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Underclass Showcase: Quick Hits

October 19, 2023
By: Tyler Defibaugh & Diego Solares
Illinois Scouting Staff

On Sunday, October 15th, the PBR Illinois staff traveled to The MAX in McCook, IL, to host the annual Underclass Showcase, an event for 2026 and 2027 prospects that concluded our fall calendar.

More than 50 players made their way to The MAX this past weekend and participated in a pro-style workout, gathering unrivaled access to data through our state-of-the-art tech partners, as well as in-depth scouting analysis from our PBR Illinois staff.

For all of the statistics from this event, click HERE. To see a full list of players that attended this event, click HERE.

Now, at the event’s conclusion, our staff has compiled our scout notes from the day to compile these ‘Quick Hits’, where we’ve spotlighted some of the day’s standout performers below. Continue reading to see which players showed well at this year’s Underclass Showcase.

2026’s

+ OF/RHP Tyler Townsend (Sycamore, 2026) had one of the more impressive showings at the event both at the plate and on the mound. There’s no shortage of physicality with Townsend, who holds plenty of inherent strength within a 6-foot-1, 180-pound professional look. Townsend displayed the highest bat speed at the event (85.5 mph) with bat strength to pair, posting an average exit velocity of 89.3 mph, with a top exit velocity of 99.1 mph, which was also an event high. It’s an easy, balanced, and powerful right-handed swing that showed natural lift with gap-to-gap feel throughout his round. Townsend hopped on the mound and showed real two-way ability in front of our staff. He sat in the mid-80’s with his fastball, touching 86.7 mph on his firmest bullet, which paced all of the arms in attendance. Townsend complemented his fastball with a high-spin (avg. 2513 rpm) curveball that landed in the zone 60% of the time, and he completed his three-pitch mix with a fading changeup that played down in the zone. Already a name-to-know prospect to our staff, Townsend heads into the winter with plenty of positive momentum behind him.

+ Currently a top-40 prospect in the state’s sophomore group, SS/ RHP Brett Tucker (Lemont, 2026) is a long, athletic 6-foot, 167-pound two-way standout from the event. Offensively from the right side, Tucker showed the ability to backspin and lift balls to the pull-side during his round of bp with a max exit velocity of 88.7 mph and a max distance of 308 feet. Tucker also had a max bat speed of 79.9 mph (avg. 75.4 mph) which was good for the third best mark of the event, and his hand speed metrics both at peak (27.3 mph) and average (26 mph) were both event highs. He hopped on the mound later on, touching 82.1 mph with his fastball while landing 66-69 mph curveball for strikes throughout his ‘pen.

+ Putting together perhaps the most intriguing look during bullpens was RHP Luke Blackwell (Valmeyer, 2026). Blackwell stands in at an athletic 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with a short, compact arm action that works out of a tight window with some deception. Blackwell’s fastball played at 84-85 mph, topping at 86.1 mph, which was one of the day’s hardest marks, and he consistently threw it for strikes, too. Playing off of his fastball, Blackwell landed a slider with subtle sweep for strikes at 74-76 mph and he also threw a changeup at 75-76 mph that played with arm-side run.

+ At 6-foot-3, 180-pounds RHP Jack Gianikos (Maine South, 2026) is another arm to know from this event. Gianikos’ fastball had some life out of the hand (T18.3” VB) sitting at 82-84 mph and he threw it for strikes (80%), too. (84.3 mph max), finding the strike zone 80% of the time. Gianikos showed two different breaking balls; a curveball at 65-69 mph that spun off an 11/5 plane, and a 69-70 mph slider with heavy horizontal action (19.8” HM). To round out his four-pitch mix, Gianikos threw a 74-78 mph changeup that flashed fade from a slightly lower arm window than his fastball.

+ Another sophomore standout from this event was OF Cade Everett (Lincoln Way East, 2026), who stands at a strong, well-proportioned 5-foot-10, 175-pounds. He showed well across the board in our athletic testing, running a 7.24 60 with a 1.64 10-yard split, leading the event with a 34.3” vertical jump. Everett took one of the day’s better BP rounds, squaring his hardest ball up at 93.1 mph, while averaging 84.3 mph per batted ball. Everett keeps his barrel in the zone, working uphill and to the pull-side throughout his round with strong, athletic hands.

+ C/INF Trey Webster (Brother Rice, 2026) really looked the part at the plate, coming away from this event as a follow right-handed hitter in the state’s sophomore group. A physical athlete with strength throughout his frame, Webster’s hands work direct to contact with a flat barrel through the zone that routinely backspun hard contact gap-to-gap. He stayed balanced throughout with little to no effort exerted, using the whole field with above-average feel to hit, and he flashed inherent strength (T89.7 mph) that should trend up as he continues to mature physically.

