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PBR Junior Future Games: Team Wisconsin Quick Hits

August 6, 2021
Andy Sroka & Diego Solares
Wisconsin Scouting Staff

From July 28 to Aug. 1, the Prep Baseball Report scouting staff collaborated to host the 2021 PBR Junior Future Games at the LakePoint Sports Complex in Emerson, Ga. This annual event consists of the top incoming freshman from each respective Prep Baseball Report state that participates and pits them against each other in tournament-style format.

Team Wisconsin was well represented throughout the event, finishing with a 2-2 record while rostering some of the state’s top Class of 2025 that we’d seen to date. Today, we’re taking the time to share our thoughts and analysis on Team Wisconsin’s top individual performances throughout the Junior Future Games.

Continue on below to view that insight.

TEAM WISCONSIN

+ From start to finish, C/INF Carter Kutz (Hartford Union, 2025) continued to assert himself as one of Wisconsin’s top incoming freshmen. Built at a wiry, athletic 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Kutz started the week off with an impressive round of BP, barreling his best ball up at 96.4 mph. His right-handed swing showcased as his best trait, and it translated seamlessly into gameplay, where he swiftly became Team Wisconsin’s top offensive performer. Kutz’s barrel feel and inherent strength generated multiple extra-base hits, including barreled balls delivered into both gaps – and he also crushed a ball off the top of the left field fence.

Defensively, Kutz calls a quality game from behind the dish and captains the defense adequately, serving as an anchor back there for Team Wisconsin each game he caught. He also hopped on the mound against West Virginia, tossing four strong innings and running his fastball up to 83 mph.

+ Team Wisconsin’s first game of the tournament came on Thursday against Team Pennsylvania, which turned out to be one of the event’s strongest squads. RHP Evan Lauer (Germantown, 2025) was called on early in the ballgame in relief and he dodged barrels and thoroughly impressed our staff, while doing his best to keep the team in the ballgame. Lauer is listed at a lanky 6-foot, 130 pounds, and his fastball sat in the mid-70s throughout his lengthy outing, touching 76 mph early with relative ease downhill and also filled up the zone for strikes. Lauer showed feel to spin a low-60s breaking ball for strikes and the confidence to throw it when he was behind hitters or even to get ahead in counts. It’s an upside arm with a competitive, calm, demeanor on the mound and we believe he has the ingredients to continue blossoming into a high-follow prospect in the state’s ‘25 class.

+ We’d seen RHP Sawyer Deering (Kimberly) a handful of times in 2021, as he’s begun to separate himself as one of the top arms we’ve seen in the state’s 2025 class, thus far. At LakePoint last week, Deering did nothing but affirm that notion. Deering was asked to toe the rubber against a potent Team Texas lineup early Saturday morning and he answered the call, maneuvering his way through four strong innings of work while keeping Team Wisconsin in the game, making for an exciting finish that saw the team come up just short.

Deering is listed at an athletic 5-foot-9, 160 pounds with wiry strength, especially in the lower half. From the mound, he works in a fluid, athletic motion downhill and maintains progression towards his target. He pumped his fastball in at 80-82 mph early, settling in at 77-79 mph as his outing went on. Deering’s arsenal also features a sharp, downer breaking ball at 67-69 mph that he boasts excellent confidence in – and not only for his age. His ability to land that breaking ball for strikes and in any sort of count gives it authentic swing-and-miss potential as he continues to develop.

+ Arguably the biggest winner on Team Wisconsin was INF Preston Yaucher (Edgewood, 2025), whose dependable defense up the middle of the infield served as an anchor for the squad’s effective pitching. Yaucher is a lean, high-waisted athlete with smooth, fluid actions defensively that helped him stand out as a prospect, though his competitive work in the right-handed batter’s box was one of our staff’s biggest takeaways from the event. Yaucher has a keen eye at the plate and he swings selectively, which complements his natural feel for the barrel. He was responsible for igniting key moments of offense for Team Wisconsin and he should only grow into more strength that will help him impact the ball with greater authority long-term.

+ INF/RHP Jack Poellot (Lake Country Lutheran, 2025) was arguably the team’s top two-way asset last week. Poellot demonstrated upside all over the diamond down in Georgia, first during Wednesday’s workout, in which he showcased true shortstop actions while spraying line-drives around the field from both batter’s boxes. Poellot’s glove can be a major asset for him, as the 5-foot-11, 160-pound prospect is a smooth, sure-handed defender with athletic infield actions and adept body control for someone his age, too. During pool play, Poellot was called on to relieve against Team Texas on Saturday morning, and his future from the mound is similarly bright. He attacked the zone with an upper-70s fastball that reached an 82 mph high, and he showed the feel to spin a slurve-type breaking ball in all counts that made for a quality outing against formidable competition. Poellot’s athleticism provides him with multiple routes to success both in high school and beyond.

