Milwaukee Preseason I.D.: Quick Hits

Prep Baseball Report's longest-running annual event in Wisconsin, the Milwaukee Preseason I.D., is always a showcase that features many high follow players -- some on our radar and some who are not yet. On Sunday, Feb. 25, a ton of Milwaukee-area talent showed off all of their hard work this past winter, some even made substantial jumps, particularly from the 2020 class.

Of that sophomore group, RHP George Klassen grabbed most of the spotlight thanks in part to a fastball that topped 91 mph, the day’s highest, in addition to a work-in-progress breaking ball that’s getting better and better. But it wasn’t only Klassen who impressed as a 2020 grad on the mound. He’s joined by fellow RHPs Sabastian Kloss, Eric Erato, and Gavin Hinckley who all grabbed shares of the spotlight of what became the day’s headline: the number of high follow 2020 arms.

Elsewhere, there was a significant amount of members from the junior class who displayed a next-level skillset, though remain uncommitted. Two-way prospect Drew Leszczynski was one of the statistical stars of the event, throwing an event-high 92 mph dart home from the outfield in addition to an impressive bullpen. Connor Prielipp also reiterated why he’s the No. 2-ranked LHP on our 2019 Wisconsin list as he continues to weigh his decision on where he’ll pledge to play his college ball.

And then there’s the 2021 class, one that really made a name for itself with several pop-up arms making themselves known to us. RHP Billy Howard was one of the day’s breakout arms because of his age and relative size. He came into the day standing at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, and was using it to toss fastballs in the 81-83 mph range.

Keep an eye out for a statistical analysis as well as positional breakdowns from the Milwaukee event in the coming weeks. In the meantime, here’s a quick look at some of the day’s most notable performers.

Available Juniors

• L/L OF Cody Tostrud (Bradford) showed well as possible centerfield defender at the next level. Tostrud ran a 6.94 and has a simple approach at the plate geared towards controlling the barrel.

• Catchers Evan Henry (Wilmot), Kameron Laskowski (Hamilton), Julio Cajigas (Romeoville, IL) and Riley Hughes (Bradford) showed advance catch-and-throw skills at their positions, all showed above-average arm strength and accuracy to the bag. Cajigas had the top arm of the day out of the crouch at 82 mph.

• LHP Connor Prielipp (Tomah) picked up right where he left off last time we saw him. Prielipp sat and easy 86-87 mph with improved breaking ball and plus action changeup. Prielipp is currently the best available prospect in Wisconsin’s 2019 class, and second best available LHP in the 2019 Overall Rankings.

• Riley Garczynski (Marquette) really stood out with loose actions and a strong arm across the diamond, Garczynski showed really well playing on the move.

• Luke Blaha (Mukwonago) carries a strong bat and projects as a possible middle of the order corner outfielder.

• Drew Leszczynski (Brookfield Central) has a big arm and put it on display from the outfield and on the mound. Topping at 92 mph from the outfield, he sat 85-87 mph on the mound while aggressively pounding the zone.

• RHP Luke Hansel (Union Grove) pounded the zone with three pitches and topped at 87 mph. His curveball showed improved depth and has really settled in to improving his stock on the mound.

• LHP Jacob Wilde (Waukesha West) seems to look better everytime we see him. At 6-foot-2, 185-pounds he physically looks stronger physically, and its translating on the mound to improved velocity, now sitting 83-84 mph with excellent feel for his curveball.

• A trio of first-baseman Lukas Galdoni (Carmel, IL), Tyler Brandenburg (Lake Country Lutheran) and Ben Siekierski (Mukwonago) showed three of the better power bats on the day, Siekierski makes hard contact on a regular basis while still approaching the middle of the field. Brandenburg has huge raw power that he shows off mostly to his pull side, and Galdoni, a left-handed bat has natural lift to swing and well-above average power.

• Its been a while since seeing RHP Trent Turzenski (Burlington) and since then he’s grown another inch and put on about 30 pounds. At 6-foot-6, 220-pounds Turzenski throws a heavy 84-86 mph fastball.

• LHP Trent Ehlers’ (Sturgeon Bay) curveball has above average depth on a 12/6 plane. He adds deception and ran his fastball up to 85 mph.

• RHP Erik Sutton (Homestead) was a huge surprise, at 6-foot-7, 195-pounds he looks the part of a projectable arm with a quick loose stroke out of a high ¾ slot. Sutton sat 85-86 mph with relative ease, touching 87 mph at the end. Sutton’s breaking ball is not developed yet but he throws but secondary pitches with conviction and arm speed.

Top 2019 Commits Show Well

• Dan Blomgren (Janesville Craig; Michigan), Paul Toetz (Greendale; Indiana), Xavier Watson (South Milwaukee; Illinois) and Andrew Wiegman (Carmel, IL; Louisville) all continue to improve their craft. Watson’s frame appears to have added strength this winter and it shows in his bat as well as lowering his 60 time to a 6.97. Toetz also looks like he’s been spending time in the weight room this winter, and physically is resembling Justin Lavey (Tremper, 2016; Louisville). Wiegman ran one of the best 60s of the day at 6.83 and has a plus arm across the infield (89 mph), however its the bat that continues to make him one of the topped ranked prospects in the state of Illinois.

