With the high school baseball season in flux, we’re going to take some time today to highlight some of the top statistical performers who shined at preseason showcases so far in 2020. With so much talent enjoying break-through winters, we’re splitting up our ‘Winter Winners’ post into two parts: position players and pitchers. 

Last week, we started our ‘Winter Winners’ coverage by looking at the 2021 class’ Pitchers and Position Players. Today, we’re assessing the same thing, only inside of Wisconsin’s sophomore class.

Most, if not all, of the prospects you’ll find below are uncommitted. Given their performances at various events prior to WIAA’s since-postponed Opening Day, we believe these names below would have continued to trend way up en route to landing a place to play at the next level.

PBR Wisconsin’s ‘Winter Winners’ from the mound repping the 2022 class:

SOPHOMORE ARMS

The state’s 2022 class is going to be under the largest microscope this summer, and this sophomore group looks like an historic one. We were fortunate enough to have seen many of the top-ranked sophomore arms in the state this winter and we’ll share with you our findings below. The prospects listed are uncommitted unless stated otherwise.

RIGHT-HANDERS

+ Big Brookfield East righty Ryan Karst looks like the breakout sophomore of the winter. He’s a large, athletic right-hander – listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds – and was up to 83 mph last summer but has ticked up big since. At the West MKE I.D. in mid-February, Karst sat at a heavy 86-89 mph with a feel for the corners. He’s still sharpening his offspeed, primarily his curve, but his changeup tunnels well off his fastball. The ease in which Karst is able to generate his upper-80s velocity is what has the sophomore as one of the most notable ‘Winter Winners.’ And for good measure, he ran a 6.79 in the 60 earlier this month, underscoring the athleticism he brings to the field, especially for his size.

Ryan Karst (2/16/20)

+ The Michigan-bound RHP Mitchell Voit (Whitefish Bay) is a premium athlete with advanced arm speed and strength, able to generate big velocity from his 5-foot-11, 180-pound frame. He sat at 86-89 mph throughout his ‘pen at the South MKE I.D. Voit is simple, smooth, and rhythmic to home, which helps him pound the zone, and he’s honed his offspeed, including a tight 12/6 breaking ball and firm straight change thrown at arm speed. He carries some two-way upside, naturally, as a 6.87 runner, with a fast and flat right-handed bat. Voit’s also an above-average defender with natural infield actions and he recorded a 95 mph high to first earlier this month. Simply put, he’s one of the top prospects in the state in a class that looks like a memorable one.

Mitchell Voit (3/1/20)

+ RHP Gradin Taschner (Neenah) is looking more and more like one of the state’s top arms inside a gifted 2022 class. He effortlessly reaches the mid-to-upper 80s with his fastball, topping at 87 mph a few weeks ago at the Fox Cities I.D. We’d really only see him up to 81 mph in the past, with that same ease of operation, so this big uptick in velocity was something everyone could see coming. He flashes a big 12/6 breaking ball with depth and bite, too, adding a future outpitch to his arsenal.

+ From Adams-Friendship, RHP Carson Klaus was one of the true break-out performers of the winter circuit, regardless of age or position. He pitched a live ‘pen in Madison this month, sitting 83-85 mph, up to 86, with easy arm strength and speed. His curve features solid sweeping action and he gets some hard arm-side action with his change. Klaus has rocketed up the ranks this winter.

+ Arrowhead’s Mason Buss is a physical 6-foot, 170-pound righty who sat exclusively at 85-86 mph at our Madison-area showcase a couple weeks ago. He consistently pounded the bottom of the zone with it and flashed a sharp 12/6 breaking ball and feel for a fading change. He remains a high-follow in the class.

+ Pewaukee’s Logan Dobberstein has extra long levers and a high waist attached to his spindly 6-foot-6 frame, which helps him excel on the hardwood obviously, but he’s honing his work from the mound, too. In Madison, Dobberstein touched 85 mph with big down-mound extension and he has the feel for a big arsenal, featuring two different breaking balls, a changeup, as well as a splitter, both of which are different enough. His curve looks like his best breaking pitch, and it’s something he’s clearly worked on closely, as its action has sharpened since we saw him last. His splitter also features some late action at 72-73 mph, further broadening his potential. It’ll be interesting to see how Dobberstein continues to fill out his frame and how it affects his game.

+ Torin Byrnes (Tremper) starred as a freshman for the Trojans and was all set to do so once again this spring until the season was paused. He looked even better at Madison’s event, sitting 83-85 mph with downhill tilt and a breaking ball that flashed late action, and an effective changeup with arm-side action. He’s especially projectable, too, at a lanky 6-foot-5.

+ Yet another lanky 6-foot-5 righty is on this list after a breakout performance: Easton Zempel, from Middleton. His fastball also features a steep angle, and he was up to 83 mph with it back at our Madison event. He also showed the signs of an effective curveball and changeup combination, worth checking back in on once baseball is back in action.

+ Lean, athletic 6-foot righty Caden Capomaccio sat 82-85 mph, up to 86, at our Madison showcase, with above-average feel for his slider, though his changeup presently projects best, with its arm-side action while thrown at arm speed.

+ Cristiano Ramirez (Muskego) is an athletic 6-foot-1 righty who broke out at an October showcase last year and kept up the momentum in late January when he was up to 82 mph with an authentic breaking ball, a tight and sharp 11/5 curve that looks like a future swing-and-miss go-to. He utilizes an aggressive changeup, too, which is helping earn him some attention already prior to this summer.