+ OF Braylen White (Brown Deer, 2025) proved himself to be one of Wisconsin’s most athletic players in its 2025 class. We’d already witnessed his speed in-game earlier in the summer, but White substantiated that tool during Wednesday’s workout, when he ran a 6.87, which comfortably led the rest of this roster. We quickly learned that White’s trademark speed plays in-game, too, especially out in center field. White is a wiry/strong 5-foot-11, 150-pound athlete with genuine top-of-the-order potential as well. His athletic gait aids him in swiping bases and covering plenty of ground out in the outfield, which we saw for ourselves multiple times as he chased fly balls down in either gap. Offensively, White makes use of his foot speed from a patient approach in the right-handed box. He swings a twitchy bat with a simple line-drive batted-ball profile without swinging and missing much, and that combination allows him to utilize his impact speed more often.

+ INF/RHP Greyson Zach (Pewaukee, 2025) impressed our staff previously, first at a Milwaukee-area showcase in May, and then again at our 14U tournament at The Rock Complex in Franklin, Wis. On both occasions, it was clear that Zach offers next-level athleticism as a strong 6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect who can also run, clocking advanced 60-yard dash times for both his age and size (measured at 7.19 last week). During Wednesday’s workout, Zach showed off his natural bat strength from the right side, with a 92.1 mph max exit speed. In gameplay, Zach flashed advanced offensive traits like pitch recognition, which allowed him to barrel quality pitches to his opposite field or up the middle for hits, and he used his speed to steal a handful of bases from there. He also hopped on the mound in relief against Team West Virginia on Saturday afternoon, sitting 77-79 mph and reaching back for an 80 high on his final pitch of the game to secure a win for Team Wisconsin.

+ Few prospects in the state offer the kind of offensive upside that OF Brandon Morrissey (Beaver Dam, 2025) brings to the ballpark. Morrissey is built at a robst, broad-shouldered 5-foot-11, 179-pound stature, and he runs well for his size, too, as he measured a 7.30 time in the 60-yard dash during the Team Wisconsin workout. In that workout, Morrissey’s left-handed bat showcased a high ceiling, with projectable gap-to-gap power potential in a swing that features natural lift. Against Team Texas on Saturday, he crushed one of the tournament’s hardest hit balls, an extra-base hit into his pull-side gap, a glimpse into his future as a potential run-producer fit for the middle of the lineup.

+ C Bennett Cagle (Edgewood, 2025) is a lanky 6-foot-1, 165-pound athlete with loose, whippy levers and plenty of future upside attached. A hockey standout, Cagle handled a few upper-level arms well throughout the week behind the plate. He’s still refining his abilities as a receiver, but the potential for him to stick behind the plate is present. In the right-handed batter’s box, Cagle swings an aggressive bat and his frame suggests he can grow into an offensive asset as well, as he continues to develop.

+ UTL Yamato Takahashi (Arrowhead, 2025) offered Team Wisconsin stability on defense from both the outfield and in the infield. His reliable defense makes him a useful, versatile prospect to follow, and he’s a competitive right-handed at-bat, too. Takahashi was responsible for the most timely hit of the week, a three-run triple that tied the game late against Team Texas.

+ OF Gabriel Ciralsky (University School, 2025) is a 5-foot-9, 140-pound left/left athlete worth monitoring closely. He’s a sub-7.30 runner with an athletic gait that projects to complement his game well from the bases and in the outfield as he continues to develop. Offensively, Ciralsky showed an aptitude for contact, and his bat-to-ball skills concoct a future that could allow him to sit atop a lineup, while using the whole field to set the table for the rest of the lineup behind him.

+ LHP/1B Easton Harris (Middleton, 2025) made two appearances on the week for Team Wisconsin, showcasing an intriguing future profile on the bump. The 6-foot, 180-pound southpaw ran his fastball up to 78 mph from a short, tight window, sitting in the 75-77 range throughout. He’s still developing the feel to spin a low-60s breaking ball, but he ripped a handful of quality ones off at our Underclass Trials in June, reaching a spin rate of 2,400-plus rpm. His size and upside arsenal create a sizable ceiling to follow as he enters high school.

+ INF/RHP Evan Brown (Waukesha West, 2025) swings a projectable right-handed bat; it’s simple and rhythmic, fit with noteworthy rotation through impact in a high finish that projects well as he adds size and strength, as he’s only just entering high school. Defensively, Brown is a fundamental infielder who can become a reliable defender at second or third base, down the road.

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