Prep Baseball Report

PBR at The Rock 17U: Quick Hits Day 2


By Wisconsin Staff

Today marked the first day of the 17U PBR at The Rock Championship in Franklin, Wis. The four-day tournament features 33 of the best travel programs at the 17U age level across the Midwest. Throughout this week, the PBR Wisconsin and Illinois teams will be compiling end-of-day notes in a Quick Hits format, to provide you with the most impressive takeaways from that day’s action. 

For a look at all of the best stuff from Thursday, click on Day One’s notes here. You can find Day Two’s notes below.

QUICK HITS

THE ARMS

+ One of the more entertaining games of the day was a matchup between the Central Illinois Outlaws and Cangelosi Sparks. Recent SIU-Edwardsville commit, RHP Noah Matheny (Galesburg, IL, 2020) twirled a complete game in the Outlaws 5-3 win. Matheny ran his fastball up to 89 mph early in the outing and still had 88 in the tank in the seventh. Matheny utilized a three-pitch mix throughout with both flashing above-average potential. Matheny also did damage with the bat in the win as well. The left-handed hitter hit two opposite field doubles, one being a three-run double.

+ For Cangelosi, one of the biggest bright spots was a relief appearance out of RHP Jack Crowder(Plainfield East, IL, 2020). Crowder three two clean innings with his fastball sitting 91-93 mph in the first before settling in at 88-91. The Illinois commit has a physical frame, loose, fast arm and seemingly much more in the tank.

+ The Pirates field at The Rock hosted a close contest between the Illinois program Upper Deck Cougars and Great Lakes Academy, from Minnesota. Upper Deck's LHP Ben Gerl (Lincoln-Way Central, IL, 2020) put his team in a position to win, effectively mixing his motion to home to throw off batters, sitting in the 78-81 mph range with some downhill run. He finished his outing having allowed one run in five innings. He opposed uncommitted RHP Matt Moore (Stillwater, MN, 2020) who battled through some unlucky contact and sloppy defense, which made his line look worse than it was in reality. Still, Moore went the distance and struck out eight batters in seven innings, allowing just two earned runs. 

+ Windy City picked up a 5-0 shutout win on the back of uncommitted RHP Matthew Salomonson (Notre Dame, IL, 2020). Salomonson saw little trouble working off of an 86-88 mph fastball that touched 89 mph. He works with a high front side and drives the baseball down in the zone while mixing a 73-75 mph curveball.

+ LHP Tyler Heidkamp (Oswego East, IL, 2020) pitched Go Pro to a 5-1 win over STiKS Black. Heidkamp struck out six over six innings, giving up his only run on a solo homerun to Zach Storbakken (Sussex Hamilton, 2020) who continues to show off his prowess with the bat.

+ RHP Holden Phelps (Prairie Ridge, IL, 2020) continues to prove he is one of the top uncommitted arms in Illinois. Phelps, pitching for Pro Player-Belo, has a long, lean, projectable 6-foot-5, 195-pound frame and loose, quick arm action. The fastball was lively and in the zone early in his outing sitting 90-91 mph, touching 92 in the first inning. He settled in anywhere from 86-89, touching 91 from the first inning on and occasionally mixed in a low-70s curveball. Phelps should be a high-follow 2020 arm moving forward.

+ Uncommitted RHP Jacob Kampf (Lockport, IL) is a 2020 arm to watch moving forward. Kampf has a clean arm, sat 84-88 mph early in his outing and mixed in a curveball at 73-74 mph with depth at times.

+ RHP Cooper Griffiths (Westosha Central, 2020) kept a solid NorthStar squad off-balance from the mound with his 84-86 mph fastball, and showed us improved secondary feel which has turned him into a highly interesting uncommitted 2020 this late in the recruiting game. He tossed a complete game Friday evening, striking out eight and limiting NorthStar to just one run and one hit.

+ RHP Joseph Hurth (Hopkins, MN, 2020) took the mound for MASH early Friday evening and pitched six no-hit innings, though was fighting off some command issues. Hurth showcased short and loose arm action from a high ¾ window, as well as quick arm speed. He has the arsenal and present stuff to play at the next level because he’s so difficult to square up, but Hurth is still harnessing that mix in order to throw more strikes, after walking five in six-plus innings of work. His fastball ran all the way up to 89 mph early on before settling into 84-86 mph. He threw three other pitches, showing a sharp curveball with 11/5 shape and depth at 72-75 mph, a slider with sweeping action at 77-79 mph, and a cutter at 83-86 mph. This combination helped him take a no-hitter into the seventh.

+ PBA overwhelmed a stout STiKS Red offense with the help of lanky 6-foot-6 right-hander Charlie Campbell (South Milwaukee, 2020), who remains on the market and is also trending in the right direction. Campbell’s thin frame, but long limbs, have earned him a projection label, but it looks like it’s all coming together for him as he enters his senior year of high school. On Friday, he earned a four-inning, no-hitter and K’d four STiKS Red batters, too. Campbell sat 79-82 mph, touching 83 mph a couple of times – it’s a mark we’ve yet to see for ourselves in person. Campbell also expertly mixed in feel for a slow curve with above-average depth that he buried under the zone, and also managed to throw it firmer when he wanted to add more sharp/late bite. He’s ascending and growing into his long and lean frame at just the right time, and his start Friday night might just be the start.

+ STiKS Red bounced back from their flat performance over PBA with a big win over MN STARTERS to close their day. LHP Donovan Schultz (Kimberly, 2020) has long intrigued us with his frame, deceptive delivery, and stuff and it’s coming together here late this summer, in what became one of our staff most impressive in-person looks at the 6-foot-2 lefty yet. Schultz still showed his high leg lift and coil, hiding the ball from hitters, but was under much more control and restraint on Friday, which helped him locate and hit his spots more effectively. He sat 80-83 mph throughout his four innings of work, but the deception and control helped his fastball play up. His sweeping breaking ball, 70-72 mph, also flashed sharp action and helped him notch seven punch-outs in the outing. Schultz allowed just two hits and one walk, which further provides the evidence to show that he had the feel all night.

