On July 17, the PBR Illinois team held a Class of 2021 Showcase at Lee Pfund Stadium in Carol Stream, Ill. Over 50 incoming juniors attended this bi-annual event and it, as usual, helped shine a light on some budding prospects in the 2021 class.

Throughout this week, we’ll be breaking down each and every prospect who attended this event, beginning today with the showcase’s catchers. For previous analysis on this event, check out our rapid analysis inside our Quick Hits post, as well as a more statistical look in our Stats Story.

For now, continue on below to see the top-five-ranked catchers in Carol Stream, and reports on the rest of the backstops who made it out.

TOP PROSPECTS

1. Danny Nuccio, Plainfield North, 2021
Positional Profile: C/OF Has been on the rise this summer. Follow 2021 catcher.
Body: 6-foot, 190-pounds. Strong, wide-shouldered, physical frame.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, smooth load, short stride and maintains balance through contact. Strong wrists, fast bat, short bat path, repeatable swing. Consistent, hard, line-drive contact to the pull side.
Power: 82 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 77 mph. Short, easy arm action, over-the-top slot and accurate, true arm with carry.
Defense: 2.08-2.15 pop times. Soft hands, athletic fielding position, fluid footwork and clean out of the chute.
Run: 6.98 runner in the 60. Well-above average runner for his size and position.

2. Kyle Hayes, St. Charles East, 2021
Positional Profile: C
Body: 6-foot-1, 200-pounds. Physical, barrel-chested, strong frame.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, slightly open setup, short stride and maintains balance through contact. Advanced bat speed, quiet aggressive swing and strong wrists. Short bat path, natural lift in swing, pull approach and power potential.
Power: 90 mph exit velocity from the tee. Present bat strength with power potential.
Arm: RH. C - 78 mph. Short, loose arm action, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.09-2.15 pop times. Athletic fielding position and actions, soft hands, quick release.
Run: 7.65 runner in the 60. 

3. Daniel Contreras, Rockford Boylan Catholic, 2021
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-foot-11, 205-pounds. Wide-shouldered, strong frame.
Hit: RHH. Open, tall setup, minimal load and stride gets back to square. Aggressive swing, fast bat, loose hands, short bat path, gap-to-gap approach and fluid rhythm.
Power: 88 mph exit velocity from the tee. Present bat strength.
Arm: RH. C - 74 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot, accurate throws, flashed carry.
Defense: 2.07-2.11 pop times. Athletic setup, clean, quick release, fluid footwork and soft hands.
Run: 7.55 runner in the 60. 

4. Marco Torres, St. Charles North, 2021
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-foot-9, 175-pounds. Compact frame, strong lower half.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, slightly crouched, short leg-kick timing trigger. Flashed quick-twitch, fast bat, short uphill bat path and hard gap-to-gap contact.
Power: 88 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 73 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot and accurate arm.
Defense: 2.08-2.14 pop times. Soft hands, flexible hips, quick and clean release, direction varies. Throws from knees at times.
Run: 7.19 runner in the 60. 

5. Will Sommers, Prospect, 2021
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-foot-8, 165-pounds. Compact build, strong lower half.
Hit: RHH. Open, tall setup, minimal loading action, short stride and maintains balance through contact.  Aggressive swing, flashed bat speed, long, level bat path. Consistent, hard, line-drive contact to the pull-side.
Power: 85 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot and accurate arm, consistently on the bag.
Defense: 2.18-2.28 pop times. Steady hands, clean tansfer, works on-line. Soft block, deadens.
Run: 7.91 runner in the 60. 

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Anthony Dudzienski, Oswego East, 2021
Positional Profile: C/2B
Body: 5-foot-10, 140-pounds. Lean, thin frame.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, slightly crouched setup, short leg-lift.  Long bat path, line-drive approach and uses the entire field.
Power: 77 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 75 mph. Short arm action works from a 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.18-2.30 pop times. Open setup, reliable hands, clean release at times.
Run: 7.35 runner in the 60. 

Joe Fiorillo, Lockport, 2021
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-foot-8, 170-pounds. Compact, strong, durable frame.
Hit: LHH. Crouched, slightly open setup, short leg-lift timing trigger.  Level path, flashed bat strength and line-drive approach.
Power: 82 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 74 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.13-2.19 pop times. Sure-handed, flexible hips, clean out of the crouch and soft blocks.
Run: 7.52 runner in the 60. 

Caleb Hubbard, St. Charles East, 2021
Positional Profile: OF/C
Body: 5-foot-10, 165-pounds. Athletic, lean frame.
Hit: RHH. Open setup, short leg-lift timing trigger. Short bat path, line-drive approach.
Power: 81 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 72 mph. OF - 79 mph. Arm works short and firm from a high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.10-2.23 pop times. Steady hands, clean release from behind the plate. Plays through the baseball in the outfield, quick release.
Run: 6.75 runner in the 60. Advanced runner.

Leo Miller, New Trier, 2021
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-foot-11, 190-pounds. Strong build, defined lower half.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, crouched setup, smooth load, short stride and maintains balance.  Loose hands, long bat path, natural lift in swing and flashed bat speed
Power: 89 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 69 mph. Long arm action, over-the-top slot.
Defense: 2.33-2.44 pop times. Flexible, athletic setup, steady hands, directional out of the crouch and soft blocks.
Run: 7.58 runner in the 60. 

Ryan Schmidt, West Chicago, 2021
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 6-foot-2, 160-pounds. Long, lean, projectable build.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, quiet setup, minimal load and long stride. Long, uphill bat path and pull approach
Power: 83 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Arm works long and loose from an over-the-top slot.
Defense: 2.12-2.19 pop times. Soft hands, clean and atheltic out of the crouch.
Run: 7.37 runner in the 60. 

Patrick Wind, Montini Catholic, 2021
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-foot-11, 190-pounds. Strong, physical build.
Hit: RHH. Tall, narrow setup, short stride.  Long, uphill bat path, pull approach and ball jumps off the bat at times.
Power: 84 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 74 mph. Short arm action, 3/4 slot and accurate throws, consistently around the second-base bag.
Defense: 2.12-2.26 pop times. Clean out of the crouch, reliable hands.
Run: 7.67 runner in the 60. 

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