By PBR Scouting Staff

The final rendition of the Class of 2017 Overall Rankings were made live last week.

The Illinois Class of 2017 was dominated by pitchers with 9 of the top 10 spots being pitchers. The top three spots are occupied by left-handed pitchers in Reid Detmers, Brendan Murphy, and Cole Kmet.

Detmers (Chatham-Glenwood), a 6-foot-2, 200-pound Louisville commit, sits atop the Illinois 2017 class. Detmers, arguably the most consistent performer in the class since he burst onto the scene at the 2015 Future Games features a fastball that sits comfortably in the 88-91 mph range with advanced pitchability. The solidly built left-hander finished the spring with a 9-1 record, one save and a 0.836 ERA. In 67 innings pitched he struck out 153, gave up 24 hits and a total of eight earned runs on the year.  

LHP Brendan Murphy (Mundelein) has long intrigued the scouting community with a lanky projectable frame at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds and a three pitch feel. This spring Murphy came out working 88-91 and topping at 92 mph with his fastball. As the season progressed Murphy worked mostly 88 mph with his fastball. His changeup shows plus potential, but used it sparingly in games. The slider has potential to be an average pitch at the next level. Murphy is committed to Arizona State, and was taken in the 4the round by the Milwaukee Brewers. Signs point towards Murphy starting his professional career with the Brewers. This season he went 9-1 with 91 strikeouts and a 1.99 ERA.

TOP 10

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Reid Detmers	IL	Chatham-Glenwood	2017	LHP	Louisville
2	Brendan Murphy	IL	Mundelein	2017	LHP	Arizona State
3	Cole Kmet	IL	St. Viator	2017	LHP	Notre Dame
4	Ryan Kutt	IL	Brother Rice	2017	RHP	Illinois
5	Ryan Sublette	IL	Lemont	2017	RHP	Texas Tech
6	Austin Marozas	IL	Plainfield South	2017	RHP	Kentucky
7	Bobby Miller	IL	McHenry West	2017	RHP	Louisville
8	Glenn Albanese	IL	Batavia	2017	RHP	Louisville
9	Donivan Williams	IL	Richards	2017	3B	Illinois State
10	Erik Kaiser	IL	Waterloo	2017	RHP	Vanderbilt

Football Commits Make Jumps

St. Viator LHP/OF Cole Kmet and Stevenson OF Henry Marchese jump in the rankings.

The biggest revelation in the Class of 2017 was St. Viator LHP/OF Cole Kmet. Kmet, a Notre Dame football and baseball commit dominated this spring both on the mound and at the plate. The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Kmet is highly athletic for his size. At the plate he shows the best raw power in the class, this year he hit .443 with 12 home runs. On the mound Kmet has topped out at 91 mph to go along with a sharp breaking slider at 78-81 mph. He racked up 105 strikeouts in 62.1 innings pitched.  

Stevenson OF Henry Marchese is committed to play wide receiver at Iowa. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound left-handed hitter possess some of the best in game speed in the class. He shows a balanced setup at the plate with a line drive gap to gap approach. Marchese has the tools to play centerfield and hit at the top of the lineup. He was drafted in the 34th round by the San Diego Padres, but it's unsure what his baseball future holds.  

Ryan Sublette Sizzles late in the Spring

Texas Tech commit, Ryan Sublette rose into the top five in Illinois after an impressive (8-1) spring season and a scintillating postseason start. Sublette led Lemont to a Regional Championship, throwing a one-hit complete game with 10 strikeouts. The athletically built, 6-foot-3, 185-pound, right-hander pitched the entire game at 92-94 mph, touching 95 three times, consistently dotting the knees to both sides of the plate.

Two left-handed arms climb

Joliet Catholic LHP Antonio Saldana came back strong this spring after a down summer. An improved frame at 6-foot-7, 230-pounds Saldana found his arm slot and it lead to a dominate spring. At the PBR Kick Off Classic Saldana dominated working 88-90 mph with his fastball to go along with a swing and miss slider at 76-79 mph. Saldana was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 38th round and will most likely be forgoing his commitment to Iowa Western CC to start his professional career.

Antonio Saldana (3.18.17)

St. Rita LHP Steven Washilewski, now ranked No. 28 in the class, was one of the top arms in the loaded Catholic League Blue this spring. The Kansas commit finished the spring 10-1 with a 0.82 ERA and twirled four shutouts. In 67.1 innings pitched he struck out 87, gave up 42 hits and a total of eight runs.

Look for this class of 2017 in Illinois to make some noise again in the 2020 MLB Draft after three years in college.

CLICK HERE for Final 2017 Class Rankings.

CLICK HERE for Final 2017 Overall Rankings.

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