THE BATS

+ Naperville Renegades took a commanding 10-0 win from Illinois Indians West in four innings thanks to the bat of Cade Sullivan (Metea Valley, IL, 2020) and the right arm of Cooper Avery (Neuqua Valley, IL, 2020). Avery tossed a complete four innings scattering three hits and one walk while striking out two. Sullivan drove in four on a 3-for-3 day falling a triple shy of the cycle.

+ OF Connor Milton (Champaign Central, IL, 2020) has been trending up all summer for the Illinois Braves and it continued on Friday. Milton hunted fastballs in the zone, hitting two doubles off the left-center field fence and playing a steady center field.

+ Offensively, Upper Deck was led by uncommitted prospects Josh Kirnbauer (Andrew, IL, 2020) and Joe DeHaan (Andrew, IL, 2020), who both notched two hits. DeHaan in particular looks like an interesting bet at the next level, given his present feel to hit and talent as a catcher. He swings a simple, strong right-handed bat and is especially athletic behind the plate. Great Lakes is also rostering a couple next-level bats, both of whom are well-known to our PBR Minnesota staff. Max Moris (East Ridge, MN, 2020) is an advanced defender who barreled a pair of hard-hit singles up the middle. And then there's the 2021 Will Rogers (Mounds View, MN), who just got under a pair of high fly balls earlier in the game, and went on to connect with one hard in his final at-bat. Off the bat the ball looked gone in an instant, and it even fooled Rogers who was admiring it, but it banged off the top of the left field fence instead for a double. Rogers swings a hard, aggressive right-handed bat and makes extra loud contact with it.

+ South Dakota’s 605 Sox won both their games on Day Two, with Joey Ostermyer’s (Sioux Falls Roosevelt, SD, 2020) bat playing a key role in the victories. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound RHH went 4-for-7 on the day with a double and three RBIs. Ostermyer takes a short, level path through the zone with clear rhythm through contact. He’s an interesting player to watch out for as the 605 Sox continue their tournament play. 

+ One of the top-ranked players in the Wisconsin 2021 class, Jared Everson (La Crosse Aquinas, 2021), had a strong game two for Wisconsin Impact. The LHH Everson went 2-for-3, driving a double to the left-center wall and a single into right field. He showed present bat speed and found the barrel in all three of his at-bats, making consistent loud contact. Everson is a high-follow in his class and will be representing Wisconsin in next week’s Future Games. 

+ A handful of GRB Rays Yellow bats dominated at the plate over on Routine Field during the night games. Andrew Rajkovich (Madison LaFollette, 2020), Jacob Cinelli (Arrowhead, 2020), Bryce Miller (Franklin, 2020) and Josh Cottrill (Pewaukee, 2020) each paved the way for two strong offensive performances from GRB Yellow. Rajkovich went 2-for-2 in the first game, banging a double off the left-center wall and singling to left in their first win, adding a triple off the left field wall in game two.There’s some clear pop in his swing and the ball jumps off his bat as he found the barrel in each of his at-bats. Cinelli was great at the plate as well, spraying four singles across a two-game span. The RHH OF showed a middle-away approach, driving pitches on the outer half of the plate to right-field. He’s an above-average athlete with a great run tool and a strong arm in the outfield. Miller crushed a home run over the left field fence in GRB’s first game and followed that up with an RBI double to the left-center wall in game two. He stays inside the baseball well and has some raw power in his 6-foot-2 frame. Cottrill was the final of the four, going 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs in game two. He too mashed a double to the left center wall and found the barrel in each of his at-bats. All four are interesting follows as they begin the final year of their high school careers.

+ Chicago Elite has been enjoying a great tournament thus far in Wisconsin, and Brendan Tupper (Normal University, IL, 2020) has had a lot to do with it. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound left-handed-hitting outfielder continued his hot streak at the plate on Friday. After going 5-for-6 between two games yesterday, Tupper went 4-for-4 today with a double and a pair of RBI. He’s already racked up nine hits in three games at The Rock.

+ ProPlayer Canes earned a 10-1 victory over Top Tier Navy on Friday, sparked by their lead-off man Daniel Laughery (Grant, IL, 2020), an Illinois State commit. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound, right-handed-hitting outfielder roamed center field for the Canes, but also shined on offense. He showed off his bat strength by hitting a three-run double off the wall in center field to open the game up and finished 4-for-4 with a double and four RBIs.

+ We mentioned them in Thursday’s Quick Hits piece, but STiKS Academy Red’s squad is filled with uncommitted bats who should have no problem finding homes at the next level, and Avery Owusu-Asiedu (Waukesha West, 2020) and Dylan Nevar (Wisconsin Dells, 2020) are two red-hot outfielders who fit that mold. Nothing but constant hard-hit contact for STiKS Red’s No. 2 and No. 3 hitters on Friday as the two starred again.

+ PBA had a couple notable offensive performances in their overwhelming 10-0 win over STiKS Red, which entered the contest as one of the top lineups in the tournament. They got off to a fast 4-0 start in the top of the first when Matt Hill (St. Joseph, 2020) slugged a three-run homer over the big wall at The Rock’s Fenway replica. Nathan Rentas (Warren, IL, 2020) made sure PBA never let up, either. He went 3-for-3 on Friday with a triple and three RBIs. Jacyk Uehling (South Milwaukee, 2020), who recently committed to Northern Illinois, also jumpstarted the offense from the top of the order with his 2-for-3 day, scoring twice.

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