PBR Illinois Limited Series: Scout Blog
July 16, 2019
The PBR Limited Series was held from Friday, July 12 through Sunday, July 14th at Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Illinois (Illinois State University). The invite-only event featured some of the best 15U and 16U teams in Illinois. The eight team tournament provided PBR with the opportunity to see high-level talent under a much smaller scope. Our Illinois staff was on-hand to keep tabs on the action throughout the weekend.
Throughout the tournament, we published rapid day-to-day analysis in our Quick Hits format. If you missed any of those posts, click any one of the following links: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3.
Below you will find an in-depth Scout Blog with scouting reports by some of the best performers and prospects on each team.
SCOUT BLOG
Central Illinois Outlaws
Holt Geltmaker, CF, Illinois Valley Central, 2021
6-foot-1, 175-pound, athletically-built, wide-shouldered, right-handed hitting outfielder. One of the top outfield prospects in attendance. At the plate, balanced, quiet setup, minimal wasted movement and short stride. Lets the ball travel, twitchy hands, stays short and inside the baseball, routinely sprays balls to the opposite field. Defensively, new to the center field position but ranges with ease and covers a lot of ground. Made a number of plays ranging to both gaps. Has the athleticism and speed to be a high-level outfielder in the future. In the final game of the tournament, ranged into shallow right and made a full extension diving catch; bounced to his feet and threw a strike to first base to double up the base-runner. High-follow 2021 uncommitted athlete.
Holt Geltmaker
Josh Heyer, C, Washington, 2021
6-foot, 195-pound, physical, strong, right-handed hitting catcher. Saved his best game for the final game of the tournament. Smoked a line-drive RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat and lined a run-scoring double down the left-field line in his second. Natural lift in swing, present bat strength. Physical right-handed hitting catcher to follow.
Gus Lucas, LHP, Washington, 2022
Lucas has a long, lean, extremely projectable 6-foot-5, 190-pound left-handed pitcher. He is still growing into his body but he does an impressive job syncing up his slightly cross-fire delivery, given his extra-large frame. Lucas turned in a complete-game win, firing seven innings on 96 pitches, scattering four hits, one run, none earned, striking out six and walking three. Clean arm with some quickness out front. Sat anywhere from 79-82 mph throughout and still had 82 in the tank in the seventh inning. Lucas also showed feel for a three-pitch mix throughout the outing, featuring a 1/7 curveball at 63-67 mph and a changeup at 67 mph with sink. Lucas will be fun to watch develop in the coming years.
Gus Lucas
Noah Campbell, MIF, East Peoria, 2021
5-foot-10, 155-pound, right-handed hitting middle infielder. Offensively, open, slightly crouched setup, leg-lift timing trigger. Strong hands, sneaky pop to the pull-side. Smoked a double over the left-fielders head in the final game of the day. Finished 1-for-2 with a double, RBI, two runs scored and two walks. Defensively, steady hands, clean release, ¾ slot and accurate arm across the infield.
Travis Lutz, RHP/OF, Limestone, 2021
Long, lean, projectable build. 6-foot-3,170-pound right-handed pitcher and left-handed hitter. Started for Central Illinois Outlaws against Top Tier Americans15U on Saturday morning. Slow, methodical tall/fall type delivery, slight drop in backside, tall balance point, level shoulders, works directly in line with his target, square landing. Clean, repeatable delivery, long arm action, over-the-top slot. Fastball sat between 80-83 mph, maintained velocity as his start went on, thrown for strikes, primarily worked down in the zone and hit his spots, generated weak contact for the majority of his outing. Curveball played at 68-71 mph, thrown for strikes at any point in the count, 11/5 shape, tight break, confident in his ability to throw it, used it to put hitters away. Showcased a strong pitch ability, mixed his offerings well, kept hitters off balance. Threw six innings of two-run ball, striking out six, five looking, and only walking two. Also, stood out with the bat over the weekend. Tall, balanced setup, simple swing, stays short to the ball and sprayed line-drives to all fields.
Travis Lutz (Hit)
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Travis Lutz (Pitch)
Bryce Bishop, 1B, Metamora, 2021
5-foot-11, 190-pound, strong, compact build, left-handed hitting first baseman. Balanced setup, slight leg-kick timing trigger, aggressive swing and confident in the box. Looks to drive the baseball, loose hands, feel for the barrel and made a lot of hard contact throughout the weekend. Middle-of-the-order type of bat.
Parker Kuhn, INF, Morton, 2021
5-foot-9, 140-pound, right-handed hitting infielder. Offensively, hit in the two-hole for the Outlaws. Open setup, stays on top of the baseball, line-drive approach and will use the entire field. Saved his best game of the tournament for the final day. Finished 2-for-3 with a double down the left-field line, an RBI, BB and four runs scored. Defensively, profiles at second base.
