Prep Baseball Report

Senior Games: Statistical Analysis


By Andy Sroka
Staff Writer, Associate Scout

On Sunday, the PBR Wisconsin team hosted its annual Senior Games event at STiKS Academy The event was originally slated to be held outdoors at Concordia University, but rain pushed us inside. This event is designed to provide some of the state’s top uncommitted seniors with the platform to perform in front of an assembly of college recruiters in the final fall of their high school careers. We had around 35 of the top on-the-market 2020s in the area, and today we’ll reveal the top performers from a statistical perspective.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY

RHP Owen Weber (Appleton North) repeatedly touched 83 mph during his inning of work on the mound. His fastball showed carry through the zone and he backed it up with a breaking ball that should allow him to get outs this time next year. Badger’s southpaw Addison Hochevar was up to 82 mph from the left side and is a tough at-bat, especially for left-handed bats.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Max FB
1 Owen Weber WI Appleton North 2020 RHP 83 mph
2 Addison Hochevar WI Badger 2020 LHP 82 mph
^ Steven Kleyheeg WI Franklin 2020 RHP 82 mph
3 Tayden Patterson IL River Ridge 2020 LHP 81 mph
4 Joe DuCharme WI Verona Area 2020 RHP 80 mph
^ Grady Gorgen WI Mineral Point 2020 LHP 80 mph
^ Brandon Peace WI Nicolet 2020 RHP 80 mph

TOP 60-YARD DASH

There were four sub-7.00 runners in this group, but two stood out in particular: Oconomowoc’s Ben Nelson and Random Lake’s Blake Hall. Nelson showed our staff newfound athleticism inside a highly lanky and projectable frame. Meanwhile, Hall popped up onto radars at last month’s Sheboygan showcase and reasserted himself over the weekend.

Rank Name State School Class Pos 60-yard
1 Ben Nelson WI Oconomowoc 2020 OF 6.75
2 Blake Hall WI Random Lake 2020 3B 6.77
3 Luke Renard WI Wrightstown 2020 2B 6.91
4 Sam Plechaty WI Sussex Hamilton 2020 OF 6.99

TOP EXIT VELOCITY

Bat strength was on display inside the STiKS Academy facility on Sunday, led by Waukesha West’s Thomas Ward, who topped an event-best 93 mph. Jason Brulport’s (Tremper) 92 mph mark is also important to note here, as he made sure that bat strength played in BP, too, putting together one of the day’s loudest rounds.

Rank Name State School Class Pos Exit Velo
1 Thomas Ward WI Waukesha West 2020 3B 93
^ Blake Hall WI Random Lake 2020 3B 93
2 Jason Brulport WI Tremper 2020 1B 92
3 Jakob King WI Sussex Hamilton 2020 RHP 90
^ Joseph DiMotto WI New Berlin West 2020 3B 90
4 Justin Baehler WI Mineral Point 2020 C 89
5 Grady Gorgen WI Mineral Point 2020 LHP 88

TOP INFIELD VELOCITY

Payton Foltz (Watertown) firmly came away from the showcase with the top infield velocity, up to 83 mph across the diamond. He moves well on the infield, too, so his arm strength could help him stick to the left side of the infield.

Rank Name State School Class Pos INF Velo
1 Payton Foltz WI Watertown 2020 2B 83
2 Joseph Pettit WI Marquette University 2020 RHP 79
3 Jason Brulport WI Tremper 2020 1B 78
^ Jared Vogel WI Jefferson 2020 LHP 78

TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY

Both Weber and Mineral Point’s Grady Gorgen showed well as two-way talents, topping 85 mph from the outfield, too. They both project a little differently, however. Weber’s arm strength plays best on the bump, while Gorgen could go either way. He’s capable of gliding around the outfield and has a sound right-handed bat, but his lefty arm also works well on the mound.

Rank Name State School Class Pos OF Velo
1 Grady Gorgen WI Mineral Point 2020 LHP 85
^ Owen Weber WI Appleton North 2020 RHP 85
2 Ben Nelson WI Oconomowoc 2020 OF 84
^ Jack Leahy WI Oak Creek 2020 OF 84
3 Jackson Wall WI West De Pere 2020 OF 78

TOP CATCHER VELOCITY

All three backstops look capable of handling everyday catcher duty long-term and each of the three below finished right around each other in both pop and velocity. Hunter Petska (Green Bay Preble) showed us a real catch-and-throw skillset throughout this summer, Jack Carlson (Neenah) is a well-rounded defender and bat, while Justin Baehler (Mineral Point) is a bat-first backstop with some pop.

Rank Name State School Class Pos C Velo
1 Justin Baehler WI Mineral Point 2020 C 77
2 Jack Carlson WI Neenah 2020 C 75
^ Hunter Petska WI Green Bay Preble 2020 C 75

TOP POP TIMES

Rank Name State School Class Pos Pop Time
1 Hunter Petska WI Green Bay Preble 2020 C 2.17-2.30
2 Jack Carlson WI Neenah 2020 C 2.19-2.34
3 Justin Baehler WI Mineral Point 2020 C 2.21-2.38

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