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High School  | General | 2/20/2018

Regional HS Preview: Midwest

David Rawnsley
Photo: Perfect Game



For all of Perfect Game's regional previews as part of the 2018 high school baseball preview content, the Dream Team is available for free. The region top tools can be viewed with an Insider subscription. To learn more about Perfect Game's subscription packages and to sign up today please visit this link.

2018 Perfect Game High School Preview Index


Top 10 Midwest Region High Schools
Rk. Nat'l School '17 Rec. '17 Finish
1 29 Pleasure Ridge Park (Ky.) 40-5 KHSAA State Champs
2 31 Kokomo (Ind.) 21-4 IHSAA 4A First Round
3 42 Joliet Catholic Academy (Ill.) 18-11-1 No Playoffs
4 NR Jackson (Ohio) 31-2 Ohio Division I State Champs
5 NR Mt. Carmel (Ill.) 27-10 No Playoffs
6 NR Saline (Mich.) 39-3 MHSAA Division I State Champs
7 NR Cathedral (Ind.) 29-0 IHSAA 4A State Champs
8 NR Archbishop Moeller (Ohio) 19-7 No Playoffs
9 NR Trinity (Ky.) 32-6-2 KHSAA State Tournament First Round
10 NR Detroit Country Day (Mich.) 10-3 MHSAA Division 2 Regional Finals

Nat’l denotes rank on the Preseason National High School Top 50

Midwest Region: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin

The Midwest Region's senior class is very strong this year and the All-Region team features eight Perfect Game All-Americans, ranking the region third in that category behind Florida and the Southeast. In fact, all but one member of the Dream Team, righthander Quinn Preister, is a senior. All of those seniors are ranked among the top 110 prospects in the 2018 draft class according to Perfect Game.

There is no college that recruits and signs more top prospects from the Midwest Region than the Louisville Cardinals, who have signed five of the 14 All-Region standouts, although some, if not all, of those players are sure to get serious attention from professional clubs leading up to the June draft. Vanderbilt has also hit the region hard, with three signees.




Midwest Region High School Dream Team

C â€“ Hayden Jones, Sr., Carroll HS,  Huntertown (Ind.)
A three-year starter at Carroll High School and a 2017 4A All-State selection, Jones is the 110th ranked player in the PG 2018 national class rankings and is signed with Mississippi State. A righthanded hitter with very good strength in his swing, Jones hit .519-5-27 as a junior and is a .430 hitter for his high school career. For as good as his bat has played, he's held in higher regard for his defense by evaluators.

1B â€“ John Malcom, Sr., Detroit Country Day HS, West Bloomfield (Mich.)
Malcom fits the profile of the slugging, middle-of-the-order first baseman with his loose and still projectable 6-foot-4, 215-pound build and some of the best raw lefthanded bat speed in the 2018 class nationally. He's also an above average athlete for the position, with 6.8 speed in the 60-yard dash and quick feet and soft hands around the bag defensively. A Perfect Game All-American, Malcom is the top-ranked player in Michigan and the 41st ranked player nationally. He is signed with Vanderbilt.

MIF â€“ Jared Poland, Sr., Cathedral HS, Indianapolis (Ind.)
Poland was a standout for last year's Cathedral team that went 29-0 and finished 18th in the final Perfect Game national rankings, hitting .438-5-29 with 33 walks against only six strikeouts. He then hit the summer circuit hard, literally and figuratively, standing out for his consistent very hard gap-to-gap contact and barrel skills. Finding a future position for the Louisville signee will be interesting, as while Poland has 6.6 speed and has topped out at 92 mph on the mound, he doesn't have middle infield actions on defense. Some have compared him to present Cincinnati Reds top prospect Nick Senzel at the same age.

MIF â€“ Spencer Schwellenbach, Sr., Heritage HS, Saginaw (Mich.)
Schwellenbach broke a bone in his non-throwing hand and missed the most important part of the summer season so he isn't as well exposed nationally as he might have been. He's a two-way prospect who could end up either on the mound or in the middle infield at the next level and is notably signed with Nebraska, which has a strong history of two-way players under coach Darin Erstad. He is strongest as a position player on defense, where he has lots of athletic agility – he's also a high-level soccer player – with an extremely strong arm that can hit the mid-90s off the mound.

3B â€“ Bryce Bush, Sr., De La Salle HS, Birmingham (Mich.)
Bush was a 2017 Perfect Game All-American and has some of the best raw bat speed in the 2018 class nationally and is capable of generating exit velocities over 100 mph. His righthanded approach is very aggressive and he's one of the types of hitters that has such good bat control that he can foul off pitches and extend counts while taking a full cut at the ball. Defensively, Bush has played all the corner positions but it will be his bat that carries him at the next level. He's signed with Mississippi State.