Chicago White Sox Ace
Adan Vega, LHP, Solorio, 2021
5-foot-9, 165-pound left-handed pitcher, athletic build. Tossed five innings of solid baseball for Chicago White Sox Ace in their first game of the tournament, showing an athletic and controlled delivery throughout his outing. He has a short, loose arm action that plays out of a high ¾ slot. The fastball ranged between 75-79 mph with occasional tilt down, but the command lacked as his pitch count rose. Vega showed an ability to spin a 12/6 curveball at 66-68 mph with fastball arm speed. In his 5 IP, Vega allowed three hits, three runs, one earned, on four walks with two strikeouts.
Jeremiah Powell, C, Brother Rice, 2021
5-foot-10, 165-pound, right-handed hitting catcher, athletic frame, spark plug type player. Hit leadoff and played left in the first game, played his natural position behind the dish in their second game, showed well defensively. Agile actions with flexibility, blocked tough pitches all game long. Rhythmic hands, quick out the chute, short and quick arm action, high ¾ slot. 1.98-1.99 pop times in between innings. Aggressive defender with runners on, attempted to back pick multiple times. Short bat path works on an uphill plane, loose hands. Led-off the first game with a triple that split the left/centerfield gap with two strikes, 4.60 on the turn. Then led-off his second game with a hustle double that ticked off the first basemans’ glove.
Jeremiah Powell
Donovan McIntyre, OF/LHP, Marian Catholic, 2021
6-foot, 155-pound, left/left two way player, thin frame with plenty of upside and room for continued added strength. Hit second and played centerfield to start off his first two games. Loose actions on all sides of the ball. Moves with ease and athleticism in the outfield grass, tracks balls with ease and in-stride, light on his feet. Loose hands at the plate, path works uphill with some length, whippy bat speed. Collected one hit through the two games in a hard line drive single back up the box. Came on to pitch late in game two; Sports a clean delivery, tall and fall style, works in-line to home with a controlled finish. Arm works long on the back side, loose throughout, high ¾ slot. Only saw fastballs, 77-79 mph, mostly straight with occasional cut. Follow 2021 athlete.
Brandon Rojas, INF, Mount Carmel, 2021
5-foot-10, 170-pound, right-handed hitting infielder, athletic frame with physicality. Played second and third base in his first two games manning the six hole in the order. Made multiple loud outs at the plate. Flew out deep to center and hard to left field, showed aggressive tendencies. Simple pre-pitch actions. Path works uphill with some length, bat speed is present. Also drew a walk and flared a single to his pull side.
Brandon Rogers, INF/OF, Brother Rice, 2022
5-foot-10, 168-pound, right-handed hitting multi-positional prospect; athletic, defined build. Highly-athletic 2022 prospect. Plays the game fast, natural baseball instincts and can play the infield or outfield. Looks comfortable in the outfield. Tracked down balls with relative ease, quick first step. Offensively, right-handed hitter, confident and aggressive in the box, ready to hit. Present bat speed, swings with intent, natural lift in swing and gap-to-gap approach. Well-above average runner for his age; 4.25 and 4.26 down-the-line. Was 4.12 on a bunt. High-follow 2022.
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Brandon Rogers
Cameron Hill, OF, Kenwood, 2021
6-foot-3, 198-pound, long and lean, highly-projectable, right-handed hitting outfielder; plenty of room for continued physical development. High-ceiling right-handed hitter. Bat has progressed substantially within the last year. Balanced, quiet setup, short stride and minimal wasted movement. Simple swing, loose, easy, whippy bat speed, ball jumps off the bat. Potential middle-of-the-order bat with developing power. Profiles as a corner outfielder. Long, easy strides and above-average arm strength. 2021 uncommitted outfielder on the rise.’
Cameron Hill
Ramon Jimerson Jr., Sacred Heart-Griffin, 2022
5-foot-9, 167-pound, wide-shouldered, well-proportioned, right-handed hitting outfielder. Started on varsity as a freshman. Played center field and batted leadoff in the two games he played on the weekend. Advanced strength in hands, short, direct path to the baseball, rarely swings-and-misses, line-drive, gap-to-gap approach. In the final game of the tournament, barreled a bases-clearing double down the left-field line. Natural in centerfield, precise routes, plays through the baseball and clean, accurate arm.
Shai Robinson, SS, Mount Carmel, 2022
5-foot-7, 125-pound, lean, right-handed hitting shortstop. Defensively, was one of the top shortstops on the weekend. Smooth, confident actions, advanced body control; advanced making the run-through play, can range to either side. Soft, sure-hands, clean, easy release and loose arm. Can throw from multiple slots and plays accurate with enough strength to stay on the left-side. Offensively, athletic setup, minimal hand rhythm and balanced swing. Loose hands, bat stays through the hitting zone and will benefit from added strength moving forward. Follow 2022 shortstop.