+ C Adam Swanson (Ottawa Township, 2026) is a strong, athletic 5-foot-9, 183-pound backstop to monitor going forward. Swanson posted the second-highest vertical jump for the event at 33”, the second-fastest 60-yard dash for the event at 6.84 seconds, and also reached the third-highest run speed at peak (19.9 mph). Swanson had a strong showing with the bat as well, flashing above-average bat speed (avg. 75.9 mph) and the second quickest hands at the dish (avg. 24 mph), allowing for hard, lifted contact from the right side (93.3 mph max EV, avg. 85.3 mph). Swanson was quick and clean behind the dish with a max velocity of 80 mph from the crouch with a pop time range of 1.95-2.01.

+ A pair of Huntley prospects that attended the event were CIF Trevor King (Huntley, 2026) and OF Ian Kelly (Huntley, 2026). King is a muscular 5-foot-11, 184-pound R/R corner infielder who showcased strong hands at the dish (22.5 mph) working line drives up the middle during his round of BP. Kelly, a 2022 Junior Future Games participant, measures in at an athletic 5-foot-10, 153-pounds. The L/R outfielder displayed strong, athletic hands during his bp round (avg. 23.1 mph) that worked the ball pull-side with some strength (92.5 mph max EV).

+ MIF Caleb Salgado (Walter Payton, 2026) put together one of the day’s more polished defensive workouts, floating around the infield with confidence and advanced actions for his age. He’s a quick mover with athletic feet and natural bounce that comfortably played on the move, particularly up the middle. Salgado’s confident in his glovework too, with soft hands and a quick release from multiple arm angles.

+ Sophomore OF Max Mackenzie (DePaul College Prep, 2026) had a strong showing on both sides of the ball. Mackenzie stands in at a wiry 6-foot, 171-pounds. A right-handed Mackenzie showed some bat strength up the middle during his round, posting a max exit velocity of 88.2 mph. Defensively, Mackenzie displayed athletic actions paired with a powerful crow-hop that was good for the third-strongest velocity at the event of 85 mph.

+ CIF Jonathan Osornio (St. Rita, 2026) displayed one of the stronger right-handed swings at peak from the event. The 6-foot, 175-pound sophomore squared up the day’s third-hardest batted ball of the day at 96.9 mph.

+ Another athlete with upside to follow from Sunday’s event is C Tim Flanagan (St. Patrick, 2026). Flanagan holds lean strength within a 6-foot, 175-pound frame with easy, loose hands at the plate that created whip through the zone and occasional jump off the barrel. Defensively, Flanagan posted the second hardest throw at peak behind the dish (T73 mph) and he popped in the 2.10-to-2.19 range.

+ Kicking off our day was C/1B Charlie Donlan (New Trier, 2026), who’s a strong-bodied 6-foot, 190-pound left-handed hitter with inherent strength to pair. Donlan worked uphill to contact and looked to elevate the baseball, working gap-to-gap with the third highest peak batted distance of the event (335 ft.). Behind the plate, Donlan’s quickest pop checked in at 2.06 seconds from the chute.

+ C Alexi Phillips (DePaul College Prep, 2026) showed as one of the top defensive backstops at this event. A clean and athletic mover behind the plate, Phillips worked quick to release, popping a 2.11 on his best bullet to the bag with accuracy throughout his round. The 5-foot-9, 160-pound sophomore swung a flat right-handed barrel that worked mostly to the middle of the field throughout his round.

+ There’s plenty of physical upside with INF James Feigleson (St. Charles East, 2026), who’s listed at a lean and highly projectable 6-foot-2, 160-pounds. Feigleson showed well on both sides of the ball, starting at the plate, where his athletic right-handed swing produced natural lifted contact to the pull-side with jump off the barrel. Feigleson’s feet play with rhythm on the infield, working around the baseball right at him and on the move. He’s confident in his glove with soft hands at gather that work quick and clean to release, and his arm played loose across the diamond, touching 84 mph.

+ OF Johnny Andretich (Plainfield North, 2026) is an athletic left/left prospect that showed well at the plate in Sunday’s look. Andretich worked on the barrel to the middle of the field, keeping a level barrel through the zone with strong hands to pair. Andretich also ran a 7.12 60 with quick, athletic feet from the outfield.

