West Milwaukee Preseason I.D.: Preview

On Sunday, Feb. 16, the PBR Wisconsin staff will host its second event of 2020: the West Milwaukee Preseason I.D. in Waukesha. Nearly 70 prospects are already slated to attend – and counting – with registration still open.

For sign-up details, click here. For a look at the most up-to-date roster, click here.

Briefly, let’s take a look back at this event’s roster from one year ago. Last year’s roster contains 27 committed prospects, with plenty more surely on the way. Our winter events also help the PBR Wisconsin staff gather potential names to invite to select events in the summer, including the 2020 PBR Future Games at the state-of-the-art LakePoint facilities in Emerson, Ga. Five members of last year’s roster represented Team Wisconsin in Georgia later in the year: SS Bobby Ball (Brookfield Central; Central Michigan commit), LHP/1B Alex Hayes (Muskego; uncommitted), RHP Tyler Hug (Waukesha West; uncommitted), RHP Drew Stippich (Kettle Moraine; Illinois-Chicago), and SS Ryan Taylor (Verona Area; Central Florida). Hayes, Taylor, and Hug are on this year’s roster, too.

This year, as always, we’re excited for another look at prospects we’ve seen in the past, but we’re also anticipating some emergent performances from those our staff only peripherally knows.

There’s a big group of unsigned juniors headed to Waukesha worth mentioning, including the aforementioned Hug and Hayes, of course. Hudson righty Owen Anderson is an athletic 6-foot-1 and sat in the low-80s at an event last July. Waupun southpaw Noah Gerritson is a long-levered lefty who was into the upper-70s back in September with loose, clean arm action. We just saw Anthony Gross (Catholic Memorial) in Kenosha but his strength and twitch combo looks worthy of a next-level look. Sam Holling (Waukesha West) has exhibited some advanced defense from behind the plate in the past. From Waukesha South, Eli Hoyt is an all-around athlete and it might fit best on the mound, where he was into the 83-84 mph range a year ago. And Demark left-hander Reece Piontek will walk in STiKS Academy with one of the highest ceilings in attendance, as a projectable lefty who touched 85 mph at an event in October. There’s going to be plenty more interesting and familiar faces to check back in on this Sunday, too.

Reece Piontek (10/19/19)

Wisconsin’s 2022 class is looking more and more like it’ll be a memorable one. Among the sophomores set to attend Sunday’s showcase is RHP Ryan Karst, from Brookfield East. He’s a 6-foot-3, 195-pound right-hander, already ranked No. 28 in the state’s loaded 2022 class. Karst is equipped with a low-effort quick arm that sat in the 79-82 mph range, touching 83, back at the Underclass Games in late July. Fellow 2022 Charlie Jarvis (Catholic Memorial) also projects to be one of the state’s best sophomore backstops in the class, ranked inside Wisconsin’s top-40.

Ryan Karst (7/23/19)

We’re headed into Sunday with an especially open mind regarding the freshmen headed our way, but one name we’re already familiar with is Arrowhead’s Thomas Curry. He was a member of Wisconsin’s Junior Future Games team in the summer and he has the makings of becoming one of the top catchers in the state’s 2023 class. He swings a physical and fast right-handed bat with barrel control. Curry also plays above his age on defense, too.

Thomas Curry (7/31/19)

ITINERARY

• Check-in for Position Players: 8:20 to 8:40 a.m.

  • Offensive Evaluations (exit velo, mechanical analysis, batting practice)

  • Defensive Evaluations (arm strength, mobility, positional reps)

• Check-in for Pitchers only: 11:45 a.m. to noon

  • Bullpen Sessions (15-pitch session, mechanical analysis)

  • Catcher Evaluations (evaluating receiving/blocking skills)

• Catchers will stay for both sessions.