Prep Baseball Report

Honiotes picks school, and other news



By Sean Duncan

Another top Class of 2013 prospect is off the board when Geneva RHP Andy Honiotes made his verbal commitment to the University of Miami. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Honiotes will be the No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2013 class when the new rankings are released in the coming weeks.

Honiotes features an impressive four-pitch mix – all of which he throws for strikes. His fastball sits in the 87-91 mph range and can sustain it for an entire game. His slider, however, looks to have the potential of being a dominant pitch at the next level. Honiotes finished his impressive junior campaign with a 7-0 record and a 1.01 ERA. He struck out 74 and walked 17 in 48.1 innings.

In other news, Galesburg catcher Chad Johnson signed with the Royals after being selected in the fifth round – the highest Illinois prep player picked in the MLB draft. Johnson’s signing hurt Illinois State, which was counting on the left-handed hitter to be a part of the Redbirds’ future.

One person’s loss is another’s gain. Prairie Ridge’s Matt Krenz, who is one of the best catch-and-throw guys in the 2012 class, has decommitted from John A. Logan JC and is now headed to Illinois State.

Send all Illinois recruiting information to [email protected]