+ A pair of 2026 arms that are worth mentioning are RHP Josh Rudnick (Huntley, 2026) and LHP Samuel Chin (Timothy Christian, 2026). Rudnick was a smooth mover on the bump during his bullpen, flashing the ability to throw strikes with his three-pitch mix. Rudnick’s arm-side running-fastball (avg. 12.2” HM) sat 78-80 mph, while he landed an 11/5 shaped curveball at 66-68 mph, and spun a short slider at 68-69 mph for strikes (80% in-zone). Chin had fluid actions all-around from the left side of the hill. Chin’s fastball came out of the hand cleanly, sitting 79-80 mph with arm-side run (avg. 14.5” HM), while his best offspeed pitch in this look was a short-horizontal slider that sat 71-73 mph with out-pitch characteristics.

2027’s

+ OF/RHP Sebastian Wilson (Lane Tech, 2027; Tennessee commit) looks every bit the part of a high-end name in the state’s current freshman group. Built with strength on a 6-foot, 190-pound frame, Wilson ran one of the day’s fastest 60 times (6.85), reaching a peak speed of 20.6 mph in the process, which is a well above-average mark for his age. He paced all outfielders in throwing velocity, uncorking a 90 mph high, and all four of his throws during his workout would have comfortably led the event’s outfield crop. Offensively, Wilson repeatedly found the barrel from a powerful left-handed swing, working gap-to-gap comfortably throughout his round. He paced all position players in average exit velocity (92.2 mph), finishing second in both peak exit velocity (97.1 mph) and max batted distance (348 ft.). Wilson’s strength translated to the mound, where he ran his fastball up to 86.5 mph, which was the second firmest bullet on the day. Headed into his first year of high school baseball, Wilson figures to be a high-end name to follow in the Illinois’ 2027 class.

+ MIF James Obaldo (Fenwick, 2027) came away from this event as one of its’ biggest winners, showing out as one of the top freshman prospects in attendance. Obaldo showed plenty of moxy and rhythm at the plate, finding the barrel consistently from a fluid right-handed swing that worked to all fields. His biggest asset may be defensively, where Obaldo has natural up-the-middle actions with footwork feel and an innate confidence in his glovework.

+ MIF Luca Agne (Plainfield North) was another current freshman that showed well at the event. Agne’s defense stood out with his natural ability up the middle, showing soft hands, active feet, and a rhythmic play style that produced clean actions throughout his defensive workout. A switch-hitter, Agne swung it more naturally from the left side demonstrating twitchy hands that worked short to the ball with some quickness (23.5 mph max hand speed).

+ INF Max Judge (Hinsdale Central, 2027) is a projectable underclassmen to follow coming out of this event. Standing in at 6-foot, 171-pounds with room to fill, Judge was impressive with the bat and glove during the workout. The R/R infielder created leverage to the pull-side during bp with some present bat speed (74.6 mph max), having baseballs jump off his barrel throughout the round. Defensively, Judge had a calm presence about him moving with soft feet that worked well on the move paired with steady hands that played cleanly.

+ MIF Charlie Surowiec (Grayslake Central, 2027) is a lean, wiry 5-foot-9, 145-pound athlete that consistently barreled line drives to the middle of the field in BP. He moved well on the infield laterally, covering ground with sure-handed actions to pair.

+ INF Zane Schneider (Lemont, 2027) is another loose-bodied athlete to follow from this event, listed at 6-foot-3, 175-pounds with long, upside levers. Schneider’s movement patterns at his size impressed on the infield, as he moved in control laterally and covered ground with long, easy strides. His glove played low to the ground and out front over his body, showing soft hands that funneled into a clean transfer to release. At the plate, Schneider worked uphill to contact with intent to elevate, favoring the pull-side during his round.

+ A member of Team Illinois at the Junior Future Games, INF/OF Isaiah Martin (Lane Tech, 2027) continues to show above-average athleticism for age, running a 6.97 60 at this event, reaching a peak speed of 19.9 mph with a 29 inch vertical jump, too. Martin has twitchy hands at the plate with a long right-handed barrel through the zone that flashed gap-to-gap feel in BP.

+ LHP/OF Gabe Sanders (Yorkville, 2027) showed to be an athletic southpaw to follow coming out of the event. Sanders ran the fastest 60-yard dash for the event at 6.83 seconds, clocking a peak speed of 20.3 mph. On the bump, Sanders sat 77-78 mph with his fastball that had arm-side run to it (avg. 14.9” HM), while showing a changeup that flashed downer action at 64-65 mph, and landing a 2/8 shaped curveball for strikes at the bottom of the zone.

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