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Class of 2015 Rankings Updated and Expanded

June 27, 2014

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

For a 2015 graduate this summer is the most active in the recruiting process. Colleges will begin contacting players by phone as well as offering scholarships and roster spots. Many of the early showcases and tournaments have brought out several of the top prospects in the state and have made a big splash in the 2015 rankings.

It seemed that the theme of this rankings update was pitchers on the rise. A plethora of arms have been showing well early this summer making it extremely difficult to rank the class. Here’s a look a few guys who really stood out.

RHP Ty Ramirez (Greendale) made the biggest impression at the Top Prospect Showcase. Previously we’ve seen Ramirez sit 84-86 mph with solid feel of three pitches and most recently he sat 88-90 mph with an improved curveball. Ramirez jumped from No. 28 all the way up to No. 5.

LHP Alex Hintze (Oshkosh North) also made a significant jump in the rankings cracking the top ten at No. 8. Hintze looks to be the top left handed arm in the class as he showed well at the Showtime Sports Showcase sitting 85-87 mph with an advanced curveball.

Jonathan Stiever (Cedarburg) has also seen his stock rise sitting 86-88 mph at the Top Prospect Showcase with little effort and a projectable frame. Simon Rosenblum-Larson also climbed the charts as the high academic RHP has been seeing velocity spikes early this summer into the upper 80’s.

Joining the list of pitchers on the rise is Connor Wollersheim (Appleton North). The LHP is now a year removed from Tommy John surgery and looked impressive to say the least. At the Top Prospect Showcase, Wollersheim sat 83-85 mph and looked smooth and comfortable on the mound with excellent feel of three pitches. His progress this summer will be interesting to track and could be the hot name on college’s radar.

A pair of left handed hitting middle infielders have also jumped, leaping into the top 20. Nick Schrader (Jefferson) had an excellent year for the Division 2 state champs and schools took notice. Schrader recently made a verbal commitment to Western Illinois roughly a week ago. Trevor Cho (Homestead) is also turning heads with his left handed bat. Cho took one of the best rounds of the day at the Top Prospect Showcase and showed improved actions on the infield.

This edition of the 2015 rankings has been expanded to 125 and of the newcomers Denmark’s RHP Tanner Umentum comes in at No. 28, the highest addition to the rankings. Umentum had an excellent year pairing with LHP Jack Collins to give the Vikings a dangerous 1-2 punch and showed well at the Top Prospect Showcase featuring an 85-87 mph fastball with a loose arm action and secondary pitches to match.

The 2015 class in Wisconsin looks to be shaping up into a rather deep class and colleges are going to have to do their homework in the Badger state this summer, as more and more prospects are starting to shed some light on their abilities.

CLICK HERE for complete 2015 Rankings. 

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