Wisconsin Mailbag: Top Questions Of The Week

December 5, 2014

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

The Mailbag is a feature which allows readers to ask our scouting directors any questions they wish about high school baseball in their state. Whether it’s about possible state title contenders, top prospects, recruiting, etc. your questions will get put into our “Mailbag” via the ask.fm app and our scouts will answer your questions through Twitter (@PBRWisconsin) and Facebook.

This week's top questions look at how we rank certain positions, as well as touching on the 2018 class.

To submit a question about Wisconsin high school baseball to the PBR scouting staff simply follow the link HERE. Also if you have a burning question about the national landscape of high school baseball or draft specific questions you can send them to National Supervisor Nathan Rode HERE.

When ranking a middle infielder, what things do you look for the most?

There are a lot of factors to determine but for the typical profile of a shortstop most of the time you would evaluate his five tools prioritized in this order: 1. Defense 2. Speed 3. Arm Strength 4. Hitting 5. Power. Its very difficult to find a true shortstop, one that can defensively stick at the position at the next level. More often than not you see the best player on a high school team playing shortstop, but most of the time at the next level you will see that player moved to a position that better suits his abilities.

Son has RHP as his primary position and 3rd base as his secondary position. He was recently ranked in Wisconsin at a descent spot. He says that he may prefer to play 3rd as primary spot. If he changes the primary position as 3rd base, we are wondering how that will affect this future rankings. What criteria is used at PBR events?

Player rankings don't change by whatever position he lists in his profile. There are a lot of players that list themselves at positions that they most likely will not play at the next level. We take everything into consideration when ranking players and yes, certain positions have a higher value and if all other factors are in line could be ranked higher. For example, left-handed pitching, its a rare commodity and highly coveted at the next level so all things being equal, a LHP that matches up similarly with a RHP might get the nod over that RHP.

Who are the top five 2018 grads in WI?

I think we've touched on this questions before but still too early to tell. We will have a better idea after all of our Preseason events. http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/wisconsin/events

About how fast should a 2018 pitchers velocity be to be a "top prospect"?

Well we've seen several 2018's in the PBR coverage area that have topped the 80 mph mark, which is a strong arm for a freshman. But its not all about arm strength alone. Obviously arm strength helps and a freshman that is already topping 80 mph would probably be considered a "top prospect".

Does height matter when you play second base or outfield?

No, not if your tools play for that position.

Janesville Craig vs. Janesville Parker. Toughest cross town rivals? Who's got the edge?

Clearly one of the better crosstown rivals in the state. Parker shocked some people last year with a deep run in the playoffs but we haven't gotten to this year's previews yet. I think both will have a chance to be one of the top 25 but there's still a lot of digging and info to gather before we start breaking out team previews for 2015.

Does starting varsity baseball for a good program as a freshman help your overall exposure and recruitment chances?

It absolutely helps. Good players and winning programs are magnetic. Good programs that consistently pump out Division I prospects will obviously be frequented more than others, simply because they produce good players. Also, that particular coach will more than likely have better relationships with colleges that they have sent players to in the past.

Who are some infielders from the 2017 class to look for?

We haven't seen much high end infield play in the 2017 class at least compared to the 2015 and 2016 classes (Miller, Henwood, Bunnell, Lux, Lavey, etc.) Defensively, Mitchel Buban out of Tremper is one of the top guys we've seen in that regard. Oklahoma commit Anthony Schlass (West Bend West) has the best bat in the class but will probably end up at a corner spot when its all said and done.

When will the 2015 WI rankings be updated?

Wisconsin's 2015 state rankings were just updated in late October and won't be updated again until after the Preseason Showcases. You can check out the new 2015 rankings here >> http://www.prepbaseballreport.com/news/WI/Wisconsin-Class-of-2015-Rankings-Updated-2018693745

Wisconsin Mailbag: Top Questions Of The Week

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