Illinois State High School BaseballClass 3A and 4A Final Four Set

The Illinois State High School Association Baseball Classes 3A and 4A final four are set for this Friday and Saturday at Silver Cross Field in Joliet.

Class 3A:

Friday:

Oak Forest takes on Nazareth at 10:00 am and Kaneland battles Waterloo at 12:00 pm.

Class 4A:

Friday:

Prospect takes on Providence at 3:00 pm and following that game Mt. Carmel will play Lyons Township. 

2011 Draft Preview for Illinois College Baseball Players

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's list of college players who have a chance of being drafted in the first two rounds of the 2011 MLB June draft.

Tony Zych

Junior Right handed pitcher Tony Zych from the University of Louisville.  The 6'3" 188 lb pitcher earned the Cape Cod league Most Outstanding Pro Prospect and the Most Outstanding Relief Pitcher awards last summer by collecting 12 saves and 29 K's in 20 1/3rd innings.  Tony is from St. Rita High School and lives in Monee IL.

 Nick Martini

Kansas State University junior outfielder Nick Martini who was named the Big 12 Player of the Year led the conference in hitting as a sophomore along with being ranked the #3 prospect in the M.I.N.K. league last summer.  The 5'11" 192 lb Martini is from Prairie Ridge High School and lives in Crystal Lake IL.

Kyle Gaedele

Valparaiso University outfielder Kyle Gaedele hit .373 with 7 homers, 19 doubles 63 rbi's and 17 stolen bases as a soph.  The 6'3" 225 lb Gaedele was named as the Top Prospect in the Northwoods League last summer with the Madison Mallards.  Kyle is from Rolling Meadows High School and lives in Arlington Heights, IL.

Ian Gardeck

Right handed pitcher Ian Gardeck who sits at 93-94 mph and has touched 98 mph transferred from the University of Dayton to Angelina Junior College in Texas.  Ian is from Crystal Lake South High School and lives in Lake in the Hills IL.





 

Top Ten Prospects from Independent Baseball Leagues

 

Baseball America's top ten pro prospects from Independent leagues....in bold are the players on Independent teams in Illinois.




1.  Matty Johnson - OF - Gateway Grizzlies
2.  Wes Alsup - RHP - Joliet JackHammers
3.  Chris Garcia - 1B - Shreveport-Bossier 
4.  Ryan Sheldon - RHP - Normal CornBelters
5.  Bobby Pritchett - RHP - Normal CornBelters
6.  Josh Short - OF - Lake County Fielders
7.  Donald Brandt - LHP - Maui
8.  Blake Gailen - OF - Chico
9.  Pat Trettel - C - Lincoln
10. Mark Samuelson - 1B - Chico/Yuma/Tijuana

 

Illinois North Parks Mike Giovenco NCAA D3 Top Baseball Prospect

Baseball in Illinois News

PGCrossChecker.com a division of Perfect Game USA has Mike Giovenco from North Park University as the number 2 ranked prospect in division 3 baseball.  Giovenco is a junior RHP from River Grove, Illinois and was drafted by the Twins in the 26th round of the 2009 MLB draft.  Mike is a graduate of Fenwick High School.

Cubs Castro cracks Top 50 prospects list

Baseball in Illinois News Sources
Courtesy MLB.com

Shortstop Starlin Castro was the only Cubs player represented on MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects list. That's OK. He's used to being special.


The 19-year-old has charged through the Minor League ranks since he signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2006, moving from the Dominican Summer League in '07 to the Rookie Arizona League in '08 to Double-A in '09 and then to the Arizona Fall League, where Castro was the prospect-laden AFL's youngest competitor.

Now he's the 22nd-best prospect in the game, according to the scouts and executives who helped MLB.com Minor League analyst Jonathan Mayo compile his list. Starlin's meteoric rise has Cubs fans wondering how long it'll be before he's taking grounders at Wrigley Field.

Summer Collegiate League Standouts - Tony Bucciferro

Our second addition to the Summer Collegiate Baseball Standout list is Tony Bucciferro from Joliet Illinois who played for the Grand Lake Mariners in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  Tony is listed as the #9 propect overall in the Great Lakes Collegiate League by going 4-2 with a tiny 1.74 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 41 innings over the past summer.  More than one Manager in the Great Lakes League stated Bucciferro's slider was the best in the league.  More impressive is the 88-92 mph heavy fastball and the fact that Tony is only going to be a sophomore this season at Michigan State University.  His stats at Michigan State as a freshman are also quite impressive going 5-2 with a 3.55 ERA (led all starters) in 71 innings.

Tony is a 6'2" 190 lb right handed pitcher from Minooka Community High School in Illinois.

Prospect League Baseball Scouting Report - Brett Huber

COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON
In Association with League Managers and Scouts

Bret Huber is from Belleville, Illinois and attended Althoff Catholic High School

Huber missed his freshman season at Mississippi while recuperating from Tommy John surgery, stemming from an elbow injury that occurred while he was a senior at an Illinois high school. Though he hadn’t pitched in the better part of two years and was used somewhat cautiously this summer, Huber was at least back on familiar turf in Illinois, and felt right at home. He was used mainly in a short relief role and was often dominating, going 2-1, 1.69 with a save and 34 strikeouts in 21 innings. He allowed just 12 hits while walking eight. While his velocity was inconsistent, Huber routinely ran his fastball into the 90-93 mph range and did it with such ease that it’s possible he could add another 2-3 mph to the pitch. But he also had his days when his fastball was only in the mid- to high-80s. Huber got good downhill plane on his pitches, as well, from his 6-foot-3 frame, and mixed in a slider and curve effectively. His poise and mound presence were readily apparent, and he seemed comfortable as a closer. Huber’s older brother Erik, a 6-foot-6 outfielder and 12th-round pick in the 2007 draft out of Eastern Illinois, continues to move up the ladder in the Pittsburgh Pirates system.

Prospect League Baseball Scouting Report - Kyle Gaedele

COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON
In Association with League Managers and Scouts

Kyle Gaedele is from Arlington Heights, Illinois and Rolling Meadows High School

Gaedele provided a sampling of his five-tool talent this summer by topping the Prospect League with 30 stolen bases—a remarkable feat for a player his size. He was also second in the league with five triples. Gaedele is a legit runner, and was clocked in the 60 in 6.5 seconds at the league all-star game. His remaining tools have similar upside, though he is a bit too much of a free swinger at this point in his development, and his swing can get a little long. He hit just .278-3-19 as a freshman at Valparaiso and a near-identical .278-5-28 for Hannibal, and struck out 100 times in a cumulative 356 at-bats in his two stops, but Gaedele overcame a slow adjustment to wood and made significant strides at the plate. He just needs to refine his approach, and even eliminate a slight hitch in his swing. His power is still mostly to the gaps, but that should change as he learns to turn on balls and lift them more consistently. Gaedele is already an excellent defender in center field, and impressed scouts with his ability to go back on balls. His arm is another asset. Like No. 1 prospect Mikie Mahtook, Gaedele has a chance to be the total package, but the consensus is that Mahtook has a slightly higher upside.