Top-10 Stories of 2021: Inaugural Illinois Summer Championships helps identify break-out prospects

The highly physical Bach is listed at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, and he showcased a fastball that sat 88-89 mph, touching 90, that exploded through the zone from out of the bullpen. Bach parlayed this performance into a leap up the state’s 2022 rankings, currently No. 26 overall, and is now committed to Central Michigan.

Campana was impressive for the Illinois Steel throughout the tournament. The 6-foot, 165-pound, wiry/athlete, hits from the left-side of the plate and has been a mainstay at the top of the lineup. He is a comfortable, confident look at the plate, lets the ball travel and uses the whole field. Campana’s confidence spills over to all parts of his game, defending with bounce, pace and sure-hands. Campana is comfortable on the move, plays with body control and his arm plays strong and accurate across the diamond.

Crafton entered the tourney heralded as one of the state’s top ‘24s, already committed to Louisville, and he proved his status at the top of the class throughout the weekend. He has a 6-foot-2, 175-pound, highly-athletic, high-waisted, frame and has been driving balls with authority all tournament. Crafton is quiet and relaxed in the box with minimal moving parts; he stays short and quick through the zone and creates extremely easy bat speed. Crafton launched a deep home run to right-field in his second at-bat and then lined a double into the right-center field gap in his third at-bat of Day Three.

DeCosta created some buzz early in the year as a high-follow member of the state’s 2024 class, and he made his presence felt at this tourney almost instantly. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound prospect is a physical right-handed hitter and he carries one of this class’ most potent offensive ceilings. DeCosta also took the mound in a relief role and pitched a scoreless frame where was up to 83 mph and he struck out a pair.

Among the tournament’s biggest winners was Episcope. His 86-87 mph fastball was living at the top of the zone, where its late life played especially well, generating plenty of swings and misses, compounded by a high-spin curveball measured at 2,500-plus rpm, 72-74.

Led the 16U Illinois Braves by throwing four strong innings and he struck out nine while allowing only one run. Parkerson is a compact athlete who reaches above-average velocity with a clear ease, and he showed the feel to dial the fastball’s velo up and down when necessary – up to 88 mph in the first, coasting in the mid-80s otherwise, as it was all he need to earn swings and misses at the top of the zone. He also utilizes a breaking ball that flashed sharp 11/5 action that he landed for strikes frequently. Offensively, Parkerson’s a right-handed hitter with a smooth, fluid swing, and he showed off the ability to use the entire field by smashing a triple off the right field fence, and launching a homer to his pull-side later in the game.

Pluta had really started to amass some interest in the spring at his high school, St. Viator, and it all started to come together in the summer. Here at this event, Pluta was productive offensively and looked the part at catcher, but he stole the show in a relief look from the mound on championship Sunday. There, Pluta sat in the upper-80s and reached back for 91 mph several times attached to a biting, aggressive slider that spun at a high rate. His live arm continued to tick up throughout the summer and fall, and he’s now committed to Arizona and he’s ranked inside the state’s top-25.

The 17U Chicago Elite squad provided some late-night fireworks from the mound on the first day of the tournament, headlined by Swartz, who pitched five strong against a quality lineup, featuring some of the event’s most electric stuff. Swartz lived in the 88-89 mph range, reaching 90-91 at times, with premium arm speed he also applied to his breaking ball, 77-79 mph, a slider-like offering with short, late action that earned some ugly swings and misses under the zone – though he also landed a handful in the zone to catch batters looking as well.

Ugo came in relief for Chicago Elite 15U Royal on Day Three, tossing four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. A lean, lanky frame, listed at 6-foot-1, 160 pounds, the left-hander throws from a short, loose arm action out of a high ¾ slot. Ugo controlled the zone with a two-seam type fastball at 78-80 mph. He also flashed feel for the zone with an upper-60s curveball that spun off a 1/7 plane.

Our first look at Useni since the 2020 PBR Future Games was a particularly good one. Useni, a 6-foot-3, 220-pound, physical, right-hander created tilt to his fastball, which he located at the bottom of the zone at 85-87 mph. Useni also showed a feel for a three-pitch mix; an advanced changeup in the mid-70’s and a 71 mph curveball.

Playing up two age levels, incoming sophomore Vecruysse found barrels all game with a sharply hit single early on, and he helped pour it on late by slugging a homer in the final frame of the ballgame. He was one of, if not the, most impressive all-around performer of the tournament and used this platform to become one of the state’s breakout 2024 players, where he’s now ranked No. 11 overall in Illinois.

A recent Purdue commit, Wolters first emerged here at this tourney for the Yard Goats where the 6-foot-3, 175-pound, high-waisted righty K’d eight in a complete game effort. Wolters held his velo throughout sitting 82-83 mph, topping at 84, with a viable breaking ball that flashed potential to become a quality secondary offering.