On Feb. 26, the PBR Illinois staff hosted the Preseason All-State: Upperclass showcase at The MAX in McCook, Ill., featuring many of the state’s top players inside the state's Class of 2023. This event helped our staff gain a clearer picture of the top juniors in Illinois, many of whom can be considered the top uncommitted '23s in the state. 

In the week that followed this event, we produced post-event analysis that includes performance highlights inside of our Quick Hits story, a look at the traditional stats measured within our Statistical Analysis piece, batted-ball and pitch data compiled in TrackMan Files, swing metrics captured on the Blast Motion Board, and sight scores from an athletic perspective tracked on the Vizual Edge Scoreboard.

You can learn more about the state-of-the-art technologies featured at our showcases within the hyperlinks above. We rolled out the position players from the week, starting with the catchers and outfielders, and infield group before finishing out on the mound with the pitcher reports.

We'll wrap up this events analysis today by ranking the top overall prospects in attendance from this premier events. Read below to see where these upper-tier prospects in the Illinois’ 2023 class stack up against each other. 

TOP OVERALL

1. Ryan Niedzwiedz SS / West Aurora, IL / 2023 Positional Profile: SS/2B Body: 6-0, 190-pounds. Hit: LHH. High-level left-handed swing. Balanced, relaxed setup. Fluid hand load, short stride. Compact swing, fast hands, present bat speed, highly repeatable, worked on the barrel to both gaps during round. Power: 101.8 max exit velocity, averaged 94.4 mph. 347’ max distance. Arm: RH. INF - 90 mph. Short, loose arm action, high 3/4 slot Defense: Steady defender on the infield, quick feet, quick hands, clean actions. Run: 7.02 runner in the 60.

2. Kerim Orucevic SS / Maine South , IL / 2023 Positional Profile: SS/3B Body: 6-0, 190-pounds. Hit: LHH. Presence and look in the box. Fluid load. Bat speed. Loose, strong hands. Long through the hitting zone. On the barrel with authority at times. Power: 95.9 max exit velocity, averaged 87 mph. 337’ max distance. Arm: RH. INF - 88 mph. Short draw out of the glove into a loose, quick high 3/4 slot. Ball jumps out of the hand with backspin. Defense: Some effort, quick feet, steady hands with athletic actions and the ability to play on the move.

3. Drew Zemaitis RHP / Providence Catholic, IL / 2023 Positional Profile: RHP Body: 6-2, 195-pounds. Delivery: Athletic, drop and drive delivery. Repeatable. Works in line with target. Falls off to the first side at times. Arm Action: RH. Short, clean arm action. High 3/4 slot. FB: T90.6, 89.5-90.6 mph. Firm fastball, slight arm side run. T2481, 2419 average rpm. CB: 79.5-81.2 mph. Variable action and spin axis.Typically short lateral action. T2635, 2583 average rpm. CH: 80.2-83.1 mph. Sinking action. Thrown with conviction. T1659, 1608 average rpm.

4. Luke Stulga OF / St. Laurence , IL / 2023 Positional Profile: OF Body: 6-3, 180-pounds. Hit: RHH. Balanced setup. Quiet in the box. Efficient movements in the box. Quick hands, present bat speed and repeated hard contact into the pull-side gap. Power: 96.8 max exit velocity, averaged 90.8 mph. 371’ max distance. Arm: RH. OF - 87 mph. Long, loose arm action. High 3/4 slot with life out of the hand. Plays with carry through the target. Defense: Aggressive. Athletic feel and actions. Plays loose, confident hands, good routes. Run: 6.54 runner in the 60.