Prep Baseball Report

Madison JC (WI) Scout Day: Takeaways


By Tell Taylor
Wisconsin Scouting Director

On Oct. 15, the PBR Wisconsin staff attended the annual Madison College (45-14; NJCAA DII World Series quarter-finalist) and UW-Milwaukee joint scout day, held at Franklin Field in Franklin, Wis. The scout day featured a pre-game, pro-style workout, in addition to live gameplay between the two programs. Our staff aimed to attend this event to shine a brighter light on the talented uncommitted sophomores within the Madison JC program. The Wolfpack is rolling deep with fundamentally sound talent, looking for their next home. For general perspective on the names listed, Madison is carrying over a dozen uncommitted players that would land at Division I programs in a typical year.

MADISON JC 

The Wolfpack features a full staff of strike-throwers that pound the zone. Effective pitching has been the cornerstone of this program for many years, and this staff might be one of their most talented to date under head coach Mike Davenport. Behind the arms, you’ll find dynamic runners, fundamentally sound defense, and general awareness of how to play winning baseball. In the box, the offense keeps swing-and-miss to a minimum, and utilizes the whole field with a do-your-job mentality. It’d be unsurprising if the Wolfpack found their way back to the NJCAA World Series in 2022, with a real chance to win the last game of the season.

Each of the players listed below are uncommitted sophomores.

ARMS

+ RHP Carson Fluno (2020, WI) is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound righty who offers a steady, north-to-south three-pitch mix that he uses to attack opposing lineups. At the scout day, Fluno ran his fastball up to 95 mph, with hop through the zone, and he showed a hammer 12/6 breaking ball and threw a tough splitter at the bottom of the zone. He has the competitive presence and the ingredients of a winning arsenal. Fluno should amass plenty of effective outings in the spring, as well as down the line for a four-year program. It can be said with confidence that he has not yet tapped into his full potential, and he should be drawing interest from a collection of high-profile programs next spring.

Carson Fluno (10/15/21)

POSITION PLAYERS 

+ INF Zach Storbakken (2020, WI) is a high-end athlete with upside for the Wolfpack, as a physical 6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect with 6.60 speed. Storbakken continues to to check the boxes on raw professional capacity. He runs very well for a strong and dense frame, and he's a proven offensive player, with room for even more production. In the Wolfpack’s 2020 campaign, Storbakken posted a team best 1.139 OPS as a freshman, and he was a near perfect 15-for-16 on stolen base attempts. His defense has made marked improvements year over year, and he can flex positionally between third and second. While his bat was kept in check during the scout day gameplay, all have become accustomed to the easy and loud consistent batted balls. He’s among the top JUCO infield talent available anywhere.

Zach Storbakken (10/15/21)

+ C/INF Eduardo Saucedo (2019, WI) stands quickly with his hose behind the dish, stemming from a strong 6-foot, 200-pound build. He’s quick on the exchange and zips the ball through the base with carry; reliably accurate to the target with miss management to the ground. He also plays clean defensively on the infield when he rotates to a corner position. In the left-handed batter’s box, there’s bat-to-ball skills with flashes of above-average power as well. While he favors low backspin line-drives with a quick barrel, the ball can leave the yard when he gets the ball up to the pull-side. Saucedo has a quiet load and good brakes in his swing, and checks a ton of boxes as a left-handed-hitting backstop with positional versatility and high academics.

+ UTL Brady Jurgella (2020, WI) is a premier outfield defender who brought home a NJCAA DII Baseball ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2021, behind a perfect fielding percentage on the season. Watching his defensive rounds is reflective of his high-end actions. You’d be hard pressed to find an outfielder with better footwork, routes, ball skills, and throwing accuracy, aided by 6.75 speed. Jurgella long-hopped the target from knee to belt on every throw without the receiver taking a step off position. Impressively enough, Jurgella is one of the few outfielders who could transition to the infield, should the need arise. He’d make a solid second baseman if provided with the time to develop and settle in at the position. At the dish, he repeatedly stroked line-drives with an easy swing from the left side. He made balanced moves with a flat swing, and possesses solid brakes in our estimation. There’s solid pop present in the bat to all fields.

+ OF Spencer Bartel (2020, WI) is a physical 6-foot, 190 pounds, and he’s a reliable corner outfielder whose best attributes belong in the right-handed batter’s box. He carries a strong bat, and makes stiff, yet balanced, moves in the box while maintaining his posture throughout his swing. There’s some real pop off the bat and it’s a swing that features good feel for the direction of his barrel release through impact. During BP, Bartel showed a number of hard shots off the bat that were representative of above-average slugging potential. He isn’t a burner on the bases (6.78), but he runs well for his solid frame.

+ OF/1B Gunnar Doyle (2020, WI) is a dense body with serviceable outfield defense, and he manages well as a first base flex. Much of Doyle’s value added on the field comes in the left box. As his bat goes, so does his impact. He’s a strong bat handler in the box with some gap-to-gap thump. He’s a rather difficult out, and he will often do damage out front when he’s favoring the pull-side. Doyle pulled together the second best team batting average (.356), as well as one of the team’s top OPS (.923) marks, resulting in lots of RBIs (48) during his freshman season.

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