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Badger State Battle: Quick Hits Day 4

July 6, 2020
By Wisconsin Staff

Sunday hosted our final day of action, exclusively at Woodside’s Mauston facility, to put a cap on another exciting Badger State Battle.

For a look at the previous three days of notes and highlights, click on any or all of the following links: Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Keep an eye out early in the week when we publish our Scout Blog, a post featuring scouting reports on this tourney’s top talent. Until then, check out the final day of Quick Hits below.

+ One of the standout offensive performers of the entire weekend was STiKS Black 15U C Thomas Curry (Arrowhead, 2023). We mentioned Curry back in our Day Two quick hits for impressing offensively and here he is again after going 4-for-8 with three RBIs on the day. Curry continues to show an extremely advanced offensive approach for his age, barreling up the baseball wherever it’s pitched and using the entire field, all while possessing premium bat strength. He’s slowly making a case for himself as one of the top offensive prospects in Wisconsin’s 2023 class.

+ RHP Tyler Butina (Jefferson, 2023) started for STiKS Black 15U and threw a gem, tossing a complete game no-hitter with seven strikeouts on only 58 pitches. Butina exclusively used his fastball, sitting around 78-80 mph, and he held it throughout his entire outing. He constantly attacked hitters, getting ahead consistently and not letting himself get deep into counts. Butina’s 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame brings some upside to the mound as he continues to progress.  

+ GRB Rays MKE Green’s bats were alive in Sunday’s 16U contests against Brew State and Rhino Wisconsin, as they scored a combined 20 runs in the two wins with the help of offensive leader INF Cade Honkamp (Brookfield East, 2022). Honkamp went 6-for-7 on Sunday with three doubles. He has big strength in his levers that he uses well in the right-handed batter’s box, and it’s a matter of time and development until we see him turn those doubles into home runs.

In the team’s 13-2 win in their first game on Sunday, joining Honkamp as this lineup’s fire-starters were Mason McKellar (Arrowhead, 2022) and Jacob Stevens (Arrowhead, 2022) – McKellar went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and Stevens also had two hits, including a triple, and he drove in two runs.

GRB MKE Green also received an excellent pitching performance in their second game of the day from LHP Michael Carpenter (Arrowhead, 2022). He limited Rhino to just two runs on five hits, two walks, and he struck out eight. His fastball lived in the 79-82 mph range, touching 83, with a feel to spin a 1/7 breaking ball that flashed sharp, 69-71, and he utilized a changeup for right-handed bats that was effective, at 73-75.

+ There were several stand-out offensive performers in the narrow STiKS Black and GRB Green 15U contest. GRB Green infielders Jake Schaffner (Janesville Craig, 2023) and Kale Twombly (Kimberly, 2023) each barreled several baseballs from the left-handed batter’s box and both were 2-for-3 in the game against STiKS Black. Twombly has been a hot bat this summer and is putting himself on our radar in the process. He’s a switch-hit bat with barrel feel and above-average bat strength for his age and size, from both sides of the plate. Braden Smith (Byron, IL, 2023) added a couple hits of his own, and OF Zander Rockow (Thorp, 2023) has been on the barrel all weekend, too. Rockow has an advanced physical frame at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, and he’s beginning to use that premium athleticism and strength in the lefty batter’s box. He was 3-for-4 against STiKS Black, and he came into the day 4-for-6 this tournament.

RHP Cole Selvig (Regis, 2023) pitched 4.1 innings of relief while showing what might be some of the best stuff in the ‘23 class. Selvig came out sitting 82-84 mph, touching 85, with arm-side action, complementing it with a changeup that looks like a future outpitch – it lived in the 74-76 mph range, thrown at arm speed, with heavy/late fade. His breaking ball also got sharper as his outing went on, as did the rest of his arsenal and control. Selvig is trending into a high-level prospect in the state’s incoming sophomore class. He struck out four in four innings and allowed just one hit and five walks, most of which came early.

Opposite Selvig in relief for STiKS Black was RHP Adam Schilz (Warren, IL, 2023), a lanky 6-foot-2 prospect. Schilz sat 79-81 mph in relief from a quick arm touching 82 in his first inning. The separator looks like the breaking ball, a sharp 12/6 curve with hard downer action that earned some ugly chases in the dirt, 71-72 mph. He’s a name we’ll pass along to our PBR Illinois colleagues on Monday.

+ Velocity Baseball’s 17U RHP Carl Cano (Bay Port, 2021) is an athletic and strong 6-foot-1, 173-pound prospect who’s also among the top-ranked uncommitted names in this ‘21 class. He has some two-way appeal, but it’s his work from the mound that looks like it’ll carry him to the next level. With a quick, live arm, Cano was sitting 84-87 mph for most of the outing with hard arm-side action that carried through the strike zone, making it extra tough on hitters to barrel. The difference-maker for Cano is a slider that comes out of the same slot and window, breaking tight and sharp at 75-76 mph. The hard run on the fastball and the late break on the slider produced some uncertain swings and misses. Cano K’d seven in four innings, walked two, allowed two hits, and did not allow an earned run.

