Unsigned Senior Showcase: Quick Hits
October 25, 2022
On Oct. 22, PBR Wisconsin hosted its last showcase of 2022: the Unsigned Senior Showcase. This showcase provided our staff with the opportunity to see a collection of the area’s under-the-radar, uncommitted players, many of whom made their PBR event debuts at this showcase.
Today, we’ll highlight several standouts and performances from Saturday’s showcase in Franklin. You’ll see more content roll out throughout the week, such as our traditional stats story as well as leaderboards taken from TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Swift data, as our partners’ state-of-the-art technologies helped our staff identify even more players to know headed into the winter and beyond.
For now, let’s take a look at the standouts from Saturday’s event at The MOSH Performance Center Facility in Franklin, all of which are uncommitted.
POSITION PLAYERS
+ INF/OF Bryce Erdmann (Manitowoc Lincoln) looks to have added some muscle mass to his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame, still with more room for added strength. Erdmann turned heads during his round of BP with a smooth LH stroke that can do damage, driving baseballs to both gaps also showing some easy power to the pull side. His hardest hit ball recorded a max EV of 90 mph and drove a ball as far as 313 ft., according to Trackman. In both the OF and INF, Erdmann showcased steady actions with the glove working towards the target. On his throws, he topped at 78 mph from the OF and 77 mph from the INF, respectively. After debuting on our most recent 2023 Wisconsin rankings, Erdmann continued to impress during our time in Franklin.
+ OF Christain Counard (Southern Door) is a sturdy 5-foot 10, 195-pound athlete who started off his day by recording a 6.99 in the 60-yard dash. He then moved over to the BP portion of the event where he put together arguably the loudest round of the day. His short, quick stroke impacted the baseball to both gaps and he registered the highest EV of the day at 99 mph and averaged 91.1 mph. Defensively, he showed off his arm as well, topping at 85 mph during the outfield defense portion. Overall, Counard was a big winner at the event as he showed off his raw tool kit and his skills on the diamond.
+ INF Jedvier Garcia (Riverside) is built at a lean 5-foot-10, 150-pounds and he strung together a quality overall performance. To start his day, Garcia ran a 6.82 in the 60-yard dash which was the best of the entire event. He then followed this up with a strong showing during BP in which he used a short, direct swing to line the ball to the entire field and recorded a max EV of 94.1 mph and averaged 87.4. Defensively, Garcia’s athleticism transfers over to the infield as his active feet allow him to work around the ball and he pairs it with an arm that topped at 79 mph on his throws to first. Overall, Garcia is a raw prospect but he already has some tools that allowed him to stand out to our scouts on Saturday.
+ C Julian Torres (Sun Prairie West) is built at a thick 6-foot-1, 185-pounds and he put together a clean round BP in which he utilized controlled pre-pitch mechanics and a short, direct bat path to drive the ball from gap-to-gap, registering a 85 mph max EV on his hardest hit ball of the day. After his solid round of BP, Torres really caught our staff's attention during his catcher defense. Behind the plate he is an athletic receiver and is quick to get the ball out of his glove, which helped him record times as low as 1.93 on his quickest throw down to second.
+ OF Jack Peterson (Southern Door) was a winner at our Western Wisconsin Open back in June, which earned him a spot inside our ‘23 state rankings and he continued to impress on Saturday. Peterson is an intriguing 6-foot, 185-pound prospect, with a strong, athletic build and he started his day by showing off his speed with a 6.91 60-yard dash. This was followed by a solid round of BP from the LH batters box as he displayed a closed setup, with a quiet load and control. Throughout his round he showed the ability to hit the ball up the middle and to the opposite field, recording a max EV of 92 mph, one of the highest on the day. Defensively, he showed soft hands with athletic actions getting to the ball and topped at 79 mph on his throws from the OF.
+ INF Cooper Kuemmel (Muskego) is listed at 6-foot, 180-pounds with now strength throughout and some room to fill more mass. Kuemmel ran one of the faster 60-yard dash times of the day at 7.03, showing quick burst and fast turnover to his strides once underway. He showed hand strength and the ability to drive the ball to the pull-side using a flat rotational swing and turning hard from his back side. Cooper showed some easy action during infield defense, working through the baseball into a side arm slot with accuracy on his throws to first base.
+ C Dylan Cunningham (Franklin) is listed at 6-foot, 173-pounds with a projectable frame. To start his day, Cunningham recorded a 7.00 in the 60 yard-dash with burst off the line. Offensively, Cunningham showed quick hands in the box with a swing that produced loft to all fields and he registered a 90 mph max EV (84.6 mph avg). When it came to C defense, he turned around the baseball well and registered a 2.00 pop time on his quickest throw down.
+ OF Alex Pluta (Germantown) is listed at a strong 5-foot 11, 185 pounds with more room to add. During his BP round, Pluta impressed with his quick hands and a slightly uphill path that allows him to drive balls to the right-center field. Overall, he impacts the baseball and he registered one of the top max EVs of the day at 91 mph. Pluta then showed solid arm strength with an 82 mph throw from the outfield during defensive work, as well.
+ 1B Hayden Reich (Sussex Hamilton) is a physical 6-foot-3, 230-pound athlete who showed well on Saturday. Reich impressed with his burst and turnover by running an impressive 7.21 in the 60-yard dash. At the plate, Reich has a short compact swing and uses his lower half efficiently to deliver the barrel and drive balls to gaps. Reich also recorde the best bat speed of the day at 82.6 mph via Blast and the second highest max EV at 98.1 mph. Finally, Reich’s athleticism transferred over to first base during the defensive portion of the event as he impressed with his footwork, soft hands and overall acumen around the bag at first base during defensive work.
