By Illinois/Wisconsin Scouting Staff

The 3rd annual PBR ProCase - Midwest took place Tuesday, July 11th at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, Illinois. The event featured the top 2018 players in the Midwest. Players took part in a pro style workout followed by a game. The ProCase has turned into a preview for the Super 60, held each year on Super Bowl Sunday at the Max in McCook, Illinois.

This year’s event featured just shy of 60 of the top 2018’s from 10 different Midwest states. Yesterday we began the analysis by taking a look at the top statistical performances.

CLICK HERE for complete statistics in .pdf format.

Below we take a look at some quick hits from the day.

+     The track was fast at Silver Cross Field, as eight players ran sub 6.80 60’s and half the position players ran it under a 7.0. Led by Alek Thomas’ (Mount Carmel, IL) 6.43, Tyler Halstead (Riley County, KS) and Zaid Walker (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL) followed closely with 6.46’s.

+     OF Alek Thomas (Mount Carmel, IL) continued his rise this summer at the PBR ProCase. Thomas, a Texas Christian commit, started the day by running an event best 6.43 60-yard dash. In batting practice he showed a professional approach spraying line drives around the field, while giving scouts a glimpse of his easy power to the pull side hitting multiple home runs in his second round of BP. In game he turned in multiple plus run times down the line. But most impressively, is a plus defender in centerfield. His instincts and jumps are uncanny making highlight plays look routine.

+     RHP/SS Seth Halvorsen (Heritage Christian Academy, MN), a Missouri commit and the No. 1 ranked 2018 in Minnesota, showed off a plus arm throughout the day. Halvorsen tied for the event-best infield velocity and pitching velocity, at 96 mph and 93 mph respectively. On the mound, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound right-hander sat 91-93 mph

+     Gus Radel (Sioux Falls Roosevelt, SD) is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound RHP from South Dakota who featured one of the best fastballs of the day. His heavy 90-92 mph fastball touched 93 mph, shattering the bat of Dakota Kotowski (Providence Catholic, IL) who showed serious juice in his right-handed bat, launching balls to his pull side in BP after posting a 102 mph exit velocity.

+     Zaid Walker (Homewood-Flossmoor, IL) showed a freakish skill set on Tuesday, made for pro baseball. At 6-foot-2, 215-pounds, Walker looks like a linebacker in the uniform and showed plus speed running a 6.46 laser timed 60 with a 91 mph arm from the outfield and 98 mph exit velocity from the tee. Walker profiles as a five tool potential prospect showing plus speed

+     RHP Jacob Seipenko (Salem, MI) may have been the biggest revelation of the day. The 6-foot-6 210-pounder committed to Michigan State a day before the event and after showing an easy 87-90 mph fastball that touched 91 mph and polished secondary stuff with swing and miss action, look for Seipenko to climb draft boards as well. 

+     C Jacob Campbell (Janesville Craig, WI) continued his eye opening summer as climbs the board of one of the top catching prospects in the Midwest. Campbell is a physical 6-foot, 200-pound catcher with a big arm and advanced receiving skills.

+     2016 was a banner year for draft prospects in Wisconsin, both at the top and depth. The 2018 class could rival that attention. As Jarred Kelenic (Waukesha West) continues to steal the headlines, prospects such as Alex Binelas (Oak Creek), Max Alba (Franklin), Jacob Campbell (Janesville Craig), Dillon Nowicki (Stoughton), Jeff Holtz (Arrowhead) and Tanner Kohlhepp (Eau Claire Memorial) are all giving pro scouts reasons to pencil their name onto draft boards in 2018. 

+     A pair of southpaws who showed extremely live arms were Caden Monke (Mount Olive, IL) and Antoine Kelly (Maine East, IL). Reaching 90 mph and 91 mph respectively, the pair should see their stock rise if they continue to harness the strike zone and polish their secondary stuff.

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