+ A pair of West Bend West sophomores broke out at the Waukesha-area event last month: Joey Schneider and Ryan Roehl. is able to generate some natural arm strength from his 6-foot-3, 230-pound frame. He topped 85 mph last month at our Waukesha event, sitting 81-84, with some early feel for his offspeed, especially a sinking changeup thrown at arm speed. As for Roehl, he’s an athletic 6-foot with room to grow. His loose, quick arm helped him sit in the low-80s with some jump and run, topping 83.

+ Spindly 6-foot-4 Thomas Harper (Wauwatosa East) was set to enhance what was looking like one of the deepest pitching staffs in the state this spring. He showed well at our West MKE I.D., sitting 83-84 mph with arm-side action coming from a steep angle. Harper’s able to generate some solid sweep with his slider, though his changeup is his best weapon right now – he’s able to spot it well and it features above-average fade and run.

+ From the University School of Milwaukee, RHP/INF James Reese wields another one of the state’s quickest arms. At the South MKE I.D., Reese topped 88 mph, sitting 85-87, with some effort and hard arm-side action. He also has an excellent feel to spin a sharp, aggressive breaking ball, all while mixing in a convicted changeup that features some late, hard run. He also swings an above-average right-handed bat and he defends with some bounce and actions.

+ 6-foot-2, 180-pound Luke Klekamp (Oak Creek) has already established himself as a top prospect in the state’s 2022 class and he furthered that belief at the South MKE I.D. Klekamp threw a polished ‘pen, sitting 83-85 mph, up to 86, with some hard run/sink. He also has a good feel to spin a 12/6 breaking ball that flashed late action under the zone, as well as a fading changeup, spotted well at the knees.

Luke Klekamp (3/1/20)

+ Catholic Memorial has a seemingly never-ending parade of arms on its staff and sophomore Braydon Cooper is one of the team’s up-and-comers. He was sitting 83-84 mph, touching 85, at the South MKE I.D., with improved offspeed – a tight 12/6 breaking ball that he spotted beneath the zone, and a firm straight change. His 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame gives him some added upside, as well.

+ We got our first-ever look at towering 6-foot-5, 190-pound righty Tyler Deleskiewicz (Badger). We were able to see him twice this winter, too, once just over the Illinois border at the McHenry, Ill., showcase and again at the South MKE I.D. He sat 84-86 mph, up to 87, with a funky delivery. Deleskiewicz has extra-long and lanky levers, with a high waist, supporting the theory that he brings some big projection to the mound.

+ A native of Amherst, in Portage County, towering 6-foot-5 right-hander Benjamin Lee is a follow name to know in the state. He’s raw, but Lee has some sky-high potential, with a fastball that’s already been up to 84 mph, backed up by a curveball that flashed late hammer action off a vertical plane. He delivers his mix to home from a high, steep angle that makes it extra tough on hitters, and is also able to spin a couple different breaking balls. 

+ Franklin has an interesting young core at the 2022 and 2023 levels, and RHP Jaxson Easterlin is a must-follow inside that group. He’s still growing and developing, up to 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds with a young look. He has a clean, loose, and quick arm that sat 81-83 mph earlier this month with an above-average breaking ball that he spotted well, along with a straight change with some slight fade. The uptick in velocity this winter, coupled with his feel to pitch, have him as a rising name to know inside the state’s sophomore class.

Jaxson Easterlin (3/1/20)

+ Robert Roguszka (Greenfield) is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound righty who added six ticks of velo since we last saw him in October, up to 81 mph earlier this month. He sat more consistently 78-80 mph, but he’s come a long way in a short period of time, well worth a mention on a list like this.

+ Trevor Stevens (Waunakee) is a quick-armed righty with some arm strength to his low-80s fastball that features some carry through the zone, with some firm offspeed that harbors some swing-and-miss upside as he furthers hones it.

+ Another sophomore Neenah sophomore worth mentioning fresh off his PBR debut at the Fox Cities I.D. is RHP Jaeden Carstens. He sat 80-81 mph, up to 82, in his ‘pen there generating some hard arm-side action with some raw, but solid, feel for his offspeed mix.

SOUTHPAWS

+ Westosha Central lefty Michael Mulhollon is a highly athletic and projectable prospect, at 6-foot-4 and 194 pounds, who was up to 86 mph at the South Milwaukee showcase. He has a loose, quick, whippy arm that helps him generate hard arm-side run. Mulhollon is still finding the feel to consistently spin the breaking ball, but the things he does well right now are what make him unique, with considerable upside, some of the biggest in the class.

Michael Mulhollon (3/1/20)

+ 6-foot-1, 175-pound Whitnall southpaw Taylor Kilps made a splash in his PBR debut with an easy and loose arm that topped 86 mph at the end of his bullpen in Madison. He has raw offspeed feel at present, but his fastball velocity and size are a couple of unteachable traits that have him as a follow name to know in the state’s 2022 class.

+ Matthew Mueller is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound left-hander with a loose and clean arm, coming from an over-the-top slot, that sat 80-83 mph at our Madison event a couple weeks back. He’s another sophomore arm to watch moving forward.

+ New Berlin West’s Vincent Gohlke is a low-80s lefty with a quick and loose arm, topping 83 at our Madison I.D. event. He can mix in a firm straight change and a tight breaking ball, too, earning watchlist status entering the spring and summer.

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