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PBR Future Games: Midwest Scout Blog

August 4, 2020
By Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota Staff

The PBR Wisconsin staff hosted colleagues from Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska on Monday for the PBR Future Games Midwest pod. Each team pulled together its top prospects from their state’s 2022 class, joined by a handful of select 2023s. All four teams – Illinois, Wisconsin, MN-IA-NE, and a squad mixed with the best of the rest from the region – played two games each on Monday, and we’ll break down our findings in the post below.

We'll be adding and updating to the list below throughout the rest of this week, too. But for now, here's the latest.

WISCONSIN

Hunter Schmitt, RHP, Grafton (WI), 2022
Started game one for Team Wisconsin working two scoreless innings striking out four. Lean athletic right-handed pitcher, 6-foot-1, 180-pounds. Athletic delivery with ability to repeat and control the zone. Arm plays out of high ¾ slot, works clean and loose with length on back side. Fastball plays with life, arm side run, showed ability to situationally dial back and reach for more velocity, sat 84-87 mph, touched 89-90 mph. Curveball has 11/5 shape, 72-74 mph, showed feel and can drop for strikes. Flashed a change with fade, 75-77 mph. 

Mason Buss, RHP, Arrowhead (WI), 2022
Competitive mound presence, works with good pace and tempo. Delivery works slight drop and drive, on line with occasional recoil finish. Live arm, plays out of high ¾ slot, clean action. Fastball sat 85-87 mph, topped 88 mph, arm side run and sink, showed above feel, pounded the zone. Curveball plays 75-76 mph, 11/5 shape, ability to drop for strikes. Well above average feel for changeup, worked well to left-handed hitters with deceptive arm side action. 76-78 mph. Worked two scoreless frames, striking out four of his six outs. 

Tyler Deleskiewicz, RHP, Badger (WI), 2022
Long gangly frame, 6-foot-5, 200-pound right-handed pitcher, projectable frame with long levers. Delivery works exclusively from the stretch, deceptive with long levers. Live arm, out of a high ¾ slot. Fastball played 88-90 mph, occasional sinking action, showed ability to control the zone. Curveball showed swing-and-miss action, 74-75 mph. 

Joey Nerat, OF, Campbellsport (WI), 2022
Left-handed hitting outfielder, 5-foot-11, 173-pounds, athletic shape, sneaky strength. Left-handed bat carries gap to gap pop, compact swing, competes in the box, top of the lineup type bat. Tripled to deep centerfield, attempted to turn into an inside the park home run. Gets around the bases well, 6.92 runner in the 60. Centerfield/leftfield prospect, roams well in the outfield, above average routes, arm played at 87 mph from the outfield.

Davis Hamilton, 3B, Sun Prairie (WI), 2022
A sturdy, strong 5-foot-11, 195-pound third baseman. Left-handed hitter with a simple, mature approach that produced some quality at-bats on repeat Monday. Short, easy bat path with bat speed helps him fend off some pitcher’s pitches, allowing him to battle in deep counts until he finds his pitch to square. Reliable hands and actions at third base; made an athletic play on the move on a slow roller his way.

ILLINOIS

Ysen Useni, RHP, Crystal Lake South (IL), 2022
6-foot-3, 220-pound, physical, durable frame. Put together one of the top pitching performances so far for Team Illinois in their first game of the event. Useni twirled two perfect innings, striking out four and doing so in efficient fashion. Pounded the zone throughout, showed a three-pitch mix and sat 85-86 mph throughout his two inning stint. Useni routinely got ahead of hitters with his fastball and went to a swing-and-miss changeup as his go-to secondary offering. Useni’s performance was among the most impressive of all the day one outings. 

Nathan Hayes, RHP, St. Charles East (IL), 2022
6-foot-4, 185-pound, highly-athletic, upside frame. showcased swing-and-miss stuff in his two innings of work in game one for Team Illinois. Five of his six outs were recorded via a strikeout. Hayes has a compact, clean arm action, repeats his delivery and the fastball played clean and lively out of the hand; sat 85-88 mph, touching 89 and finished through the zone. Hayes got a number of swing and misses in the zone with his fastball and his 74-77 mph breaking ball has a chance to be a wipeout offering in the future. The breaking ball which flashed tight/late action on an 11/5 plane is thrown with conviction, confidence and feel. Hayes, also the starting quarterback on the St. Charles East football team, emerged as a high-follow 2022 arm in the state.

