Prep Baseball Report

Illinois 2022 Rankings Updated


By Andy Sroka & Drew Locascio
Illinois Staff

Now that the summer circuit has concluded, it’s time for our staff to update the state’s player rankings, beginning with the Class of 2022, the seniors. The PBR Illinois staff is gathering and assessing its scouting reports, video, and notes collected throughout this summer from various showcases and tournaments to rearrange the top 300 in this massive update.

Today marks the start of our ‘22 rankings analysis, and we’ll spend the time at the top of the board, remarking on Illinois’ best seniors in the state and their performances since the start of spring.

TOP OF THE CLASS

+ We have a change at the top of the board, where No. 1-ranked RHP/INF Owen Murphy (Riverside-Brookfield; Notre Dame commit) now sits. Murphy took home the 2021 Illinois Player of The Year award after a sensational spring and starred as a two-way player on the national stage throughout the summer. Murphy offers intriguing two-way upside at the next level but it is his ability on the mound that has propelled him up to the top of the state’s class. Murphy’s athleticism helps him attack the strike zone with low-90s stuff on the regular, and he reached a 94 mph high on a couple different occasions, up from a 91.6 max at our Preseason All-State event back in March to go along with two different above-average breaking balls and advanced changeup.

Owen Murphy RHP / INF / Riverside-Brookfield, IL / 2022

Scouting report from the MLB PDP League (8/17): "Murphy doesn’t jump out physically, standing at about 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, and the tools aren’t super loud, but he’s a good athlete and does a lot of things well on both sides of the ball. A legitimate two-way prospect, the needle might point a little more toward him being a pitcher long term. In four innings across two appearances, he allowed just two hits and a walk while striking out 10. From a high-3/4 slot, he has an athletic delivery and pitches with regular effort, pumping low-90s fastballs with life. His slider is firm, ranging from 84-89 with hard, late break. He also mixes in a 75-77 curveball with good spin and sharp downer break. At the plate, he keeps the barrel in the hitting zone and can drive the ball to all fields. He has good actions on the infield and first-step quickness. His throws are accurate with plenty of carry. In five games, he went 4-for-9 with a double and home run."

(8/8/21)

+ LHP Noah Schultz (Oswego East; Vanderbilt) returns as the No. 2-ranked player in the state, and he, too, shined along the same circuit that Murphy did. He ventured to and through MLB’s PDP League and eventually to the Area Code Games, where he physically stood out for his 6-foot-9, 220-pound stature and he backed it up with increased velocity from a unique slot, paired with a biting, sweeping slider.

Noah Schultz LHP / Oswego East, IL / 2022

Scouting report from the MLB PDP League (8/17): “Schultz is long and lanky at a listed 6-foot-9, 220 pounds and makes for a tough at-bat with his sidearm slot and short arm action that makes the ball look like it comes out of his sleeve. His only baserunner in his first inning of work reached on an error while striking out two, but he ran into some traffic in his second after allowing a double, walk and bunt single to load the bases. He managed to pull a Houdini and escaped unscathed with three strikeouts, all on his slider. He returned for two more innings later in the week tossed two perfect innings, striking out three. Not only is his stuff tough to pick up, but the fastball sits in the low 90s, touching 94, with arm-side run, and his slider has flat, sweeping action at 76-78.” 

(8/10/21)

+ Chicago-area outfielders Brendan Summerhill (Whitney Young; Arizona) and OF Alex Stanwich (Lincoln-Way East; Tennessee) take up the next two spots on our board, at Nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Summerhill is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound left-handed hitter with present physicality, more strength to come and can really run, registering a 6.59 at the PBR Midwest ProCase in July. His fluid, rhythmic swing is consistently on the barrel and features a natural lift that results in high exit speeds, topping 98.5 mph this year, measured at a max batted distance of 380.2 feet – both of which are elite marks, especially for a player with top-end speed and arm strength (90 mph from the outfield). Summerhill climbed 13 huge spots in this update, now headed into the fall as a top-three ranked player in Illinois.

Brendan Summerhill (6/13/21)

+ Stanwich has long been at the top of the Illinois class, and he remains in the top-five after this update. He has recorded some of the hardest hit contact in this class, and on more than one occasion. Stanwich averaged an exit speed of 96.3 mph at the ProCase and reached a 103.5 high, and his best batted ball traveled an estimated 413 feet. He’s also a 6.58 runner, built at a muscular 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, and he actually offers some upside from the rubber, too, where he was up to 90 mph this spring and summer with a swing-and-miss breaking ball.