OF â€“ Alek Thomas, Sr., Mt. Carmel HS, Chicago (Ill.)
The highly athletic Thomas was a Perfect Game All-American and is currently ranked 36th in the PG national class rankings. He's a very quick-twitch athlete with center field tools and skills and a high contact lefthanded swing that fits the top of the order well but enough bat speed to project gap power and 10-15 home run potential when he's physically mature. Along with his multi-sport athleticism, Thomas has grown up around big league clubhouses as his father, Allen, is a former minor league player and the long-time strength and conditioning coach for the White Sox. A good big league comparison for Thomas would be the Yankees Brett Gardner.

OF â€“ Nicholas Schnell, Sr., Roncalli HS, Indianapolis (Ind.)
Schnell was one of the fastest risers over last year's summer circuit while remaining one of the most projectable outfielders in the country with a young and slender 6-foot-2, 175-pound build. He has a nice combination of offensive skills and defensive athleticism, with center field speed on defense and one of the strongest throwing arms in the country. He is signed with Louisville.

OF â€“ Jarred Kelenic, Sr., Waukesha West HS, Waukesha (Wis.)
Kelenic is perhaps the most tooled-up position player in the 2018 class, with 6.5 speed in the 60-yard dash, a throwing arm capable of hitting 96 mph in the outfield and the low-90s on the mound and some of the best lefthanded bat speed in the high school ranks with a swing that should enable him to hit for both power and average. He's also known as one of the most competitive athletes among the top prospects, although he has shown a noticeable ability to forget about the inevitable bad at-bats and not take them to the next inning or next trip to the plate. He is signed with Louisville, although he is very likely to be heavily discussed among the top 10 picks in June.

UT â€“ Nick Northcut, Sr., Mason HS, Mason (Ohio)
Northcut has been throwing in the low-90s with a hard slider since his freshman year and frequently closes for Canes Baseball but his future is likely as a strong-armed third baseman with very good strength and a chance to hit with plus power. A righthanded hitter, Northcut hit .468 with 28 RBI as a junior at Mason High School and played in the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic. He is signed with Vanderbilt, where he could fill the same sort of dual role at the college level.

SP – Austin Becker, Sr., Big Walnut HS, Sunbury (Ohio)
Becker is one of the most projectable pitchers in the country, with a long, loose and athletic 6-foot-6, 185-pound build and a smooth and easy arm action. He topped out at 95-96 mph during many of his summer outings and locates his fastball well for a big, young pitcher. Becker throws both a curveball and a changeup, with the curveball flashing plus potential when he's on top of it with full arm speed. Perhaps not so ironically, Becker's father, Kevin, was a 6-foot-7, 180-pound righthander when he signed with the Red Sox out of an Ohio high school in 1992, although his son will certainly be a much higher pick than dad's 34th round slot, if he is deemed signable despite a Vanderbilt scholarship.

SP – Carter Lohman, Sr., Hamilton Southeastern HS, Fishers (Ind.)
Lohman hit 92 mph with his fastball in the fall but generally works in the upper-80s with his fastball while throwing it to spots. When he's at his best he's mixing his pitches, including a very good changeup and a curveball that he throws anywhere between 72 and 78 mph with good feel and big downward shape. Lohman is the 103rd ranked player in the PG national class rankings and is signed with Louisville.

SP – Jack Perkins, Sr., Kokomo HS, Kokomo (Ind.)
Perkins was the star two-way performer at Kokomo High School as a junior, hitting .375-5-31 while going 3-2, 1.46 with 63 strikeouts in 38 innings on the mound. Perkins has a lightning quick arm on the mound and will consistently work in the 92-94 mph range and top out higher when his delivery is in sync. He also throws a hard curveball and changeup. Perkins is the 56th ranked player in the PG national class rankings and is signed with Louisville.

SP – Quinn Priester, Jr., Cary-Grove HS, Cary (Ill.)
Priester is a very athletic and projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound righthander with a fastball that has reached 91 mph at PG events with reports that he's been up to 93 at other times. His best pitch is a mid-70s true 12-to-6 curveball that has outstanding spin and depth. Part of Priester's projection is that he is a very talented dual threat quarterback during the fall. He is the 39th-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and is verbally committed to Texas Christian for baseball.

SP – Drew Rom, Sr., Highlands HS, Fort Thomas (Ky.)
Rom was one of the most improved pitchers in the country over the course of 2017, starting out the year throwing 85-87 mph and ending with a dominant performance at the WWBA World Championship in October sitting at 89-91 with an outstanding slider. Rom went 9-3, with 117 strikeouts in 65 innings during the spring for Highlands High School and is the 71st ranked prospect in the PG national class rankings. He's also an elite level student and is signed with Michigan.


Midwest Region Top Tools

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