Prep Baseball Report

Fox Cities Preseason I.D.: Preview


By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

On Sunday, March 8, the PBR Wisconsin will make the trek north to Appleton to host its annual Fox Cities Preseason I.D. event at the Players Choice of the Fox Cities facility. This is a jam-packed, sold-out event where approximately 150 prospects will participate – 50 more than at this same event last year.

For a look at event info ahead of Sunday’s showcase, click here. To view the most up-to-date roster attending, click here.

BRIEF HISTORY

This event is particularly helpful for our staff because we aren’t in the Fox Cities area as often as we’re in Milwaukee or Madison. Thus, annually, this showcase helps introduce us to new follows in the state. Wisconsin-Milwaukee landed two of the best prospects from this event a year ago: RHP Logan Schulfer (Stevens Point, 2021) and Christopher Vandenheuvel (Xavier, 2021). Schulfer was up to 89 mph at this event last year and ticked up to 91 last September, too, which has helped him earn a spot inside the state’s top-five junior rankings. Athletic left/left OF Joshua Blount (West De Pere, 2021) was also here last year and he committed to Illinois State in mid-July. Blount’s teammate at WDP, Kaden Kosobucki (2021; Northern Illinois commit), earned an invite to Team Wisconsin’s roster at the PBR Future Games from his performance at this showcase, so we’re eager to find some 2022 representation for this summer’s roster.

SUNDAY'S ROSTER

Over a third of Sunday’s roster are sophomores, many of whom will be making their PBR event debuts, so we’re looking forward to learning some names and information that could be useful for select 2022 events to come.

With that being said, there’s still some familiar sophomores we’re looking forward to seeing again on Sunday, including RHP/3B Gradin Taschner (Neenah; uncommitted). We saw him a lot over 2019, at both events and tournaments, and he impressed at every opportunity. He projects best on the mound with his easy fastball that was up to 82 mph in the summer. Given his 6-foot-2 frame large build, complemented by his athleticism, we’re looking forward to how the offseason treated him.

Gradin Taschner (7/23/19)

Another ranked 2022 to know ahead of time is RHP Caden Capomaccio (Notre Dame Academy; uncommitted) who also has some two-way upside but is best on the mound, where his quick arm fits best. He sat 80-82 mph on multiple occasions last summer with competitive offspeed and we haven;t seen him pitch since June.

Of course, C Will Vierling (Homestead, 2022; Louisville) deserves a mention here. He’s one of three sophomores in the state committed to the Cardinals and he’s arguably the top left-handed bat in the state, and maybe the Midwest. He’s a patient hitter with excellent pitch selection who can barrel baseballs with lift from foul pole to foul pole.

There are uncommitted 2021s to know ahead of time here, too: C/3B Charlie Bogue (Mount Horeb), INF Adam Bretsch (Marquette University), 2B/RHP Colin Dailey (Cedarburg), LHP Wyatt Fischer (De Pere), C Nicholas LaVigne (Appleton West), C Michael Maloney (Pulaski), RHP/INF Will Mattheis (Laconia), INF Matthew Perry (Bay Port), RHP Gavin Rusch (Bay Port), OF Bennett Spaeth (De Pere), LHP Wyatt Wiitanen (Green Bay Preble), RHP Alex Windey (Wrightstown), and OF Wilson Zuck (Appleton North).

Each of the aforementioned is worth perusing. Some quick notes, Fischer is loose and easy southpaw who was up to 81 mph in September with the kind of frame that indicates there’s more to come. Dailey performed very well at an October event, where he was 91 mph off the tee and touched 83 mph on the mound. Spaeth battered baseballs at several PBR tournaments over the summer. Rusch and Windey are both big right-handers, at 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5, respectively, with big fastball potential. Zuck is one of the top-ranked names coming on Sunday with a physical toolset.

Colin Dailey (10/19/19)

Lastly, there are some freshmen headed our way that spent time on PBR Wisconsin’s Junior Future Games roster at the end of the summer: OF Ryan Drumm (Madison Edgewood), 3B Garrett Hietpas (Appleton North), 2B Landen Lozier (Notre Dame Academy), and RHP/INF Eli Zollar (Ashwaubenon). Each are interesting follows in their own right, but the big 6-foot-3 Zollar has some huge bat strength and arm strength. 

One last freshman name to know ahead of time is RHP Logan Frank (Oshkosh North). He’s a strong 6-foot-2 with a funky delivery that touched 80 mph back in September, but we’ll see how he utilized the offseason.

ITINERARY

  •  Position Player check-in time: 8:20 to 8:40 a.m.
    • Offensive Evaluations (60-yard dash, exit velocity, batting practice)
    • Defensive Evaluations (arm strength, mobility, positional reps)
  • Pitcher-Only check-in time: 12:45 to 1 p.m.
    • Bullpen Sessions (15-pitch session, mechanical analysis)
    • Catcher Evaluations (evaluating receiving/blocking)
  • Catchers will stay for both sessions.

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