Alex Stanwich (7/6/21)

+ From Downers Grove South, RHP Ethan Patera (Louisville) proved that his diligent offseason translated effectively into a live game setting this spring and summer. Patera enhanced his high-powered arsenal back in March where he sat 92-94 mph in a ‘pen, and he reached a couple 95-96 highs in the late spring, more often sitting 90-94. An increase in the confidence and action of his secondaries – a slider and change – buoyed an already impressive profile. So, while Patera remains the No. 5-ranked player in the state, his spring and summer outings in front of us still have his arrow pointed up.

Ethan Patera (6/23/21)

+ Another high-level outfielder in the Illinois' 2022 class is Jack Lausch (Brother Rice; Notre Dame), who comes in at No. 6 on the big board. Lausch is a multi-sport star, fresh off quarterbacking the Crusaders to a 42-6 win in which he had a hand in five of the team’s touchdowns. His upside on the baseball field is evident, too, as an athletic left-handed hitter, with a short, twitchy swing and he floats around the diamond with ease. He committed to Notre Dame in both sports this past June.

+ INF Estevan Moreno (Montini Catholic) is the third Notre Dame recruit in the state’s top-seven, and like the two others, he vaulted himself up the rankings this past summer, too. Moreno wields some of the top power traits in the Midwest, and we’ve seen it on display upon each look. At July’s annual PBR Wisconsin 17U tournament, Moreno slugged several home runs with simple, effortless flicks of his wrist, complemented by his physical 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame that looks like it’s still maturing and developing. He moves around the infield well for his size, underscored by an elite 60-yard dash time clocked at the ProCase, measured at 6.58. While his best long-term home might be operating the hot corner, Moreno’s bat looks like it can anchor the middle of any lineup for the long haul.

Estevan Moreno (7/6/21)

+ Another physical prospect with big tools across the board making his way up the Illinois 2022 rankings is 3B/OF Luke Adams (Hinsdale Central). The 6-foot-4, 211-pound, Michigan State commit, is a 6.66 runner who has topped at 92 mph across the infield, 94 mph from the outfield and has some of the top raw power in the class; topping at 104 mph off the bat with a max distance of 407 feet off the bat during BP. In a tournament this summer back in June, Adams launched a ball that, according to TrackMan, went 464 feet and was measured at 105 mph off the bat. Despite the big tools and huge power in the bat, Adams takes competitive at-bats, can drive balls to all fields with authority and has a feel for the strike zone. Adams is also aggressive on the bases, looks to take the extra base and plays the game with a high-motor.

Luke Adams (7/6/21)

+ Now committed to Illinois State, 1B Daniel Pacella’s (Mundelein) bat strength is rivaled only by a few, if any, in the class. Pacella, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound, left-handed hitter, has consistently shown that his power potential plays in-game. In a playoff game this spring Pacella, facing a tough left/left matchup flicked a two-strike breaking ball over the left-center field fence with ease. Per TrackMan, Pacella’s average exit speed was recorded at nearly 98 mph last June, and it reached a 105.9 max at that same event. His Blast bat and hand speed metrics are similarly measured at elite rates, giving Pacella the projection to continue to generate offense in his final prep season and beyond.

Daniel Pacella (7/19/21)

+ Rounding out the top-10 is RHP Julius Sanchez (LaSalle-Peru; Illinois). Sanchez features low-effort arm strength and a sharp, biting curveball that tunnels off his heavy fastball well, including in our look this past June. There, Sanchez sat in the 89-91 mph range, up to 92, with a two-seamer that works downhill effectively. The combination of his ease of effort, athletic finish, and three-pitch repertoire give Sanchez a high floor to be a productive collegiate arm.

Julius Sanchez (6/26/21)

UPDATED TOP-10

RANK   NAME STATE SCHOOL CLASS POS COMMITMENT
1 Owen Murphy IL Riverside-Brookfield 2023 RHP Notre Dame
2 Noah Schultz IL Oswego East 2023 LHP Vanderbilt
3 Brendan Summerhill IL Whitney Young 2023 OF Arizona
4 Alex Stanwich IL Lincoln-Way East 2023 OF Tennessee
5 Ethan Patera IL Downers Grove South 2023 RHP Louisville
6 Jack Lausch IL Brother Rice 2023 OF Notre Dame
7 Estevan Moreno IL Montini Catholic 2023 INF Notre Dame
8 Luke Adams IL Hinsdale Central 2023 3B Michigan State
9 Daniel Pacella IL Mundelein 2023 1B Illinois State
10 Julius Sanchez IL LaSalle-Peru 2023 RHP Illinois

     
*CLICK HERE FOR THE UPDATED ILLINOIS 2022 RANKINGS *


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