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Five to Watch
Danny Denz, Dundee-Crown, P-OF, sr.
Denz (6-0, 160 pounds) is a tough lefthander who was 7-4 with a 1.75 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 60 innings last season for the Chargers. A Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection, he signed with NCAA Division I Memphis. He also hit .315 and drove in 11 runs for D-C last season. Denz’s fastball hits 84-86 mph and his breaking pitches give hitters all kinds of trouble.
Brenden Heiss, Jacobs, P-OF, sr.
Heiss (6-1, 200) has a big-time power arm and will pitch next year at Arkansas. He had an abbreviated junior season because of elbow soreness, but has hit 93 mph on speed guns according to Prep Baseball Report. The Golden Eagles tied for third in the Class 4A Baseball State Tournament and will look for Heiss and Johnny Rohde, another pitcher who has hit 90, to lead them back to Joliet.
Bobby Miller, McHenry, P-1B, jr.
Miller (6-5, 190) was a Northwest Herald All-Area first-team selection and runner-up to Crystal Lake South’s Garrett Bright for Player of the Year. Miller was a big run producer in the middle of the lineup, hitting .333 with four homers and 32 RBIs, but his future will be on the mound by the time he gets to Louisville. He was 6-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 55 innings last season, with a WHIP of 1.09. He is committed to Louisville.
Tyler Pennington, Cary-Grove, C-OF, jr.
Pennington (5-11, 210) was a Northwest Herald All-Area second-team pick after hitting .346 with two homers and 30 RBIs for the Trojans, who won the FVC Valley Division. Pennington played catcher for most of his travel baseball career, but has not caught in his two high school seasons. Pennington prefers football and is an NCAA Division I prospect in that sport, although he would receive plenty of interest if he wanted to pursue baseball.
Jake Rosing, Richmond-Burton, P-IF, soph.
Rosing (6-1, 160) was an All-Area second-team selection as a freshman when he was 4-4 with a 2.64 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings. He walked only 11 batters and allowed 40 hits. Rosing, who committed to Louisville last summer, and hit .310 with 15 RBIs last season.
– Compiled by Joe Stevenson, the Northwest Herald