+ Brew State Academy’s 17U squad earned a big shutout over Rhino Wisconsin, courtesy of a stellar outing from uncommitted 2021 prospect RHP Tyler Gall (Oak Creek). He’s a compact and strong 5-foot-11 with some arm strength. He sat 82-84 mph, touching 85, while attacking the strike zone, pairing it with a 12/6 curveball that bats kept swinging over. He held his velocity well and maintained his effectiveness, clearly, as he struck out 11 batters, walked none, and allowed just two hits in seven overpowering innings. Gall is another uncommitted 2021 prospect that should be on radars this summer.

For Brew State’s bats, lead-off man OF Luke Wroblewski (Sussex Hamilton, 2021) did exactly his job, recording three singles that he eventually scored on. From the two-hole, SS Ryan Blanchard (Kettle Moraine, 2021) scalded a couple of baseballs. Listed at 5-foot-9, 165 pounds, Blanchard gets the most out of his bat strength, as he can really strike the ball hard. Sunday, he notched a double and a triple to tally a pair of RBIs – and he plays a pretty reliable shortstop. INF Colin Indermuehle (Grafton, 2021) is another thin player with above-average bat strength. He, too, launched a deep double to his pull-side in left that hit the base of the fence. He finished the day with a pair of hits and RBIs each.

+ A 2024 prospect took the rubber for PTA Cardinal’s 15U squad in their Sunday afternoon matchup with CBT Wolfpack: RHP Grayson Fluguar (Franklin). He’s a live athlete with innate instincts for the game, and he did not look overmatched or out of his depth while pitching against a formidable opponent. In the first, Fluguar worked in a quick tempo, aggressively attacking the zone with a 76-78 mph fastball, touching 79. The most impressive part of Fluguar’s outing was his ability to hold his velo in the 75-77 mph range throughout, despite working through some pretty hard-fought at-bats.

Offensively for PTA Cardinal, lead-off man OF Nathan Cumberbatch (Shorewood, 2023) kept up the momentum he gained at our PBR at The Rock 15U tourney. His high-waisted frame and premium athleticism has garnered some high-level attention in track, but he’s also been earning our staff’s attention on the diamond. He stood out over the weekend from the top of PTA Cardinal’s order, going 5-for-8 with five steals – and on Sunday, he singled twice, walked twice, and scored four runs in their 15-7 win.

+ The top overall prospect we saw Sunday was RHP Dylan Questad (Waterford, 2023; Notre Dame commit) on GRB MKE Green’s 15U roster. Ranked nationally just outside the top-200, Questad wields some huge arm strength for a 5-foot-11, 170-pound arm. He’s a talented athlete who can do a little of everything, but he’s clearly been honing his work from the mound in recent months, as he’s gained a greater feel for pitching while still featuring big velocity. In the first, Questad came out sitting 84-86 mph, touching 87 a few times, and he was basically sitting 83-85 throughout his five dominant innings. He sharpened up his breaking ball, too, an 11/5 offering that flashed some late action. In warm-ups, his changeup looked effective with arm-side run/fade and could be a viable third pitch inside his arsenal in the long-term. The ease in which Questad is able to live in the mid-80s, in a five-inning stint, is one of the more noteworthy takeaways from his work on Sunday afternoon. He’s a high-follow prospect in the Midwest’s 2023 class, who’s only getting better.

+ RHP/SS Austin Baker (Eau Claire Memorial, 2022) caught our staff’s eyes at this same tournament last season and his performance on the bump today continued to build up his prospect stock. He got the nod for the Turn 2 Athletics in their final game of the tournament against Midwest Halos 16U. Baker threw four innings, striking out seven and allowing only two earned runs. His fastball worked at an easy 79-81 mph, touching 82 mph and he held it for a large chunk of his outing. He also mixed in a breaking ball in the 70-72 mph range that showed slurve-type actions and got better as the game went on. Baker is an intriguing athlete worth monitoring as he continues to further develop his game.

+ Brew State Baseball Academy 16U earned a hard fought 7-6 victory early Sunday morning against Edge Baseball. Leading the way for Brew State on offense was SS Andrew Justus (Greendale, 2022), who went 3-for-3 on the day with two RBIs.

+ The GRB Rays Yellow 17U squad features many follow 2021 prospects who are uncommitted, among them who put together strong weekends: C Brigs Richartz (Menomonie, 2021). Richartz showed his left-handed power during their night game against Sluggers Baseball on Sunday by launching a two-run home run to his opposite field. He looked sharp at our preseason Madison event, so it seems like he’s only maintained that momentum since.

On that same team in that same game, GRB Yellow was also boosted by some strong pitching from uncommitted righties Evan Long (Tomah, 2021) and Will Staviski (Brookfield East, 2021). Both are big frames with above-average stuff that projects well, too. Long has strong, lanky levers that produce a lively fastball, sitting 83-85 mph in the first frame. He K’d three in four frames and allowed just one hit, walked four. Staviski has ticked up since the winter himself. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, and he’s added some strength to his lanky build, which has showed itself most prominently in his fastball’s velocity, which was topping at 85 mph – sitting 82-84 – on Sunday evening while working downhill. Clearly, he was tough to pick up from the plate, as Staviski struck out seven batters in three innings in relief.

+ For PTA Cardinal 16U, Connor O’Reilly (Burlington, 2022) helped close out the tournament with a bang, slugging a long two-run homer over the left-center fence. His strong hands and big strength create some obvious pull-power, which naturally showed itself on Sunday night. O’Reilly is a hulking 6-foot-2, 260-pound prospect with middle-of-the-order potential.

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