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Team Illinois: Workout Day, Quick Hits

July 27, 2023
By: Illinois Scouting Staff

The 2023 PBR Future Games are in full swing, with Team Illinois’ week starting off on a high note yesterday after an impressive workout day. 

All of the position players for Team Illinois participated in a pro-style workout, collecting unrivaled data from our tech partners, and doing so in front of plenty of college coaches. 

We’ll have plenty of content rolling out as the week continues, including individual game recaps and social media highlights. For now, read below to learn more about a few standouts from yesterday’s workout. 

VERSATILE HIGH-CEILING PROSPECTS

+ 3B/OF CJ Deckinga (Minoooka, 2025) continues his arrow-up summer with an impressive workout day. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound, athletic, loose-levered, versatile prospect had one of the more intriguing workouts. He started his day by running a 6.97 60 with a top speed of 20 mph. At the plate, Deckinga displayed a loose, athletic right-handed swing that was consistently on time and on the barrel. He registered multiple 90+ mph exit velocities with two batted balls over 340 ft. Defensively, Deckinga had one of the top showings from the outfield, displaying clean actions while topping at 89 mph. He also looked natural on the infield with fluid footwork and an accurate arm that played at 84 mph. High-ceiling prospect who looks to be just scratching the surface of his potential. 


+ OF/1B Trey Meyers (New Trier, 2025) features not only one of the highest ceilings on Team Illinois but potentially the entire event as well. Meyers is built at a physical, broad-shouldered, yet athletic 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame and he ran  a 6.58, one of the top times of the workout. Meyers also swings a potent right-handed bat that works fluid and easy while staying on balance and in control throughout. He routinely stayed inside the baseball and peppering line-drives into the right-center gap. Meyers, whose furthest batted ball traveled 346’ also registered a peak exit velocity of 93.6 mph and has all the tools to be a high-end prospect in the state. 


CATCHERS

+ Quinn Schambow (Libertyville, 2025) and Zach Bava (Naperville North, 2025) both had strong all-around showing for Team Illinois: 

+ Schambow showed off his usual big arm behind the plate, topping at 84 mph from the crouch with his arm playing true and with easy life. Schambows low pop time was 1.86 and he also took a noteworthy round of BP working to the big part of the diamond consistently. The right-handed hitter launched his furthest batted ball 353 feet with a peak exit velocity of 93.3 mph. 


+ Bava, a left-handed hitter, took an intentful round of BP, staying direct to the baseball with lift and authority to the pull side. Bava drove a ball 377’ with an average batted ball distance of 312’, peak exit velocity of 96.2 mph, 91.4 mph average. After his loud round of BP he proceeded to play efficiently out of the crouch recording a few sub-2.0 pop times (1.89-2.02 range) while topping at 78 mph and consistently putting throws around the bag.

INFIELDERS

+ MIF Karlos Otero (Romeoville, 2025) put together one of the smoother workouts of the day for Team Illinois. Measuring at 5-foot-9, 163 pounds, Otero’s athleticism and body control were on full display, running a 6.79 60-yard dash with a 1.69 10-yard split. The right-handed hitter has an extremely simple, quiet and repeatable approach, consistently staying on balance and on the barrel throughout his round. Defensively, Otero continued to shine where he is a fluid, fundamentally sound middle infielder with confident hands and the ability to play on the move with ease and body control. He also showed off plenty of arm strength to stay on the left side of the diamond long term, topping at 87 mph. 


+ MIF Gavin Triezenberg (Brother Rice, 2025) is another smooth middle infielder who continued to do what we have become accustomed to seeing defensively. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound, broad-shouldered right-handed hitter took one of the easier, polished rounds of defense on the day. Triezenberg never gets sped up and played with all kinds of body control and ease while showcasing confident, soft hands and the ability to throw accurately from multiple platforms while topping at 84 mph across. Triezenberg has also cut down his 60-time considerably over the last few years, now running a 7.05 while working to both gaps in BP, registering a 93.4 mph max exit velocity and a furthest batted ball of 347’.

+ CIF AJ Putty (Huntley, 2025) is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound, ultra-physical, right-handed hitter who showed off his power potential throughout BP. Putty made some of the loudest, most consistent contact on the day, averaging 92.9 mph, T98.3 throughout his round. He also launched a ball 373’ and showed clean hands and an 83 mph arm across the infield.


+ INF Brady Green (Oak Park-River Forest, 2025) is a 5-foot-11, 170-pound, right-handed hitter with broad-shoulders and developing strength throughout. Green ran a 7.02 60 and took aggressive, intentful hacks during BP, registering a 97.1 mph max exit velocity with an 87.1 mph average. Green's bat stays in the zone and long time with present hand strength and occasional leverage to the pull side. Defensively, he is a steady, sound defender who can play on the move and he topped at 84 mph across the infield. 

+ INF Nathan O’Donnell (Providence Catholic, 2025) was another Illinois infielder who was all over the barrel with some authority during BP. O’Donnell, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound, right-handed hitter, swung with controlled aggression, was on time and hammered baseballs to the big part of the diamond throughout, with balls jumping off the barrel at times. O’Donnell peaked at 97.7 mph off the bat, 89.1 average and launched his furthest batted ball 367’. He also registered four balls over 350’ and three balls came off the bat at 96+ mph. Defensively he is a steady corner infield defender who ran a 7.07 60 and topped at 85 mph across. 

OUTFIELDERS

+ After showing well at the Central Illinois Open, OF Liam Arsich (Lincoln-Way Central, 2025) impressed in his Team Illinois workout. Listed at 6-foot-3, 177 pounds, Arsich ran a 6.57 60-yard dash with a 1.60 10-yard split. Offensively, Arsich peppered the middle of the field with line drives from a short, simple, and level right-handed swing that stayed in the hitting zone. He moves fluidly in the outfield too with long, athletic strides and arm strength to pair, peaking at 87 mph. Continuously a winner from the summer, Arsich will be one to watch for Team Illinois as the week rolls on.


+ Team Illinois features three athletic, bat-to-ball left/left outfielders in Ben Toft (New Trier, 2025), Wyatt Wawro (Downers Grove South) and Joey Arend (St. Charles East, 2025).

+ Toft is listed at 5-foot-10, 165-pounds and is one of the top overall athletes on Team Illinois. Toft showed loose, easy hands with whip through the zone and was consistently on the barrel with a lifted approach. Toft registered an average exit velocity of 90.1 mph and a max of 96.4 mph, highly-impressive given his stature. Toft also possesses all kinds of sneaky juice, launching his furthest batted ball 351 feet. The 6.81 runner has natural actions in the outfield with a clean, loose arm that topped at 87 mph. 

+ Wawro is listed at 5-foot-11, 155-pounds, and has fluidity and rhythm in his left-handed swing. Wawro ran a 6.95, worked to all fields in BP with loose, athletic hands, stayed on-plane and on balance throughout. Defensively, he is an easy mover and topped at 82 mph. Wawro will be one to follow during game play as all he did this summer when we got our eyes on him was find barrels.

+ Arend is yet another athletic, fluid mover that will occupy the outfield for Team Illinois this week. The 6-foot, 160-pound left-handed hitter, hits with fluidity and a presence in the box. He creates whip through the zone with loose, strong hands and the bat works flat throughout. Arend showed a line-drive approach with occasional sneaky juice off the bat, registering a peak exit velocity of 93.2 mph and a max batted ball of 329’. The 6.97 runner in the 60, flashes natural outfield actions, is an athletic mover with a loose arm that played at 83 mph. 

CLICK HERE for a look at the entire Team Illinois showcase.

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