• In the outfield, Indiana State commit Trace Ferreira (New Berlin West) showed well, while the hyper athletic Steve Jamroziak (Muskego, 2019) is a hyper athletic outfielder committed to Minnesota. Jamroziak is looking more and more comfortable in the box and the ball is jumping off his bat. He’s a 6.85 runner at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds and shows all the actions to possibly stick in centerfield. Tanner Peterson (Wilmot) may have swung the best bat in the group. His left handed swing is as pure as it gets and has easy feel for the barrel.

2020 Arms Race

• RHP Jonathon Hanscom (Mundelein, IL) popped up as a follow in Illinois 2020 class. His ¾ slot worked at 81-83 mph, touching 84 mph and flashed a sharp slurve type breaking ball.

• RHP Sabastian Kloss (Whitnall) looked sharp on the mound, Kloss showed an above average three pitch mix with a sharp breaking ball that has excellent feel.

• We saw a flash of it late in the fall, but RHP George Klassen (Port Washington) has put himself in a different stratosphere. His fastball topped at 91 mph, a tick harder than we saw in the fall, with the same power changeup and now showing a plus potential curveball. Klassen’s curveball had always been a work in progress, and is getting much closer to a finished product. This was the best we’ve seen it, working 12/6 it has hard swing and miss biting action that he was able to drop for strikes as well as burying in the dirt. Klassen is likely to see a rise in stock at the next 2020 overall rankings update.

• SS/RHP Gavin Hinckley (West Bend West) has been on the radar and  poised to make a big jump. Hinckley showed a live arm on the mound and across the infield, sitting 84-85 mph with his fastball and touching 90 mph across the diamond. Hinckley is a high follow in the 2020 class.

• Warren’s (IL) Reece Lawler snuck under our radar and committed to Saint Louis this fall. The Bilikens are getting a good one as Lawler has a super clean and easy arm action and sat 85-87 mph in his bullpen with an advanced curveball that flashes sharp depth.

• Cooper Griffiths (Westosha Central) was a revelation on the mound. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound sophomore worked downhill at the bottom of the zone with an 82-84 mph fastball, a more than 10 mph spike since seeing him last winter.

• SS/RHP Eric Erato (Sussex Hamilton, 2020) made one of the biggest steps forward in the 2020 class. Always a high projection guy in our books, Erato is bigger and stronger translating to more pop off the barrel of an easy swing path. On the mound Erato’s jump was even more impressive working up to 87 mph and flashing a hard breaking ball and advance feel for his change.

• Along with Erato, TJ Manteufel (Union Grove) may be skyrocketing up the charts. Manteufel ran an event best 6.68 in the 60 and the speed played on the infield ranging well to both sides with quick actions and ability to stick at shortstop.

• Gunnar Doyle (Oak Creek, 2020) looked longer and leaner translating to more athletic actions in the outfield and an improved 60 yard dash running a 6.90.

Freshman Follows

• Noah Miller (Ozaukee) appears to be one of the top 2021 prospects in the state. Miller is an advanced defender with soft hands and fluid actions. His arm plays up as it is highly accurate and handles the bat from both sides of the plate.

• Ben Loyd may be right on the heels of Miller as an above average middle infield defender and a barrel aware hitter from the left side.

• RHP Tommy Pinnow (Union Grove) is a pitchability right-hander to keep an eye on in the freshman class. He filled up the zone with three pitches and sat 76-78 mph with a clean arm.

• Angel Rades (Oak Creek) has a compact swing from the left-side with quick hands working to both sides of the field on a line. His actions in the outfield play aggressively to and through the baseball.

• Joey Turco (Martin Luther) is a strong body freshman who flashed pop at the plate and a strong arm for his age out of the crouch.

• Alex Jamroziak (Muskego) shows upside in his bat and on the mound. The ball comes off his right-handed bat well and touched 80 mph on the mound.

• One of the higher ceiling arms in the 2021 class is southpaw Blake Read (Muskego). Read has a plus fastball for his age the finishes well with advance feel topping at 84 mph. His curveball is his best secondary offering and has sharp 1/7 action that he drops for strikes.

• 6-foot-1, 170-pound infielder Ryan Kaestle (New Trier, IL) is a lean athlete with fluid actions. His 7.38 60 time is sure to improve and has rangy actions and an advanced arm for his age.

• Oak Creek has a pair of RHPs to follow. Both Isaac Engelbrecht and Tyler Peck have advanced arm strength showing low 80s fastball and projectable athletic frame.

• Billy Howard is a high follow RHP from Menomonee Falls. Howard stands 6-foot-1, 190-pounds and has an easy fastball with sinking action at 81-83 mph.

• Peyton Jenkins (Sun Prairie) shows a big arm, much like his older brother Walker (Sun Prairie, 2017; Madison College) topping at 81 mph on the mound.

• RHP Mason Ruh (Wisconsin Lutheran) is a big 6-foot-3, 200-pounds and has a big arm to match. Ruh sat 81-82 mph, topping out at 83 mph with plenty more in the tank.

• One of the more impressive frames in the 2021 class comes from 6-foot-7, 205-pound Logan Landers (Brookfield Academy) Landers has a clean arm stroke that sits in the upper 70s from the right side. He also has power potential in his bat and could project os a middle of the order type first-baseman.