and sat between 79-81 mph while primarily working down in the zone. His curveball was used sparingly, but played at 65-68 mph with 11/5 shape. Herpstreith was essentially untouchable for his entire outing before he allowed a walk-off single to earn the loss. 

+ Tylor Phommachanhom (Plainfield South, 2021) turned in a rather impressive performance in the second-to-last game of the day for White Sox Elite 16U. The Dayton commit worked his way through six innings of one-run ball, striking out five and limiting his opponents to three hits. His fastball touched 81 mph and primarily sat at 78-80 mph. He showed feel for a Curveball with 11/5 shape that played at 65-67 mph with depth. Phommachanhom mixed both his offerings and kept the Pro Player hitters off balance throughout the duration of his outing, leading to the success he had on the bump. 

RELATED CONTENT