2023 PBR Illinois Player of the Year: Blake Wolters

June 14, 2023
By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

After bursting onto the scene in early February and doing nothing but dominate throughout the 2023 IHSA season, Mahomet-Seymour right-hander Blake Wolters has been among the most popular names in the Illinois’ baseball landscape this spring.

Aside from his high-academic, high-character traits off the field, Wolters is obviously a tremendous talent on it and, for his efforts throughout a historic season, the Arizona signee is our 2023 PBR Illinois Player of the Year.

Wolters was exceptionally dominant on the mound for Mahomet. He faced 184 batters in 48 ⅔ innings and struck out 106 of them, walking only 14, and allowing just three earned runs in total - good for a 0.43 ERA. Wolters allowed just 13 total hits on the year, holding opponents to a .079 batting average against, and threw three different no-hitters, one of them a 13-strikeout masterpiece to secure the conference title against Mt. Zion.

Pitching in front of several big league teams each time he toed the rubber, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound flamethrower owns one of the loudest fastballs in the country, reaching as high as 99 mph in our up-close looks, while regularly pitching in the mid-to-high-90s. Off that heater is a slider with true swing-and-miss potential that he grew more comfortable with as the season went on, turning to it with more regularity.

Though his long term outlook lies on the mound, Wolters hit directly in the middle of the Bulldogs’ lineup where his presence was more than felt. He hit .440 on the year with nine home runs, 10 doubles, 39 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases.

(3/27/23)

His success on both sides of the ball was a large part of Mahomet’s winning-ways throughout the season. Mahomet-Seymour finished with 30 wins, a school record, and the Bulldogs captured a regional championship, too. They claimed back-to-back Apollo Conference titles and also spent the entire season within the PBR Illinois Power 25 rankings.

Our staff saw Wolters three times this spring, the first on March 27th, where he struck out 11 batters in four innings of work and also launched a no-doubt home run in a win over Teutopolis. His scouting report from that day:

From 3/27/23: “...Arizona signee. 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame with present physicality throughout; wide, broad shoulders, thick lower half, looks the part of a professional starting pitcher in a uniform. Is coming off a winter circuit where he arguably improved his prospect status more than anyone in the country, breaking the Super 60 max fastball record with a 97.7 mph high. Started for the Bulldogs against Teutopolis on Monday afternoon, striking out 11 batters over four innings in front of roughly two dozen professional scouts. Meticulous worker - went through a detailed, planned out routine pre-game in preparation for his outing. Hit his catch partner in the chest on almost every single throw in warmups. Rhythmic uptempo delivery with pace, simple leg lift to balance point, works down the mound with intent, finishes with controlled aggression onto a firm lead leg. Athleticism is clear; produced high outputs of velocity without much effort. Long fluid arm stroke finishes from a clean high ¾ slot with clear arm speed and acceleration out front. Fastball touched 98 mph early, sitting 95-97 mph in the first two innings, and settling at 93-96 mph in the third and fourth. Missed arm-side early but adjusted and primarily worked around the zone as his outing went on. Clear jump and sizzle, playing loud at the top of the zone with carry out the hand, still more in the tank. Showed a power slider at 81-84 mph with hard lateral spin/sweep from the same slot as his fastball. Turned to it more as his outing went on, landing it for strikes, while also spinning it off the zone for whiffs. Misses bats with it presently and will do so at the next level, too. Showed a straight changeup in warmups thrown at arm speed, didn’t utilize it in-game. Homered twice in the same game as well - a no doubt grand slam to straight away center field, and a solo shot blasted over the left field fence on a hanging breaking ball. Also a former basketball player at Mahomet-Seymour. High character athlete that’s clearly a leader for his team. Figures to be one of the most followed arms in the Midwest for the 2023 MLB Draft cycle.”

(3/27/23)

Roughly two weeks later, our staff took in another one of Wolters’ starts, this time a morning conference matchup against conference-foe and state finalist Effingham. It was here that Wolters touched 99 mph in the first, fanning 11 over 4 ⅔ innings and earning the loss despite not allowing an earned run:

From 4/8/23: “...Arizona signee. Physical, broad-shouldered athlete built like a traditional big league starter, standing at 6-foot-4, 215-pounds. Started on the mound against Effingham in a conference matchup, striking out 11 batters over his 4 ⅔ innings of work, walking only two. Rhythmic, athletic, and polished delivery. Simple leg lift to balance point, gets down the mound with momentum, stays connected and on his backside throughout. Slightly upright posture at footstrike with clear hip/shoulder separation, finishes with controlled intent onto a firm lead leg. Continues to produce high-end outputs without much effort, athleticism and strength suggest more peak and sustained velocity are to come. Fluid and continuous arm swing, has some length on the backside, finishes from a clean high ¾ slot with arm speed and acceleration out front. Fastball sat 97-99 mph in the first inning, settled at 93-96 mph as his outing went on, touching 96 mph in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, respectively. Exploded up in the zone when he stayed behind it with real professional swing-and-miss life to it, did work around the baseball to inadvertently cut it at times. Showed more confidence in his slider in this look, turned to it to get ahead in the count and landed it for strikes when behind. Manipulated spin on it at 82-85 mph; harder, more horizontal sweep with tighter spin for whiffs, spun it with more depth as a get-me-over for strikes. Did flash a straight changeup thrown at arm speed to left-handed hitters, 86-87 mph. Once again looked the part of a high-end MLB Draft prospect that’s prospect status trends upward even moreso.”

(4/8/23)

We saw Wolters again in that aforementioned Mt. Zion start, where he twirled a gem, no-hitting the Braves to ensure his Mahomet-Seymour squad would defend their Apollo Conference crown. He featured a heavy usage of his slider in this particular outing, though still had his usual loud heater in his back pocket when needed:

From 5/13/23: “...Arizona signee and one of the top pitching prospects in the country. Physical, prototypical starter’s like frame at 6-foot-4, 215-pounds. Took the mound for Mahomet-Seymour in an eventual conference clinching win, striking out 13 in a no-hitter, which was his third of the season. Simple delivery, rocks into his backside and stays on it to front foot strike, transfers weight efficiently. Closed throughout, works in line to target and finishes consistently onto a stable lead leg. Continues to produce high-end velocity without needing much effort. Fluid and continuous arm swing that has some length on the backside, finishes clean from a high ¾ slot that accelerates out front. Fastball sat 95-98 mph in the first, pitched in the low-to-mid-90s throughout, touching 96 in the fourth and 95 in the fifth. Easy with life up in the zone at times, controlled waned early but settled in as his outing went on. Threw a tight slider more often than we’d seen from him in the past in this look at 79-82 mph, landing it for strikes with consistency. Manipulated the action to it, creating more vertical break and downer spin as a get-me-over, while spinning it on more of a lateral plane for whiffs. Continues to ascend as a high-end MLB Draft prospect for this year’s cycle, drawing plenty of professional attention each time he toes the rubber.”

(5/13/23)

There was no lack of professional attention on Wolters this spring, as nearly every big league team saw him toe the rubber at least once, if not more, throughout the season. His draft stock rose steadily as the year went on and it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to hear his name called on the first day of this year’s MLB Draft, similarly to former PBR Illinois Player of the Year Owen Murphy (Riverside-Brookfield, 2022; Atlanta Braves).