The year is winding down, and it’s been a busy, atypical one. We’re spending some time today assessing where we stand as we prepare to dig into the offseason, heading into the new year.

We’re excited about the new partnerships we’re strengthening and forming here at Prep Baseball Report. We’d like to break down the bright horizons ahead in 2021, while covering what we learned throughout this past month of November.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

+ First things first, we officially unveiled the PBR Wisconsin 2021 Winter Event Calendar. There are six high school events planned that take us to Kenosha, all around Milwaukee, Appleton, and Madison, before we close things out at the brand-new MOSH Performance Center near The Rock Complex in Franklin. You can join us the next time we’re in your neighborhood by registering for one of these showcases slated to run from February through March.

Click here for a complete list of the 2021 PBR Wisconsin winter slate.

+ Our national team announced two humongous partnerships in November. Prep Baseball Report formally partnered with Area Code Baseball, news released on Nov. 13. PBR president Sean Duncan had this to say at the time of the announcement: “Area Code Games has long been an iconic brand in the amateur baseball world, and ultimately plays a significant role in the pathway for high school players to realize their dreams of playing professional baseball," said Duncan. "Above all, the humans operating the Area Code Games are good people who do things the right way. We are very excited to join forces in this initiative with them."

PBR Wisconsin will strive to host a partnered event as part of the Area Code I.D. Series, powered by Prep Baseball Report, announced at a later date. You can learn more about the structure of these events by clicking here. These events will serve as “additional prospect visibility” with the opportunity to perform in front of and receive instruction from the region’s professional scouts.

+ And November concluded with a bang, following the announcement made live on MLB Network that Major League Baseball and Prep Baseball Report are joining forces to launch the MLB Draft League, powered by Prep Baseball Report.

This league is the first of its kind, “focused on top prospects who are eligible to be drafted by MLB Clubs that summer. With the 2021 MLB Draft moved back to July and being held as part of All-Star Week, draft-eligible players will have a unique opportunity to showcase their abilities and gain exposure to MLB Clubs and fans next summer. The new format affirms MLB's commitment to the region and assures that communities of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New Jersey will continue to host high-caliber baseball and future Major Leaguers for years to come.”

The PBR staff, including ours right here in Wisconsin, will help source players for this new league, coming this summer.

We assisted in publishing an MLB Draft League FAQ living on MLB.com, in which you can find answers to some of the questions you may have.

NATIONAL POV

Even though Wisconsin’s well into its offseason as a ‘cold-weather state’, prospects from our neck of the woods still managed to earn some national press this month.

+ Recent St. Thomas (MN) commit, OF Tanner Marsh (Mondovi, 2021) earned a shoutout for his work on the football field for his high school.

+ SS Brock Lulewicz (Muskego, 2024) debuted in the first-ever overall PBR Class of 2024 Rankings. A scouting report on Lulewicz was included in a ‘Hotlist’ post earlier in the month, which you can read here.

+ The top-ranked arm in the state’s senior class, RHP Vincent Trapani (Eau Claire Memorial, 2021; Arkansas commit), was included in the ‘Hotlist’ highlighting 2021 prospects on the rise. Trapani pitched very well this fall in a couple live looks, so he’s headed into his final prep offseason with his arrow up.

+ Former Janesville Craig standout, C Jacob Campbell (2018; Illinois), graduated high school as the No. 2-ranked player in Wisconsin. The strong backstop made an appearance on this week’s College Crosscheck, in which he was mentioned as an intriguing candidate to reach the newly named MLB Draft League.

EVENT ANALYSIS

In November, we wrapped up event analysis by publishing scouting reports from the final two showcases on the 2020 calendar, Senior Games and the Southern Wisconsin Open. We’re also proud to report that of the 20 prospects who participated at Senior Games, 12 are already committed, and counting.

+ Senior Games: Quick Hits | Stats Story | Full list of Scouting Reports

+ Southern Wisconsin Open: Quick Hits | Stats Story as well as position-by-position analysis, which you can view at the following links: Catchers | Outfielders | Infielders | Pitchers | Top Overall.

THE JUCO WIRE

The PBR JUCO team is hard at work preparing for the rapidly approaching JUCO season to start. COVID-19 has certainly, obviously affected the baseball world, bloating collegiate rosters and leaving fewer opportunities for prep players to continue on to the next level. The JUCO scene is turning into an even greater option for players seeking additional options for next-level homes, which has forced our PBR JUCO staff to invest even more of its time into this landscape.

+ Last week, PBR’s director of college scouting, David Seifert, published the first look at the PBR JUCO Top-100, as well as a detailed look at the top-25 JUCO players in the country.

You can find in-depth JUCO analysis from across the country at the PBR JUCO Wire page; November was filled with insight obtained from PBR-hosted showcases.

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