Prep Baseball Report

2022 Illinois Rankings: Risers


By Illinois Scouting Staff

With the summer circuit officially coming to an end and the fall transition beginning, an overhaul to the 2022 rankings was overdue. Last week we updated the Illinois 2022 rankings, as well as expanded it by 75 players.

We expanded the class from 250 prospects to 315 as we continue to build off the knowledge we’ve collected throughout the calendar year of this group, most notably the busy/compact spring season as well as the summer. We broke down Illinois’ top-10 players in the state’s 2022 class on Friday, which you can find here.

Today, we’ll shine some light on prospects that were already on our board that rose a few spots, including some players that really propelled themselves up the rankings after consistently impressing our scouting staff.

RISING INTO THE TOP-70

+ Mentioned inside our initial update story, all three of OF Brendan Summerhill (Whitney Young; Arizona commit), INF Estevan Moreno (Montini Catholic; Notre Dame) and INF Luke Adams (Hinsdale Central; Michigan State) jumped into the state’s top-10 and onto our national rankings, too. They’re all high-end impact bats and profile to be just that at the next level.

+ Up 28 spots from previous rankings, 1B Victor Izquierdo (Lockport; Navy) now occupies the No. 13 spot on this list and is also slotted inside the top-350 on the national rankings. He oozes noteworthy physicality attached to a proportionally strong 6-foot-2, 210-pound frame with some of the loudest raw power in the entire state, regardless of class.

From IHSA Scout Blog (4/23/21): Navy commit. Strong, physical 6-foot-2 200-pound frame. Superior strength throughout frame. Offensively is a catalyst for the Porters hitting in their three-hole. Right-handed hitter, open athletic stance. Features a big leg-kick that helps to keep him in rhythm and on time. Confident and mature presence in the box. Features advanced bat strength combined with a feel to hit. Was on the barrel with authority in two of his four at-bats. Singled hard to right-field and then followed up with a laser into the left-center field gap for extra bases. Also a catcher, Izquierdo spent this game at first base. Frame fits the first base mold at the next level; big target with soft hands. Routinely showed the ability to pick the baseball and handle tough hops. Fluid feet for his size, feel around the bag. One of the top right-handed power bats in the Illinois’ 2022 class.”

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Victor Izquierdo (7/15/21)

+ RHP Jake Swartz (Normal University; Illinois) also jumps into the national rankings and the 6-foot-1, 165-pound right-hander is now at the No. 14 spot on our state board, up 18 spots. Swartz was a major winner from the PBR ProCase - Midwest in July, running his fastball up to 94 mph with an impressive all-around spin profile to pair. The separator for Swartz is a sharp downer breaking ball that averaged a spin rate of 2,450-plus rpm, peaking at 2,682.

From PBR Midwest ProCase (7/6/21): Illinois commit. 6-foot-1, 165-pound frame. Athletic live body that will fill out. High ¾ Delivery. Fastball sat 90-91 mph with good sink. Threw quality sinkers in the zone. Ball comes out of his hand quickly. Curveball played at  77-80 mph Good spin on a sharp hard downer plane with quality bite. Will be out pitch at the next level. Deceptive to hitters with hard late action. Changeup 81-82 mph with good arm speed deception and sink. Athleticism helps him repeat delivery and command pitches. Throws quality sinkers in the zone to induce outs. All his pitches change planes which allows him to miss barrels. Quick arm and athleticism to project more velocity on fastball.”

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Jake Swartz (7/6/21)

+ SS Shai Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor; Illinois State) rose up a handful of spots as well, now ranked at No. 16 overall in our recent update. An athletic 6-foot, 175-pound prospect with plenty of physical projection left to come, Robinson amongst the savviest infield defenders the Midwest has to offer. He has all the actions to be no-doubt shortstop at the next level and his glove can truly be an impactful asset there. Offensively, Robinson continues to ascend....

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