Northern Wisconsin Open: Pitching Data Dive
October 26, 2023
On Oct. 21, PBR Wisconsin hosted one of its last open showcases of 2023: The Northern Wisconsin Open. Perennially, this showcase helps introduce our staff to new need-to-know players in the state that we’d not yet seen before, as well as provided us with updated looks at players who’ve earned our attention in the past.
For a closer look at the showcase details and the technologies we'll have on-site to assist our in-person evaluation for all in attendance, click here. For a complete look at those registered to attend this event, view the most up-to-date version of the roster by clicking here.
Wednesday, we took a closer look at some of the immediate standouts who caught our attention with our Quick Hits. Yesterday, we published our Statistical Analysis, where we broke down the stat leaders from the more traditional categories. Now, we will take a further in-depth look at the top pitchers with the help of our tech partnerships, broken down by the categories down below:
TRACKMAN
FASTBALL
VELOCITY (MAX)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Velocity (max) |
1 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | 86.9 mph |
2 | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 86.4 mph |
3 | Nolan Meis | WI | LAKESIDE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | 2025 | SS | 84.6 mph |
4 | Riker Blahnik | WI | Appleton West | 2025 | LHP | 83.5 mph |
5 | Jacob Coopman | WI | Menasha High | 2026 | LHP | 82.3 mph |
Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 2275 rpm |
2 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | 2254 rpm |
3 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 2184 rpm |
4 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | 2138 rpm |
5 | Shaefer Peterson | WI | Kimberly | 2026 | 1B | 2120 rpm |
Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Aidan Birling | WI | St Mary Catholic | 2024 | OF | 20.1 in |
2 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 18.9 in |
3 | Jacob Hurtgen | WI | Watertown | 2025 | OF | 18.4 in |
4 | Urijah Doering | WI | Preble | 2027 | SS | 17.7 in |
5 | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 17.6 in |
6 | Oliver Dugas | WI | Madison East | 2025 | SS | 16.6 in |
7 | Brady Perrizo | WI | Preble | 2027 | C | 15.9 in |
8 | Steven Kable | WI | New London High | 2025 | OF | 13.9 in |
9 | Gavin Brady | WI | Bayport | 2025 | 3B | 13.8 in |
10 | Jacob Coopman | WI | Menasha High | 2026 | LHP | 10.8 in |
Induced Vertical Break: Used in short form as "IVB," this metric is most important on fastballs for creating rise and on curveballs for creating depth – it can also have some use when measuring sliders and cutters as well. Sliders tend to be closer to zero inches while cutters are generally between 5 and 15 inches. Usually fastballs and curveballs with large IVB have higher spin efficiencies as well. Sliders generally have very little (closer to zero) IVB and very low spin efficiency. You could also categorize IVB into spin rate as this is part of the “useful movement” you’re looking for. IVB is also a huge part of the vertical approach angle.
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | 16.8 |
2 | Carson Leist | WI | Algoma | 2025 | RHP | 16.7 |
3 | Nolan Meis | WI | LAKESIDE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | 2025 | SS | 15.8 |
4 | Henry Koopmeiners | WI | Waukesha North | 2027 | RHP | 14.8 |
5 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 13.2 |
Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Nolan Meis | WI | LAKESIDE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | 2025 | SS | 57 % |
2 | Oliver Dugas | WI | Madison East | 2025 | SS | 50 % |
^ | Brady Perrizo | WI | Preble | 2027 | C | 50 % |
^ | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 50 % |
Average MLB pitchers throw 62% strikes, and better pitchers throw strikes 65% of the time, or roughly 2:1 strikes to balls.
CURVEBALL
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | 2434 rpm |
2 | Steven Kable | WI | New London High | 2025 | OF | 2317 rpm |
3 | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 2194 rpm |
4 | Carson Leist | WI | Algoma | 2025 | RHP | 2169 rpm |
5 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 2094 rpm |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | -11.1 in |
2 | Steven Kable | WI | New London High | 2025 | OF | -8.7 in |
3 | Aidan Birling | WI | St Mary Catholic | 2024 | OF | -8.5 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Aidan Birling | WI | St Mary Catholic | 2024 | OF | 16.3 |
2 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | -15.1 |
3 | Urijah Doering | WI | Preble | 2027 | SS | -10.4 |
4 | Jacob Coopman | WI | Menasha High | 2026 | LHP | 9.6 |
5 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | -8.0 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Oliver Dugas | WI | Madison East | 2025 | SS | 80 % |
2 | Gavin Brady | WI | Bayport | 2025 | 3B | 60 % |
^ | Isaac Crosby | WI | Shell Lake | 2025 | RHP | 60 % |
3 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 50 % |
SLIDER
SPIN RATE (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Rate (avg) |
1 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | 2478 |
2 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | 2404 |
3 | Nolan Meis | WI | LAKESIDE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | 2025 | SS | 2348 |
4 | Riker Blahnik | WI | Appleton West | 2025 | LHP | 2240 |
5 | Shaefer Peterson | WI | Kimberly | 2026 | 1B | 2153 |
INDUCED VERTICAL BREAK (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | IVB (avg) |
1 | Riker Blahnik | WI | Appleton West | 2025 | LHP | -7.8 in |
2 | Brady Perrizo | WI | Preble | 2027 | C | -7.5 in |
3 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | -6.3 in |
4 | Henry Koopmeiners | WI | Waukesha North | 2027 | RHP | 6.2 in |
5 | Jacob Coopman | WI | Menasha High | 2026 | LHP | 4.7 in |
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Riker Blahnik | WI | Appleton West | 2025 | LHP | 16.0 |
2 | Nolan Meis | WI | LAKESIDE LUTHERAN HIGH SCHOOL | 2025 | SS | -15.2 |
3 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | -12.0 |
4 | Braeden Hermes | WI | Kimberly | 2027 | LHP | 10.9 |
5 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | -10.4 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Zone % |
1 | Braeden Hermes | WI | Kimberly | 2027 | LHP | 75 % |
2 | Ethan Oatman | WI | Mosinee | 2025 | RHP | 60 % |
CHANGEUP
HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT (AVG.)
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | HM (avg) |
1 | Riker Blahnik | WI | Appleton West | 2025 | LHP | -15.1 |
2 | Aidan Birling | WI | St Mary Catholic | 2024 | OF | -14.4 |
3 | Jacob Hurtgen | WI | Watertown | 2025 | OF | -13.3 |
4 | Blake Bugher | WI | Eau Claire Memorial | 2025 | SS | 13.1 |
5 | Shaefer Peterson | WI | Kimberly | 2026 | 1B | -12.4 |
STRIKE ZONE RATE%
Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | Spin Score (max) |
1 | Logan Haupt | WI | Manitowoc Lutheran | 2026 | SS | 32 |
2 | Shaefer Peterson | WI | Kimberly | 2026 | 1B | 29 |
3 | Steven Kable | WI | New London High | 2025 | OF | 29 |
+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.
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