Preseason Power 25 Countdown: No. 22 Medford Area

March 24, 2022
By Andy Sroka
Illinois & Wisconsin Assistant Director

The Wisconsin high school baseball season kicks off on March 29, opening day for regular season action under WIAA regulations. Over the next week, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2022 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down through the official PBR Wisconsin Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2022 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Medford Area
Preseason Rank: 22
2021 Record: 24-4
Conference: Great Northern
WIAA Division: 2
Head Coach: Justin Hraby

ROSTER PREVIEW

NAME	POS	CLASS	COMMITMENT
Caleb Guden	INF/RHP	2022	Air Force
Aiden Gardner	C	2022	-
Seth Mudgett	OF/RHP	2022	-
Brigham Kelley	INF/RHP	2022	-
Steve Hraby	OF	2022	-
Colby Elsner	OF	2022	-
Logan Baumgartner	RHP/INF	2023	-
Tucker Kraemer	UTL	2023	-
Tanner Hraby	INF/OF	2024	-
Max Dietzman	1B	2024	-

KEY PLAYERS LOST

+ UTL/RHP Spike Alexander (2021)
+ OF Blaine Seidl (2021)
+ OF Nate Retterath (2021)

IMPACT UNDERCLASSMAN

+ INF/OF Tanner Hraby (2024): Hraby was a second team selection to the Great Northern All-Conference in 2021, after hitting .347 as a true freshman, jumpstarting the offense from the two-hole where he hit all spring, helping this program win its second straight conference title in the process. He struck out just six times in 111 plate appearances as a freshman, and we’ll see if he can start transforming his bat-to-ball skills into more extra-base production in his sophomore spring. Hraby’s athleticism and defensive versatility are also greatly important to the Raiders this season, as they strive to replace most of its outfield from a year ago.

X-FACTOR

+ RHP/INF Logan Baumgartner (2023): Having just wrapped up an excellent basketball season that earned him honorable mention all-state honors, Baumgartner is prepping for a big season on the diamond, too, where Medford will require him to pick up some of the slack left over from three key graduations from the 2021 roster. He’s projected to hit inside the middle of this order – returning a .341 batting average and eight extra-base hits – while occupying a spot on the left side of the infield, but it’s on top of the mound where he’ll sculpt the Raiders’ strength as a unit this season. Baumgartner is, reportedly, a high-follow arm we need to check in on this spring, with athleticism and budding arm strength that project to help him holster a knockout punch at the top of his team’s rotation. He tallied 34.1 innings as a sophomore and returns a 3.06 ERA, with 30 Ks against just seven walks.

OUTLOOK

The 2021 season made for a special spring in Medford, as the Raiders secured 24 wins en route to a sectional finals appearance where they fell just short to Rice Lake, 7-4, in a competitive ballgame. The disappointment from that defeat was quickly transformed into optimism regarding the 2022 season ahead, as the Raiders return the majority of the same team that captured the Great Northern, including the conference’s player of the year, INF/RHP Caleb Guden (2022; Air Force commit), who was also named to PBR Wisconsin’s Second Team All-State. Guden hit .446 as a junior with 21 extra-base hits, including 14 doubles, four triples, and three home runs. Guden also recorded 53 innings on the mound, a team-high, and ended the year with a 2.11 ERA and he notched 69 strikeouts.

Caleb Guden (3/14/21)

While three bats that hit over .350 last year are graduated, Guden is supported inside the lineup by C Aiden Gardner (2022) and OF/RHP Seth Mudgett (2022), who each bring back productive pieces of the offense. Gardner hit .409 as a junior, and collected eight extra-base hits and 25 RBIs, while Mudgett hit .343 himself and drove in 15. These three seniors, plus the aforementioned Baumgartner and Hraby, combine to lay a competitive foundation inside this everyday lineup, bolstered by a strong pitching staff that should be the team’s greatest strength in 2022.

And Mudgett will also be tasked with taking the ball as the team’s third starter, returning a 2.80 ERA in 30 innings last year, with 21 punch-outs recorded over that span. He’ll take on an expanded role, as Medford graduated approximately 50 innings in 2021.

Seniors like OF Steve Hraby (2022), OF Colby Elsner (2022), and INF/RHP Brigham Kelley (2022) will be effectively filling out this daily lineup. Kelley, namely, drove in 13 runs as a junior and also saw some brief time on the mound, and that role will most likely be expanded as a senior.

BOTTOM LINE

Antigo spent the better part of a decade dominating this conference, winning a state title during that span, but Medford has won back-to-back GNC titles and this group is the heavy favorite to win a third consecutive. Beyond that, the Raiders are reliable defenders up the middle and own one of the top pitching staffs in this region of Wisconsin. Add in the experience this team gathered during its 2021 postseason run, and Medford looks equipped for a genuine charge at the WIAA D2 state title.

Make sure to follow @PBRWisconsin on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2022 season.

Find more information on the 2022 Raiders below:

+ Team Schedule
+ Team Twitter