On thursday, October 8th, PBR Illinois released its first ever Class of 2023 Illinois rankings with a modest list of the 25 best prospects we have seen to date. Today we take a deeper dive into the rankings looking at a couple of noteworthy prospects outside of our Top-10 list, which we already touched on at length during the rankings release.

The majority of the prospects listed from No. 10-25 are either high-follow arms as well as a couple of impact left-handed hitters.

HIGH-FOLLOW ARMS

Drew Zemaitis RHP / Providence Catholic, IL / 2023 Rankings  StateRank: 12 / POS: 3 Athletic, broad-shouldered, 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame. Smooth operator, athletic and comfortable on the mound, delivery is repeatable, fluid and works with minimal effort. Seemingly having a game of catch on the mound. Everything comes out of the hand clean and easy. Fastball played with arm-side-run, late jump through the zone, sat 82-85 mph at the PBR Fall Championship. Slider is an advanced offering, 69-70 mph, 10/4 shape, tight spin, late two-plane action, (2384 RPM; has been 2500+). Showed a curveball, 11/5 shape, depth. High-follow 2023 right-handed pitcher.

Matt Sauser RHP / SS / Normal University, IL / 2023 Rankings  StateRank: 14 / POS: 4 Report (9.17.20): Sauser is a picture of projection on the mound, standing 6-foot-2, 157-pounds with gangly levers. His arm is extremely loose and live working out of a high ¾ slot, producing an 82-85 mph fastball that averages a spin rate of nearly 2,500 rpm. His curveball spins just as efficiently, averaging roughly 2,600 rpm with tight 11/5 shape – a true separator for his age.