Southern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits

On Oct. 19, the PBR Wisconsin team hosted its annual fall showcase, the Southern Wisconsin Open, at STiKS Academy where 60 high school-level prospects participated in the final Wisconsin showcase of 2019.

Today, we’re going to be breaking down the day’s highlights inside our Quick Hits post below. Keep an eye out tomorrow when we examine the top statistical performers, as well. For now, here are the best things we saw on Saturday.

TOP OF THE CLASS

+ Benjamin Loyd (Tremper, 2021) just committed to Notre Dame last week and reestablished why he’s a top-15 prospect in the state’s junior class, too. Loyd handles the bat extremely well with a barrel controlled gap-to-gap approach from the left side. A prototypical two-hole type offensive threat who will also bring considerable upside to the middle of the infield with soft hands and advanced actions.

+ RHP Carl Cano, a junior from Bay Port, has a highly athletic look, at a strong 6-foot-1 with long levers. He’s long been a two-way talent but has been especially interesting in 2019 on the mound and further showcased this fact at STiKS on Saturday. A long, quick arm helped produced an event-high fastball at 88 mph, and sat 85-87 mph. The fastball features natural arm-side run, some hard action, with carry in the zone. He backs it up with an aggressive breaking ball that flashed sharp, tight spin at 74-76 mph with a sinking changeup, 78-81 mph. The frame, athleticism, and present stuff make him a high-follow headed into the offseason.

FIRST LOOKS

+ This was our first look at unsigned senior Xavier Schreiber (McFarland, 2020) at a PBR event, though we did see him help his high school make an unlikely state run in the spring. He is a highly intriguing athlete who is still looking for a next-level fit. Schreiber has all kinds of quick twitch to his left/left profile, standing in at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. He ran a 6.98 in the 60-yard dash and posted an event-best 95 mph exit velocity from the tee. His left-handed bat showed similar traits in BP where the ball jumped off his bat at times with a twitchy/strong swing.

+ We’d not yet seen either sophomores Cristiano Ramirez (Muskego) or Carson Flugaur (Franklin) at a PBR event yet and the two showed upside on the infield with their athleticism and both showed very well on the mound. Ramirez and Flugaur show high ceilings on the left side of the diamond as potential rangy athletes. They took their live arms to the mound and also showed projectable stuff. Flugaur topped at 83 mph with a live, easy arm and above-average feel, while Ramirez sat 80-81 mph with a tight spinning breaking ball at 70-73 mph.

TRENDING UP

+ Colin Dailey (Cedarburg, 2021) opened some eyes on Saturday with his improved play across the board. Dailey looked bigger and stronger than he did this summer and it showed in his stat line as well, he posted event best arm strength across the diamond (85 mph) and the second best exit velocity on the day (91 mph). His bat speed played loose and athletic and found the barrel to his pull side while his defensive actions showed the ability to stick at shortstop at the next level with clearly enough arm to make all the plays.

+ Charlie Bogue (Mount Horeb, 2021) and Heath Venne (Muskego, 2022) were the clear cut winners behind the plate. Bogue is a solid defender with advanced actions and an arm that plays accurate out of the couch leading to an event best pop time of 2.02. Venne is more of an offensive threat, boasting a physical compact build at 5-foot-10, 180-pounds. He has a comparable swing to his body type staying short and compact with a ton of bat strength for his age resulting in hard contact off the bat.

On the 2022 side of the infield prospects there were several names to keep an eye on. Emilliano Ramos (Arrowhead) is a strong handed right-handed bat that likely projects at a corner infield spot. He takes aggressive hacks and gets rewarded with hard contact off the barrel. Bay Port product Theo Zeidler may have the highest ceiling of this group, an athlete all of the diamond, Zeidler stands 6-foot, 170-pounds and has a ton of feel both in the batters box and on the infield. He’s a sure handed defender with bounce and a barrel aware gap to gap hitter.

