South Milwaukee Preseason I.D.: Preview

Since 2013, the PBR Wisconsin team has been hosting this Milwaukee-area showcase at Hitters Baseball Academy. The South Milwaukee Preseason I.D. returns this Sunday, March 1, and registration remains open.

Prospects from the past include Gavin Lux (Indian Trail, 2016; Dodgers, 1st Round), Owen Miller (Ozaukee, 2015; Illinois State; Padres, 2018, 3rd Round), Doran Turchin (Oak Creek, 2015; Illinois; Orioles, 2018, 14th round), Jack Blomgren (Janesville Craig, 2017; Michigan), Jarred Kelenic (Waukesha West, 2018; Mets, 1st Round), and Alex Binelas (Oak Creek, 2018; Louisville), among many, many others – just to name a handful.

More recently, it’s helped us identify high-level recruits like Whitefish Bay’s Michael Lippe (2022; Louisville commit) and Mitchell Voit (2022; Michigan), as well as juniors like Noah Miller (Ozaukee; Alabama), Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa East; Northern Illinois), and Luke Nowak (Menomonee Falls; East Carolina).

This is annually one of the top stops along our winter showcase circuit, as it’s also our longest standing.

For a brief history of this historically prestigious event, click here. For a look at the most up-to-date version of this Sunday’s roster, click here.

Unsurprisingly, this year’s roster is packed with familiar names and faces, ones we’re looking forward to seeing after another Wisconsin winter offseason, with the spring season peeking around the corner.

There’s a few committed juniors set to join us again, like the aforementioned Miler and Meyer, as well as RHP Tyler Peck (Oak Creek; Ohio) and INF Benjamin Loyd (Tremper; Notre Dame, but here’s a few still-uncommitted 2021s to note ahead of time: INF Brady Counsell (Whitefish Bay), INF Darryl Jackson (Milwaukee King), C Noah Berndt (Winneconne), OF Gavin Roanhouse (Waterford), RHP Mason Ruh (Wisconsin Lutheran), and Alex Windey (Wrightstown). There’s also a few juniors unsigned who represented Team Wisconsin at last summer’s PBR Future Games, including 1B/3B Brady Marget (Whitefish Bay) and RHP Isaac Engelbrecht (Oak Creek).

Brady Marget (7/31/19)

The state’s sophomore class is looking more and more loaded with each passing event, and the list of sophomores headed to Hitters on Sunday runs deep. The top-two 2022s in the class will be there Sunday, both committed to Louisville: Whitefish Bay’s OF Lippe and Craig SS Gavin Kilen (Louisville). We saw Kilen in live game action at various points in 2018 and 2019, but we haven’t seen him in a showcase setting since 2017. He’s a dynamic athlete with all of the necessary actions to stick to shortstop, complemented with a loose left-handed bat. Our staff is looking forward to an updated up-close look at Kilen come Sunday. Conversely, we’ve been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of Lippe over the last couple years, in various settings. He stands out instantly for his physicality and athleticism, standing at a robust 6-foot-2, 205 pounds.

Lippe’s high school teammate, Michigan-bound sophomore Voit, is also attending Sunday’s showcase as well. He’s one of this loaded class’ best overall athletes and it’s trending way up on the mound. His ease of effort has helped him climb into the mid-80s, up to 87 mph last fall, but it’s clear there’s plenty more ceiling to go.

Mitchell Voit (9/15/19)

It’s easy to gush about the top of this 2022 class, but there’s still plenty of uncommitted upside sophomores coming Sunday, like Oak Creek’s RHP Luke Klekamp. Ranked at No. 18 in the state’s 2022 class, Klekamp was sitting at a heavy 82-84 mph back at a tournament in September, and his loose arm and 6-foot-2 size suggest there’s much more to come. From Westosha Central, LHP Michael Mulhollon is comfortably projectable, measuring in at a highly athletic 6-foot-4, 194 pounds. He, too, has an easy, loose arm that has been into the low-80s already.

Luke Klekamp (9/15/19)

When it comes to on-the-market sophomore bats, SS Ian Choi (Indian Trail) comes to mind. He's a smooth, savvy defender with a simple and quick right-handed bat. Yet another Whitefish Bay prospect will head to Hitters with some notoriety, OF D.J. Kojis. He’s still uncommitted and was an early rank on the state’s 2022 board for his lanky 6-foot-2 frame that helps him whip his loose right-handed bat through the zone.

This event is critical to our staff because it perennially provides us with a set of need-to-know freshman ahead of the spring. RHP/SS Adam Switalski (Westosha Central) became the first prospect inside the state’s 2023 class to commit when he verbally pledged to Indiana. He spent the late summer playing for Team Wisconsin’s squad at the PBR Junior Future Games, but we’re looking forward to seeing one of the state’s best freshman back at another event in early 2020.

Ranked No. 103 overall on the national PBR Class of 2023 Rankings, SS Alexander Alicea (St. Thomas More; uncommitted) is among the slickest defenders in the state, regardless of class. He’s plays with an unmatched motor that applies to each facet of the game, but especially from the top of the order where his switch-hit bat and footspeed help him reach first and subsequently swipe bases with relative ease. Alicea is another one of the state’s top 2023s coming to the South MKE I.D., but we’re looking forward to learning the names of new freshmen follows in the state.

Alexander Alicea (10/11/19)

Frankly, we’ve only just begun to scrape the list of high-follow prospects coming to Sunday’s showcase. Keep a close eye on @PBRWisconsin on Sunday for highlights and, on Monday, we’ll break down the best things we saw at the event, with scouting reports and video coming down the road later in March.

ITINERARY

• Check-in for Position Players: 10 to 10:20 a.m.

  • Offensive Evaluations (exit velo, mechanical analysis, batting practice)

  • Defensive Evaluations (arm strength, mobility, positional reps)

• Check-in for Pitchers only: 3 to 3:20 p.m.

  • Bullpen Sessions (15-pitch session, mechanical analysis)

  • Catcher Evaluations (evaluating receiving/blocking skills)

• Catchers will stay for both sessions.

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