+ OF Wade Menard (Oswego, IL) is a lanky 6-foot-3, 160-pound prospect from Illinois that made the trip up to Franklin on Saturday. Offensively, the right-handed hitter showed well in his round of BP with a controlled, short and compact swing that created line drives with a max EV of 89.6 mph and an average of 84 mph. Defensively, he gets around the ball and fields it in front of him, finishing his throws through the catcher, with his hardest throw coming in at 73 mph.
+ OF Chase Huettl (Mound Westonka, MN) made the most of his trip all the way down to Franklin. The wiry 5-foot-9, 150-pound prospect started the day off by running a 6.90 in the 60-yard dash. At the plate, the LHH displayed an open, crouched set up with high hands and showed the ability to go gap-to-gap with multiple line drives to all fields. Defensively, showed athletic actions in the outfield and had carry through the target on his throws home (75 mph).
TWO-WAYS
+ RHP Angelo Amador (Solorio Academy, IL) made the trek up from Illinois after winning American South Conference Player and Pitcher of the Year honors during the spring. Amador is listed at an athletic 5-foot-8, 150-pounds and in the RH batters box he works with control and his hardest hit ball of the day was registered at 85.6 mph. Amador really shined during the pitching portion of this event as he showcased athleticism in his delivery and paired it with the ability to command all four of his pitches including a FB up to 82 mph. As for his offspeeds, Amador was able to land both a CB and a SL for strikes, both with sharp bite. To round out his four-pitch mix, Amador was able to kill spin effectively on his CH that averaged 1428 rpm and also averaged an IVB of 20.2 inches. Overall, it was a solid showing from this uncommitted arm and his feel for all four of his pitches speaks to why he had so much success in 2022.
+ INF/RHP Brady Wotruba (Pulaski) is athletically built with strength to add to his 5-foot-10 180-pound frame. During BP, the RHH used a quick handsy swing that projects to make a lot of contact and recorded a max EV of 84 mph during his round. In the INF, Wotruba uses active feet to work around the ball and showed some arm strength, topping at 82 mph from across the infield. On the mound, Wotruba is a methodical mover and stays online throughout his delivery. As for his repertoire, he features a FB that he ran up to 83.2 mph that played with run and carry. His two offspeed offerings a CB and CH are both still developing but the CB did flash 10/4 break. After missing his entire spring and summer season with an injury, Wotruba seems to be healthy now and is a name to monitor going into the winter.
+ INF/RHP Jackson Golatke (Wauwatosa East) hosts a projectable 6-foot-3 175-pound frame and showed well on both sides of the ball on Saturday. During BP, Golatke utilized a loose swing with a line drive approach that plays to all fields and recorded a max EV of 87 mph. On the INF, Golatke has active feet that work through the ball and possesses arm strength that was up to 83 mph on his hardest throw to first. To round out his day, Golatke hopped on the mound where his projectability is even more apparent. Despite being a raw mover while on the bump, Golatke reached highs of 82.6 with his FB and his lower ¾ release slot produced nearly 14 inches of HM on average. He also features a SL that averaged a spin rate of 2226 rpm and CH thrown at arm speed with heavy sink.
+ UTIL/RHP Stephen Combs (Harvest Christian Academy, IL) was another prospect who made the drive up from Illinois. Combs is listed at 6-foot 175-pounds with an athletic build and room to add more to the frame. Combs started the day with one of the faster 60’s of the day at 7.04, respectively. During BP, Combs showed the ability to control the barrel and drove the ball to the gaps and he registered a max EV of 94.8 mph. From both the INF and OF, Combs showcased an accurate arm with carry, getting his throws up to 80 mph from the OF and 82 mph from the INF. Combs rounded out his day with a ‘pen in which he topped at 77.5 mph with his FB, also mixing in a short wrinkle CB, and a CT that plays with slider-type break.
+ INF/RHP Max Kurth (Evansville) is listed at 6-foot-1 187-pounds with strength in his lower half. During BP, the RHH, leveraged the ground in order to generate power, especially to the pull side to record a max EV of 89 mph. In the field Kurth projects more as a corner infielder as he is able to work through the ball with rhythm and pairs it with an accurate arm up to 76 mph. On the mound, he featured a 3-pitch mix which included a FB that sat 78-79 mph with run and finish to the pitch. As for his offspeed offerings, he spun in a 10/4 CB that has the potential to be a swing and miss pitch and a CH with fade/depth through the zone.
PITCHERS
+ RHP Jacob Norris (Cedar Grove, 2023) is listed at 6-foot 2, 175-pound with high waist, long levers and room to add to his frame. He repeats a ¾ arm slot with elbow lead creating some deception to how the ball plays at the plate. The FB reached a velocity of 79 mph and was able to drive it to spots. He also featured some arm side run to his two-seam fastball. His CB played as his best offspeed offering as he was able to spin it in 2381 rpm on average and he was able to land this tight breaking pitch for strikes. The CH was also a potential weapon as he was able to maintain arm speed and intent that created some fade to the pitch, as well. Overall, Norris is an intriguing arm with some deception to his delivery that add to a solid three-pitch mix.