Inside the Rankings: 2018 Newcomers
November 10, 2017
The 2018 class is updated and expanded, we released the update on Wednesday, followed by a look at some risers yesterday. Today highlights the newcomers to the rankings, with more than 50 new additions.
Victor Jackson (Lake View) is the highest ranking newcomer in the Class of 2018 Rankings checking in at No. 38. Jackson is an athletic 5-foot-11, 175-pound right-handed hitting outfielder. Jackson’s best tool is his speed, which plays up in the outfield and he projects as a true centerfielder. At the plate Jackson has a short, simple stroke and flashes power to the pull side. He recently committed to Wabash Valley JC.
RHP Nick Shelton (Sandburg) debuts in the rankings at No. 65. Shelton had an eye opening performance at the Senior Games in August and was named the No. 1 Overall Prospect at the event. The projectable 6-foot-4, 185-pound right-hander worked 85-88 topping out at 89 mph with his fastball. Shelton is committed to Heartland CC.
Joliet Catholic LHP Ryan Surin has seen a surge in his stock this fall. Surin fell out of the rankings for a short period of time as he was still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery that he underwent in April of 2016. Now 18 months out of surgery, Surin looks poised for a breakout senior campaign. His fastball sits easily at 82-85 mph and has flashed a good hard breaking ball at 73-75 mph that has the ability to tie up right-handed hitters. On top of that Surin is a high academic student.
RHP Luke Lamm (Plainfield East) checks in at No. 73 in the updated rankings. Lamm was named the top RHP pitching prospect from the Unsigned Senior Showcase in October. Lamm worked 86-87 mph with his fastball and has a loose arm action. His changeup worked at 74-76 mph and had late running action.
Toolsy OF Luke Seidel (Fremd) was another prospect who popped up at the Unsigned Senior Showcase in October. Seidel is one of the top runners in the class after running a 6.56 60-yard dash. He is still raw at the plate but shows good balance and quick hands with a gap to gap approach. Seidel checks in at No. 105 in the rankings.
RHP Ty Rybarczyk (Hall) cracks the rankings for the first time, just outside of the top 100. Rybarczyk won’t grab your attention in stature (5-foot-8, 140-pounds), but what he lacks in size he makes up for with competitive feel in the strikezone. A bulldog type on the mound, he sits 84-86 mph and can drop three pitches for strikes.
A pair of North Suburban OFs Nick Bonk (Stevenson) and Nick Angel (Libertyville) debut in the top 120 after their performances at events this fall. Bonk, a Northern Illinois commit, has a strong frame at 6-foot-6 and 205-pounds and has two way potential. At the plate he shows strength and leverage thru contact and on the mound he tops out at 86 mph with his fastball. Angel, a Dayton commit, is an athletic 6-foot-4, 195-pound right/right outfielder with projection left in his frame. At the plate he has present bat speed with looseness in his swing and runs a 6.79 60-yard dash.
Making the top 130, Diego Munoz is a Western Illinois commit who will anchor a Mount Carmel infield loaded with talent. Munoz was one of the top prospects this fall at the PBR Senior Games. Quick-twitch athlete Bobby Grimes (Nazareth) debuts at No. 127 in the new rankings. Grimes possess a strong arm from behind the plate and is an above average runner
LHP Ryan Palmblad (Brother Rice) is another southpaw who has quietly flown under the radar. Palmblad showed a high rate of pitchability at the Senior Games in August and threw well again with a dominating performance in Iowa the last weekend of September.
Here’s a look a more new additions to the list:
| NAME | STATE | SCHOOL | CLASS | POS | COMMITMENT |
| Victor Jackson | IL | Lake View | 2018 | OF | Wabash Valley JC |
| Nick Shelton | IL | Sandburg | 2018 | RHP | Heartland CC |
| Ryan Surin | IL | Joliet Catholic | 2018 | LHP | |
| Luke Lamm | IL | Plainfield East | 2018 | RHP | |
| Luke Seidel | IL | Fremd | 2018 | OF | |
| Ty Rybarczyk | IL | Hall | 2018 | RHP | Parkland JC |
| Nick Bonk | IL | Stevenson | 2018 | OF | Northern Illinois |
| Nick Angel | IL | Libertyville | 2018 | OF | Dayton |
| Diego Munoz | IL | Mount Carmel | 2018 | 2B | Western Illinois |
| Bobby Grimes | IL | Nazareth | 2018 | C | |
| Kevin Lapka | IL | Lane Tech | 2018 | OF | |
| Ryan Kaup | IL | Providence Catholic | 2018 | 2B | Wabash Valley JC |
| Brendan Barrette | IL | Oak Park-River Forest | 2018 | RHP | Parkland JC |
| Ryan Vogt | IL | Trico | 2018 | RHP | McKendree University |
| Ryan Palmblad | IL | Brother Rice | 2018 | LHP | |
| David Ascencio | IL | Plainfield Central | 2018 | 3B | Parkland JC |
| Marco Yates | IL | Belvidere North | 2018 | SS | |
| Anthony Scanlon | IL | Mount Carmel | 2018 | RHP | |
| Brandon Petkoff | IL | Lincoln-Way East | 2018 | SS | Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
| Kyle Werries | IL | Chatham-Glenwood | 2018 | 3B | Lincoln Land CC |
| Jake Berger | IL | Lockport | 2018 | RHP | |
| Gage Olszak | IL | St. Laurence | 2018 | 1B | Saint Xavier |
| Justin Conant | IL | Joliet Catholic | 2018 | SS | |
| Caleb Durbin | IL | Lake Forest | 2018 | SS | |
| Quinn Lowery | IL | O'Fallon | 2018 | OF | |
| Nolan Unger | IL | Grant | 2018 | OF | |
| Max Snowden | IL | Grayslake Central | 2018 | OF | |
| Mikey Hampton | IL | Alton | 2018 | OF | |
| Sean Tillmon | IL | Plainfield North | 2018 | SS | |
| Logan Shepard | IL | Maroa-Forsyth | 2018 | C | |
| Michael Marseille | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2018 | SS | |
| Ty Liaromatis | IL | Yorkville | 2018 | RHP | |
| Matthew Helwig | IL | Lincoln-Way Central | 2018 | RHP | |
| Ryan Turgeon | IL | Nazareth | 2018 | RHP | |
| Mark McCabe | IL | Naperville North | 2018 | LHP | |
| Simon Herold | IL | Minooka | 2018 | LHP | |
| Maurey Garrett | IL | Homewood-Flossmoor | 2018 | 2B | Heartland CC |
| Luke Faifer | IL | Minooka | 2018 | C | Maryville University |
| Zach Verta | IL | St. Laurence | 2018 | OF | Calumet-St. Joseph's |
| Chase Grasso | IL | McHenry West | 2018 | C | |
| Brock Seymour | IL | Southwestern | 2018 | LHP | |
| Jared Viele | IL | Sacred Heart-Griffin | 2018 | OF | |
| Matt Camp | IL | Jacobs | 2018 | RHP | McHenry County JC |
| Nic Baker | IL | Rochester | 2018 | 3B | |
| Dan Balzhiser | IL | Plainfield East | 2018 | LHP | Wisconsin-Parkside |
| Jeff Morton | IL | Mundelein | 2018 | OF | |
| Brandon Olion | IL | Champaign Centennial | 2018 | OF | |
| Chase Maifield | IL | Grant | 2018 | 1B | |
| Justin Lavrisa | IL | Jacobs | 2018 | LHP | |
| Corey Hall | IL | Champaign Centennial | 2018 | OF |