By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

Team Wisconsin pitching at the Future Games has historically had some highly projectable arms that end up blossoming into high end prospects down the road. Prospects like RHP Ryan Hoerter (Indian Trail, 2017), LHP Ben Dragani (Catholic Memorial, 2017), RHP Matt McCarty (South Milwaukee, 2017) and RHP Simon Rosenblum-Larson (Madison West, 2015) were all low-mid 80’s arms at the Future Games and developed into upper 80’s stuff and high interest national recruits.

This year’s rotation looks to add to that list. Jack Brown, Bryce Konitzer, Cedric Girard, Brennan Dolwick and Tanner Kohlhepp all came away with scoreless outings. Brown did not allow a hit in two innings, while Kohlhepp pitched a perfect frame as well.

Pitchers

Max Alba, RHP, Franklin, 2018
6-foot-5, 185-pound right-handed pitcher, lean athletic frame, high upside frame. Delivery is athletic, works downhill, slight drop and drive, works downhill. Arm action is loose and athletic, high ¾ slot, quick arm with upside. Fastball is lively with swing and miss finish, sat 87-88 mph, topping at 89 mph, hard late action in the hitting zone. Curveball has depth, swing and miss potential, 74-77 mph, throws aggressively. Alba is a high ceiling right-handed pitcher who is highly athletic and one of the best available arms in the Midwest.

Jack Brown, RHP, Eau Claire Memorial, 2018
5-foot-10, 170-pound right-handed pitcher. Small frame, but gets good finish to his fastball and mixed in a solid curveball. Full arm action, plays from a high ¾ slot, gets directional down the mound with balanced finish. The fastball was 85-87 in first outing, then worked up to 89 mph in second outing. Curveball was 72. In his one inning, he struck a batter out looking on a fastball that was spotted down and on the outer black. Put together a repeat performance in his second outing with a flawless three up three down capped off by a strikeout.

Brennan Dolwick, LHP, Lake Mills, 2018
6-foot-2, 190-pound left-handed pitcher, average lean build. Arm action is loose, slot showed slightly higher, closer to high ¾ than ¾, full arm action. Fastball sat 82-86 mph, showed slight arm side action. Flashed breaking ball at 69 mph, 1/7 plane. Struck out two in two innings of scoreless baseball.

Cedric Girard, RHP, Oregon, 2018
Long lanky right-handed pitcher, projectable frame, 6-foot-2, 162-pounds. Body control and balance should improve as he gets stronger, delivery works with long deceptive limbs. Arm action is long and loose, projects well, upside arm speed. Fastball sat 83-86 mph, arm side run. Curveball plays at 69-72 mph. Highly projectable arm with a big ceiling.

Zach Gustafson, RHP, Eau Claire Memorial, 2018
6-foot-3, 160-pound right-handed pitcher, long thin frame, plenty of room to fill out, velocity should continue to rise as he gains strength. Delivery repeats and works on line, can get loaded more over the rubber, shoulders stay level while head stays on line. Arm action is quick and clean, projects well, high ¾ slot. Showed ability to pound the bottom ofthe zone. Fastball sat 82-84 mph, with sinking action, worked the bottom of the zone producing five of six outs via ground ball. Breaking ball played at 69-71 mph, showed feel on 11/5 plane. Flashed changeup at 77 mph, fading action.

Taylor Jansen, RHP, Sun Prairie, 2018
6-foot-2, 170-pound right-handed pitcher, long legged lean frame. Delivery is easy and balanced, used slide step out of the stretch. Arm action is clean with quickness, shorter draw to high ¾ slot. Fastball worked with tilt when on time, 83-86 mph. Breaking ball flashed swing and miss capabilities, throws hard at 75-76 mph. Got two swing a miss strikeouts via breaking ball in two innings pitched.

Tanner Kohlhepp, INF/RHP, Eau Claire Memorial, 2018
6-foot-2, 165-pound left-handed hitting two-way player, long lean frame, highly projectable, loose limbed. Offensively hits from a tall balanced setup, quiet approach, loose hands with short path to the baseball and good hand eye. Showed ability to drive the baseball to the gap in game, finished 3-for-7 with a double, triple and three RBI, flashing pull side pop, 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively shows ability to move to multiple infield positions, may end up projecting best at third base, hands are soft and moves well laterally, arm carries with athleticism and ability to release on the move (84 mph across the infield. 7.39 runner in the 60, gets out of the box well, several home to first times ranging 4.43-4.51. On the mound delivery starts with rocker foot forward, short rocker step to balance, gets down the hill with tempo. Arm action is loose and live, ¾ slot, high ceiling on the mound. Fastball sat at 86-87 mph with sink to arm side. Complements it with wipe out slider at 75-77 mph, sharp lateral action that gets swing and miss, struck out two in one inning with slider.

Bryce Konitzer, RHP, Mukwonago, 2018
6-foot, 190-pound right-handed pitcher, solid build, strong lower half. Arm plays from a ¾ slot, loose and live, athletic arm with little effort. Fastball gets run to his arm side, sat 84-86 mph, got on hitters with some late finish. Curveball was 68-69 mph. Allowed a hit, a walk and struck out two in two innings of work on back to back days, showing similar stuff and abilities both days.  

Jackson Pothast, LHP, Sheboygan North, 2018
6-foot-5, 220-pound left-handed pitcher, extra-large frame, thick build. Delivery works upright, closed landing, finishes to third base side. Arm action is long, plays out of high ¾ window. Fastball played at 80-83 mph, touched 84 mph. Curveball worked at 70-74 mph, 1/7 plane. Changeup at 74-75 mph, slight fading action.

Jacob Schellpfeffer, LHP, Mayville, 2018
5-foot-11, 175-pound left-handed pitcher, smaller frame with quick arm. Short high ¾ arm action, slight deception. Compact delivery works online and repeats, shows ability to pound the strike zone. Fastball sat 80-81 mph while curveball played at 63-65 mph. Struck out two in two innings of work.

Paul Stefiuk, RHP, Green Bay Preble, 2018
Large frame, 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-handed pitcher. Over the top arm action, slight plunge on back side, gets hard tilt on fastball. Delivery works with slight effort, works out and around to closed landing. Fastball works downhill, good tilt, misses are typically down, works well to the bottom of the zone, sat 84-87 mph, touched 88 mph. Curveball is a 12/6 bender, flashed depth. As command to the bottom of the zone continues to improve he will continue to produce ground balls at a high rate.

Eric Torres, LHP, Sussex Hamilton, 2018
6-foot, 165-pound left-handed pitcher, loose wiry frame. Pitches from a low ¾ slot, loose quick arm action, has arm speed to project and slot is deceptive, can be tough on left-handed hitters. Gets angle to his fastball and attacks hitters, pitching in to righties, slight arm side run, sits 81-83 mph, topped out at 85 mph. Breaking ball has frisbee action at 73-74, sweeps away from left-handed hitters.

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