By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor - Illinois/Wisconsin 

Follow @PBRIllinois

The Illinois high school season kicks off on March 13, the first day for regular season games.

Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we will be rolling out team previews of high school teams all across the state and  across all classifications, eventually launching our Preseason Power 25.

We have been sending out our annual Preseason Questionnaire to coaches all across the state and as the responses flood in we will bring you a snapshot of what to expect along with top players and keys to success for that particular team.

Team: Plainfield North
Preseason Rank: 10
2016 Record: 33-5
Conference: Southwest Prairie
IHSA Class: 4A
Head Coach: John Darlington
Playoff Run: 4th Place Finish
2016 Final Rank: 6
Returning Starters: 3
Returning Pitchers: 3

Top Players

KEY PLAYERS LOST
 Josh Garner, RHP/OF, 2016 (St. Louis)
Jake Dunham, C, 2016 (Northern Illinois)
Zach Jarosz, SS, 2016 (South Dakota State)
Justin Yeager, RHP, 2016 (Southern Illinois)
Josh Heckman, RHP/1B, 2016 (South Florida State)
Tyler Garrity, LHP, 2016

X-FACTOR
It’s safe to say RHP Brady Corrigan is poised for another PBR All-State type season, but the TIgers will need more than just Corrigan to make it back to Silver Cross Field. RHP Connor Peplow is the obvious choice to follow-up Corrigan in the rotation after losing 17 wins on the mound to graduation. Peplow logged over 26 innings in 11 games as a junior in essentially a closer type role. The wiry 6-foot-1 160-pound Illinois State commit has swing and miss stuff while running his fastball up to 91 mph, and flashed dominant starter capabilities in a 1-0 shutout win over Nequa Valley, collecting 12 strikeouts in seven innings last May. Transitioning him into a legitimate ace type arm in the rotation will be essential to a deep playoff run again for the Tigers.

NEWCOMER TO WATCH
There will be a lot of them as the Tigers look to replace a senior heavy lineup from a year ago. But the biggest strength of the Tigers junior class may be their pitching. RHP Brady Miller saw limited varsity innings last year as a sophomore, add RHP Gavin Doyle and LHP Keegan Bates to that mix and you have a trio of arms that should be able to step right in and and fill most of the hole left by Josh Garner and Tyler Garrity. Miller, Doyle and Bates all have next level stuff, who will take the ball behind Corrigan and Peplow will be the only question for Coach Darlington.

Brady Miller (2.19.17)

STAT RAT
10-2, 1.36 ERA, 79 IP, 85 K: Brady Corrigan had a remarkable junior campaign en route to a second team PBR All-State selection. The Arizona State commit was a dominant arm for the Tigers in 2016 allowing just five earned runs heading into the state tournament. Look for Corrigan to post similar number again in 2017 as the ace of the Tiger staff.

OUTLOOK

There’s no denying Plainfield North has a lot of holes to fill from last year’s fourth place finishing squad, and varsity experience is clearly a weakness of the Tigers. But pitching and defense wins games and good thing for Coach Darlington is they shouldn’t be short on either. Coach Darlington is expecting a more athletic team all around the diamond and a deep pitching staff with a ton of upside that will need to get their feet wet early. Alex Steinbach will likely anchor the lineup as the only returner to the lineup with significant at bats in 2016 collecting over 100 of them, the next closest returning offensive threat is Connor Peplow who saw just 13 at bats in 18 games. Reloading a new look lineup could be a challenge for the Tigers, but the safety net of their pitching staff should give Coach Darlington the luxury to tinker with the lineup in order to find that winning combination by playoff time.

BOTTOM LINE
With so many unknowns and holes to fill, the Tigers are tough to predict in 2017, but the talent is there, it just may take some early training wheels to get all the newcomers up to speed. While much of the attention in 2017 may go to their neighbors to the south, that could be a good thing for the Tigers as they figure out their new look lineup. Don’t be surprised to see Plainfield North fly quietly under the radar and contend for a Southwest Prairie title and more.

Make sure to follow @pbrillinois on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the season.

preseason countdown