A pair of freshmen in attendance who stood out were Ethan Hindle (Arrowhead, 2023) and Derek Steinbrenner (Menomonee Falls, 2023). Both infield prospects and right-handed hitters, Hindle has a loose easy swing that projects while Steinbrenner is a spray single barrel control type bat. Both showed well on the infield with soft hands and active feet. 

CRUSADERS CRUISE

+ Catholic Memorial was well-represented at the event on Saturday, especially on the mound. Junior RHP Kellan Short attended our All-State Games event back in July, where he was up to 81 mph, but sat in the 77-80 mph range, and his stuff has ticked up since. His fastball plays at a much livelier 83-85 mph and he backs it up with a 12/6 curve that he’s still harnessing, but his feel to spin is there. It has swing-and-miss upside with its sharp, downer action. The straight change keeps batters honest.

+ Fellow junior right-hander Joe Giricz is another arm to watch join a stacked Crusaders rotation. He has loose, lanky levers in a 6-foot frame with quick arm speed that helped him produce an 81-83 mph fastball with finish in the zone. He also complemented the fastball with a curveball, 69-71 mph, thrown aggressively, and he’s working on a forkball/splitter that is inconsistent right now, but has the makings of an outpitch one day.

+ LHP Grant Beth is a sophomore who transferred to the Waukesha private school from Arrowhead and has the stuff to make an instant impact at the varsity level. Built at a broad-shouldered and strong 5-foot-11, Beth is an on-mound athlete with a loose and easy arm, equipped with a 79-81 mph fastball. He throws his offspeed combo of a changeup and curve aggressively on a 12/6 plane, the spin is there but he’s still finding consistent feel for it. Still, he has the early makings of becoming one of the better sophomore left-handers in the state.

+ And don’t forget about 2B Aiden Haney, another Catholic Memorial sophomore to note. While he won’t join Short, Giricz, and Beth on his high school’s pitching staff, he is sure to help back them up defensively as a lockdown defender at second base. As gritty as he is on the infield, he swings a competitive right-handed bat, too, with more strength off the barrel than you might expect from his 5-foot-7 build.

MORE FOLLOW ARMS

+ From Lodi, junior RHP Carson Possehl showed well on Saturday with a sinking low-80s fastball coupled with aggressive offspeed, a 67-71 mph breaking ball with a feel to spin, and a firm changeup. He has a lean 6-foot-2 frame that also projects well, affirming his status as a junior righty to check back in on in early 2020. 

+ Wauwatosa East is building a state contender and sophomore two-way follow Eli Michaelis is just the latest name to know inside the Red Raiders’ dugout. He is a tightly wound 5-foot-7 with some twitch in his game. Showed well at the plate and on defense, and also looked like a follow on the bump, where he was up to 82 mph, and sat 79-81 mph, with a sweeping slider.

+ 2021 RHP James Schutte (New Richmond) is a hulking 6-foot-3, 210-pounder and showed a hard running fastball at 83-84 mph, complemented by a breaking ball at 68-72 mph, and he showed he can keep it down in the zone.

+ A pair of Denmark juniors have asserted themselves as follows inside the state’s 2021 class, though the No. 81-ranked prospect, LHP Reece Piontek, is as projectable as it gets. Standing in at 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, Piontek has a long-limbed frame that is sure to fill out, in conjunction with easy arm action and a feel for the zone. He sat 80-81 mph throughout his ‘pen and then reached for 84-85 mph on his last three fastballs, showing that there’s plenty more in the tank. His curveball has depth and feel on a 1/7 plane and will likely continue to develop. Teammate RHP Brennan Miller also has a loose, quick arm, attached to a lean 6-foot frame, and he sat 79-81 mph himself on Saturday.

+ Verona’s Andres Kleinsek (2021) uses a ¾ slot to produce a sinking fastball with control at 82-83 mph. He’s a strike-thrower with three pitches and showed his changeup to be his best secondary offering.

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