Shane Curtin, LHP, Lyons Township (IL), 2022
Talented, 5-foot-11, 160-pound, left-hander who has been on the rise all summer. Started on the mound for Team Illinois in game two of the event. Struck out two and did not allow a hit in his two innings of work. Highly-athletic delivery, repeatable and directional. Clean, loose, quick arm plays from a high ¾ slot. Controlled the fastball and worked both sides of the plate. Fastball climbed as high as 86 mph, sat 82-85 and routinely worked the knees or below. Also showcased two above-average off-speed offerings, including a swing-and-miss changeup that he throws to both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Athletic left-handed arm with upside and current polish.

Ashton Izzi, RHP, Oswego East (IL), 2022
Long, lean 6-foot-2, 155-pound frame with plenty of room for continued physical development. Put together a quality two-inning stint in game two. Stretch-ony delivery, clean easy arm and the ball jumps out of his hand. Showed control of his fastball which touched 90 mph a couple of times, sitting comfortably at 87-89 mph with seemingly much more in the tank. Attacked with the fastball throughout and gave up minimal hard contact. Went to a hard slider/cutter as a secondary offering but control was scattered. Struck out one and scattered two hits in his two innings of work. Right-handed arm that looks to just be scratching the surface of his immense upside.

Grant Pohlman, RHP/C, Carrollton (IL), 2022
Pohlman, also one of the three catchers for Team Illinois, threw the final frame of game two for Team Illinois. The 6-foot-1, 186-pound, strong-bodied, two-way prospect, showed off a clean arm, polished presence on the mound and spotted up his fastball to both sides of the plate. Ran his fastball up to 88 mph, sitting 85-87. Also, showed off two different breaking balls that he was able to land for strikes.. Curveball played at 71-72 mph, while his slider was 77-79 mph. Pohlman’s performance on the mound was one of the biggest eye openers for Team Illinois so far this week. 

Jayden Lobliner, C, St. Charles North (IL), 2022
5-foot-9, 175-pound, right-handed hitting catcher with strength throughout his frame. Playing for Team Select this week. Defensively, plays with energy, bounce and actions behind the plate. Advanced receiver, soft hands, flexible hips and presents pitches well, especially at the bottom of the strike zone. Clean and quick out of the crouch, strong, accurate arm that plays clean and with carry at 79 mph. Pop times ranged from 1.93-2.06 during the workout. Offensively, aggressive free-swinging mentality. Hunts the fastball, swings with intent and has loose, athletic hands and present bat speed. One of the top uncommitted 2022 catchers in the state.

Ryan Bakes, C, Huntley (IL), 2023
5-foot-9, 181-pound, right-handed hitting catcher. Strong, wide-shouldered frame; present physicality for age. Playing on Team Select, continues to prove he is one of the top 2023s in Illinois. Physicality is present in the box. Simple, quiet setup, minimal wasted movement and present bat strength. Stays short and direct to the baseball, advanced bat-to-ball skills, pull-side approach and is routinely on the barrel. Defensively, advanced receiver for age. Willing blocker, quiet receiver and is clean out of the crouch. Arm plays easy, accurate and true with carry at 80 mph. Pop times ranged between 1.93-2.00 during the defensive workout. High-level 2023 prospect. 

DJ Helwig, RHP, St. Laurence (IL), 2023
6-foot-4, 165-pound, long-limbed, loose, projectable-bodied right-handed pitcher. Long, loose arm action, plays quick out front from a ¾ to high ¾ slot. Pitched in game two for Team Select and went six-up, six-down in his two innings of work. Threw a high-volume of strikes, attacked with the fastball and showed above-average feel for a late-fading changeup at 75-77 mph. Fastball plays with late run, sat 82-84 mph, touched 85 with much more in the tank. High-follow 2023 right-handed pitcher.

Abram Wills, RHP, Coal City (IL), 2022
5-foot-11, 205-pound, durable right-handed pitcher with a strong lower half. Threw two innings in game one for Team Select. Full wind up, works across his body, creates some deception and repeats his delivery. Long arm action, plays out of a high ¾ slot. Polished approach and mound presence. Understands how he wants to attack hitters. Routinely landed his 66-68 mph slider for a strike; plays well off his fastball with lateral sweeping action, resulting in a number of swing-and-misses from right-handed hitters. Controlled the zone with his fastball that sat mostly 85 mph, touching 86 in his first inning of work. Polished 2022 right-handed pitcher.

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