Thu June 18, 2020
On Tuesday, June 16th, the Top Prospect - Chicago took place at Ozinga Field in Crestwood, IL. 40 of the top uncommitted 2021 prospects in Illinois participated in a pro-style workout in front of close to 20 college coaches.
The event was also recorded live via Periscope and can be viewed HERE and HERE.
Today, we’re going to begin breaking the event from a statistical perspective, utilizing the measured data we gathered. We’ll share the leaderboards from each of the statistical categories, highlighting the top performers at the Top Prospect - Chicago, all of whom remain uncommitted.
OF Cole Luckey (Glenbrook South) has established himself as one of the top uncommitted 2021 position players still on the board with his performances at the first two Top Prospect events of the summer. Luckey backed up his 6.63 60-time at the Top Prospect - St. Louis with a 6.64 in Chicago.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | 60-yard |
| 1 | Cole Luckey | IL | Glenbrook South | 2021 | OF | 6.64 |
| 2 | Quinton Schwartz | IL | Jacobs | 2021 | OF | 6.72 |
| 3 | Noah Jouras | IL | Lyons Township | 2021 | C | 6.81 |
| 4 | Mario Ferri | IL | Addison Trail | 2021 | SS | 6.82 |
| 5 | Grant Palmer | IL | Neuqua Valley | 2021 | 2B | 6.85 |
| 6 | Michael Rivera | IL | Warren | 2021 | RHP | 6.87 |
| 7 | Jake Tapia | IL | Belvidere North | 2021 | 2B | 6.93 |
Another uncommitted prospect making his case as a high-follow 2021 is RHP DJ Morand (Loyola Academy). Morand posted the top fastball of the day at 90.71 mph, per TrackMan. Right behind Morand is another high-follow right-hander in Nick Walczak (Maine South). Walczak sat mostly 87-88 mph and featured one of the best off-speed pitches on the day, a late fading swing-and-miss changeup at the bottom of the zone.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Max FB |
| 1 | DJ Morand | IL | Loyola Academy | 2021 | RHP | 91 mph |
| 2 | Nick Walczak | IL | Maine South | 2021 | RHP | 88 mph |
| ^ | Anthony Sorrentino | IL | Lyons Township | 2021 | RHP | 88 mph |
| ^ | Michael Rivera | IL | Warren | 2021 | RHP | 88 mph |
| 3 | Bradin Baucum | IL | Altamont | 2021 | RHP | 87 mph |
| 4 | Ryan Weaver | IL | Cary-Grove | 2021 | LHP | 86 mph |
| ^ | Mason Telford | IL | Streator | 2021 | RHP | 86 mph |
| ^ | Will Morris | IL | Plainfield South | 2021 | RHP | 86 mph |
| ^ | Drew Martin | IL | Mt. Pulaski | 2021 | RHP | 86 mph |
| 5 | Conner Lutes | IL | Libertyville | 2021 | RHP | 85 mph |
| ^ | Brady Wells | IL | Libertyville | 2021 | RHP | 85 mph |
| ^ | Andrew Nichols | IL | Olympia | 2021 | RHP | 85 mph |
| 6 | Noah Klein | IL | Loyola Academy | 2021 | RHP | 84 mph |
| ^ | Keagan Bobbitt | IL | Lincoln-Way West | 2021 | LHP | 84 mph |
| ^ | Benjamin Benoit | IL | Hampshire | 2021 | RHP | 84 mph |
C Benji Ries (Stevenson) not only led the position players in exit velocity but he also took one of the top rounds of BP on the day. Ries swings with intent, and is consistently on the barrel while creating advanced bat speed – measured at 78.3 mph, according to BLAST.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Exit Velo |
| 1 | Benji Ries | IL | Stevenson | 2021 | C | 96 |
| 2 | Maxwell Thompson | IL | Warren | 2021 | 1B | 95 |
| 3 | Cole Luckey | IL | Glenbrook South | 2021 | OF | 94 |
| ^ | Nicholas Shiu | IL | Warren Township | 2021 | 1B | 94 |
| 4 | Daniel Contreras | IL | Boylan Catholic | 2021 | C | 93 |
| ^ | Darryl Loyd III | IL | Morgan Park | 2021 | 1B | 93 |
| ^ | Kyle Mack | IL | Yorkville | 2021 | 2B | 93 |
| 5 | Jake Tapia | IL | Belvidere North | 2021 | 2B | 91 |
| 6 | Rance Bryant | IL | Bismarck-Henning | 2021 | SS | 90 |
| ^ | Grant Palmer | IL | Neuqua Valley | 2021 | 2B | 90 |
| 7 | Noah Jouras | IL | Lyons Township | 2021 | C | 89 |
| ^ | Zachary Kim | IL | Glenbrook North | 2021 | SS | 89 |
| ^ | Brant Singler | IL | Providence Catholic | 2021 | 1B | 89 |
| ^ | Max McCallum | IL | St. Francis | 2021 | OF | 89 |
SS/RHP Michael Rivera (Warren) continues to show true two-way potential, topping at 87 mph across the infield and 88 mph on the mound. To go along with his big arm across the infield, Rivera also ran a 6.87 60.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | INF Velo |
| 1 | Michael Rivera | IL | Warren | 2021 | RHP | 87 |
| 2 | Kyle Mack | IL | Yorkville | 2021 | 2B | 86 |
| 3 | Mario Ferri | IL | Addison Trail | 2021 | SS | 85 |
| ^ | Grant Palmer | IL | Neuqua Valley | 2021 | 2B | 85 |
| 4 | Tristan Samuelian | IL | Burlington Central | 2021 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Zachary Kim | IL | Glenbrook North | 2021 | SS | 84 |
| ^ | Jake Tapia | IL | Belvidere North | 2021 | 2B | 84 |
| 5 | Nick Gehrke | IL | Minooka | 2021 | 2B | 83 |
| 6 | Alex Milone | IL | Prairie Ridge | 2021 | SS | 81 |
| ^ | Darryl Loyd III | IL | Morgan Park | 2021 | 1B | 81 |
| 7 | Quinton Schwartz | IL | Jacobs | 2021 | OF | 80 |
| ^ | Nicholas Shiu | IL | Warren Township | 2021 | 1B | 80 |
| ^ | Maxwell Thompson | IL | Warren | 2021 | 1B | 80 |
Luckey matched his high-end speed with premium outfield arm strength. Factor that in to an emerging right-handed hit tool with plenty of upside still to un-tap and Luckey is one of the more intriguing position players still available in the state.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | OF Velo |
| 1 | Cole Luckey | IL | Glenbrook South | 2021 | OF | 90 |
| 2 | Nick Varon | IL | Fremd | 2021 | 1B | 86 |
| 3 | Will Girardi | IL | Deemack | 2021 | OF | 85 |
The trio of catchers made up arguably the top position player group on the day, and all three of the backstops should be on college coaches' radars moving forward.
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | C Velo |
| 1 | Daniel Contreras | IL | Boylan Catholic | 2021 | C | 76 |
| 2 | Benji Ries | IL | Stevenson | 2021 | C | 75 |
| ^ | Noah Jouras | IL | Lyons Township | 2021 | C | 75 |
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Pop Time |
| 1 | Noah Jouras | IL | Lyons Township | 2021 | C | 2.01-2.08 |
| 2 | Daniel Contreras | IL | Boylan Catholic | 2021 | C | 2.02-2.10 |
| 3 | Benji Ries | IL | Stevenson | 2021 | C | 2.07-2.19 |
CLICK HERE for the entire statistical breakdown from the day.
