Senior Games: Statistical Analysis
September 24, 2019
On Sunday, the PBR Wisconsin team hosted its annual Senior Games event at STiKS Academy The event was originally slated to be held outdoors at Concordia University, but rain pushed us inside. This event is designed to provide some of the state’s top uncommitted seniors with the platform to perform in front of an assembly of college recruiters in the final fall of their high school careers. We had around 35 of the top on-the-market 2020s in the area, and today we’ll reveal the top performers from a statistical perspective.
MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY
RHP Owen Weber (Appleton North) repeatedly touched 83 mph during his inning of work on the mound. His fastball showed carry through the zone and he backed it up with a breaking ball that should allow him to get outs this time next year. Badger’s southpaw Addison Hochevar was up to 82 mph from the left side and is a tough at-bat, especially for left-handed bats.
TOP 60-YARD DASH
There were four sub-7.00 runners in this group, but two stood out in particular: Oconomowoc’s Ben Nelson and Random Lake’s Blake Hall. Nelson showed our staff newfound athleticism inside a highly lanky and projectable frame. Meanwhile, Hall popped up onto radars at last month’s Sheboygan showcase and reasserted himself over the weekend.
TOP EXIT VELOCITY
Bat strength was on display inside the STiKS Academy facility on Sunday, led by Waukesha West’s Thomas Ward, who topped an event-best 93 mph. Jason Brulport’s (Tremper) 92 mph mark is also important to note here, as he made sure that bat strength played in BP, too, putting together one of the day’s loudest rounds.
TOP INFIELD VELOCITY
Payton Foltz (Watertown) firmly came away from the showcase with the top infield velocity, up to 83 mph across the diamond. He moves well on the infield, too, so his arm strength could help him stick to the left side of the infield.
TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY
Both Weber and Mineral Point’s Grady Gorgen showed well as two-way talents, topping 85 mph from the outfield, too. They both project a little differently, however. Weber’s arm strength plays best on the bump, while Gorgen could go either way. He’s capable of gliding around the outfield and has a sound right-handed bat, but his lefty arm also works well on the mound.
TOP CATCHER VELOCITY
All three backstops look capable of handling everyday catcher duty long-term and each of the three below finished right around each other in both pop and velocity. Hunter Petska (Green Bay Preble) showed us a real catch-and-throw skillset throughout this summer, Jack Carlson (Neenah) is a well-rounded defender and bat, while Justin Baehler (Mineral Point) is a bat-first backstop with some pop.