Tyler
Schlaffer

UIC commit, currently ranked No. 21 in the Illinois’ 2019 class. 6-foot-1, 160-pound, lean, wiry, dynamic, right-handed pitcher. One of the biggest risers this spring and continues to see his velocity tick up. Fastball topped at 95 mph, sat mostly 92-93 early on. Settled in at 90-93 in his 4.2 innings of work. Fastball, plays straight, jumps out of the hand, rides it up in the zone at times for swing-and-miss. Changeup continues to be best secondary offering; confident in it, plus offering when thrown aggressively, late run and sink. Breaking ball, slurvy shape, inconsistent, 75-76 mph. Struck out eight in 4.2 innings of work.

UIC commit, currently ranked No. 21 in the Illinois’ 2019 class. 6-foot-1, 160-pound, live-bodied, right-handed pitcher. Efficient, athletic delivery, works on-line, with effort, will spin off at times. Clean arm action, works loose and extremely fast out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball, jumps out of the hand, finishes through the zone, average control, mostly straight action, slight cut on occasion, when pitching to the glove side; sat 90-93 mph for much of the outing, was more 89-90 mph in his fourth and final inning. Go-to secondary pitch is his changeup. Maintains arm speed, feel for the bottom of the zone, late sinking action, swing-and-miss pitch, 77-79 mph. Attempted to throw a couple of sliders; slurvy action, inconsistent shape and feel, 75-77 mph. Should garner pro interest moving forward this spring, given his uptick in velocity and highly-athletic arm. Final line; W, 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 6 K, 3 BB.

UIC commit, currently ranked No. 19 in the Illinois’ 2019 class. 6-foot-1, 160-pound, wiry, live-bodied, right-handed pitcher. Came out of the bullpen for the Midwest Rangers. In his first inning of work sat 90-91 mph. Fastball jumps out of the hand, lively through the hitting zone with occasional cut, average command. Changeup is his go-to secondary offering. Maintains arm speed, pulls the string, works mostly straight with feel at 77-79 mph.

Illinois-Chicago commit. 6-foot-1, 160-pound right-handed pitcher, lean athletic frame. Tall and fall delivery, easy effort, smooth tempo, lands square, athletic finish to first base side. Arm action is loose, plus arm speed, over the top slot. Fastball runs to arm side, late action and showed control of the zone, sat 88-89 mph, topped at 90 mph. Curveball plays on 11/5 plane, 65-70 mph, decelerated arm action. Changeup has feel, sink and fading action, near fastball arm action, 76-77 mph.

Illinois-Chicago recruit, started the game for the Midwest Rangers in the semifinals against Midwest Evoshield Canes 2020 and came away with a hard-fought victory. After battling through the first two innings, the 6-foot-1, 160-pounder settled down and pitched six strong to stake the Rangers to a 9-2 lead in the seventh before Evoshield made a furious comeback against the bullpen. Schlaffer, who closed out the victory on Saturday, pitched at 84-86 in the first inning. He also flashed a solid 74-76 changeup.

Verbally committed to Illinois-Chicago. 

2017 Future Games - 6-foot-1, 160-pound, lean, wiry, live-bodied, right-handed pitcher. Was one of the biggest revelations on Team Illinois. Struck out the side and ran his fastball up to 91 mph in his final one-inning stint of the event. Long, loose, athletic arm action, electric arm speed out front. Comes out of a high ¾ slot and gets extension out front. Threw a high-volume of strikes, attacked hitters exclusively with his fastball in his first outing, started to mix in his offspeed in his final appearance. Fastball jumps out of his hand, gets on hitters quick, late life through the hitting zone, sat 87-89 mph, touching 91. Flashed a swing-and-miss changeup for a strikeout in his final outing 77 mph; maintains fastball arm speed, late sinking action, occasional fade, overall looks to be a potential plus pitch. Curveball is a work in progress, started to throw it more in the final outing, lacked feel and consistent shape, 68-69 mph. Chance to be an elite 2019 right-handed pitcher.  

6-foot-1, 160-pound, lean, athletic two-way prospect. Above average actions at shortstop, hands play soft and through the baseball, athletic arm. Offensively, right-handed, open setup, pick up, put down stride. Line drive approach that can spray the ball to all fields. On the mound, loose, athletic arm action, ¾ slot, works on-line finishes athletically. Fastball, arm side run, glove-side cut, 82-84. Curveball, 11/5 shape, 69-71 mph.

5-foot-11, 145-pound, loose, live-bodied right-handed pitcher. Put himself on the map as a high-follow 2019 arm. Schlaffer has above-average arm strength for his age and the makings of a legitimate three-pitch mix. Smooth, repeatable delivery, stays on-line, lands square, finishes athletically with easy effort throughout. Arm works long, loose, uninterrupted and quick, out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball, thrown for strikes, late life, arm-side action at times and sat 84-85 mph, touching 86. Curveball currently works 11/5, feel, tight spin and sits 68-71 mph. Given his arm slot, quick arm, and feel for spin he may be well-suited for a hard slider down the road. Changeup looks to currently be his best secondary offering. Maintains arm speed, good feel, late sink and sat 70-72 mph. Highly projectable 2019 right-handed pitcher.