On Sunday, March 1, the PBR Wisconsin team hosted the longest-running annual showcase on its winter event circuit: the South Milwaukee Preseason I.D. Every year, our staff makes it out to Hitters Baseball Academy to host this event and every year it helps us evaluate some of the state’s best talent. Given the budding talent inside the state’s 2022 and 2023 classes, this year’s South MKE I.D. was especially star-studded.

On Monday, we dissected the best things we saw at Sunday’s showcase and published our findings inside of this Quick Hits post. Today, we’re taking a closer look at the statistical leaderboards.

Looking ahead, by the end of the month, videos from this I.D. event will be living within player profiles and we’ll begin rolling out our position-by-position scouting reports.

For now, here are the statistical leaders from the South Milwaukee Preseason I.D.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY

The lone pitcher from Sunday to touch 89 mph more than once was sophomore Mitchell Voit (Whitefish Bay; Michigan commit), who found himself at or near the top of multiple leaderboards on Sunday – a highly impressive feat when taking into account the talent level packed inside of the Hitters facility. Voit sat at an easy 86-89 mph with advanced control of his offspeed, and that arm strength showed up elsewhere, too. From Illinois, Chicago-area RHP Ben Plumley (Lane Tech, IL, 2021; uncommitted) showed a live and loose arm that was also up to 89 mph once, with one of the better breaking balls on the day. LHP Tommy Meyer (Wauwatosa East, 2021; Northern Illinois) sat 85-88 mph, and pieced together one of the better ‘pens on the day. The added velocity to Meyer’s arsenal was one of the biggest takeaways from Sunday. Another sophomore righty, James Reese (University School of Milwaukee; uncommitted), demonstrated some excellent arm strength, especially for his age, up to 88 mph himself. The 2022 class in attendance had several high-follow performers among them, listed on the leaderboard above.

Finally, freshman RHP Adam Switalski (Westosha Central; Indiana) sat 83-85 mph in his session, recording the highest velocity among the 2023s in attendance.

TOP 60-YARD DASH

There were 13 sub-7.10 times recorded in the 60-yard dash on Sunday, led by four high-follow 2022s. Of course, at the top of the list, was Voit. His premium athleticism shows all over the diamond. He led INF Ian Choi (Indian Trail; uncommitted) and OF Michael Lippe (Whitefish Bay; Louisville) by a fraction. Both Choi and Lippe are among the best in the class, too. Choi’s performance on Sunday was hugely impressive, while Lippe, the top-ranked sophomore in the state, is built at a defined 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, so he looks more like a running back when he’s at full speed. Jonathan Kim (Brookfield Academy; uncommitted) is a strong left/left athlete who was just behind Choi and Lippe here, and he showed a wealth of tools as well. Freshman Alexander Alicea (St. Thomas More; uncommitted) has great footspeed that he uses especially well out of the box and on the basepaths, and he clocked in with a top-five time from Sunday. It was also a pleasant surprise to see the 6-foot-5, 232-pound Gavin Roanhouse (Waterford, 2021; uncommitted) record a 6.93 in the 60. Like those before him, this wasn’t the only leaderboard Roanhouse found himself near the top.

TOP EXIT VELOCITY

Hayden Christiansen (Richmond-Burton, IL; Xavier) is one of the top sophomores in Illinois’ 2022 class because he can do a little of everything – he ran well, he was the quickest out of the crouch, and he also produces some excellent bat strength. Random Lake junior, 1B Jared Mitchell (uncommitted), has a thick/strong 6-foot, 227-pound build and he uses it well to generate some juice. The aforementioned Choi added some muscle in the offseason and he instantaneously applied it inside the right-handed batter’s box, creating more bat strength off the barrel than you’d expect from a prospect his size. Lippe, Roanhouse, Reese, Voit, and Kim were all some more previously mentioned names who showed well at this station, too. Uncommitted senior Steve Marhefke (Neenah) also took a loud round of BP and he topped 90 mph off the tee.

TOP INFIELD VELOCITY

This was an especially electric group, considering there were three infielders who recorded 90-plus mph highs, and 10 more names who topped 86 mph or greater. It was hardly a surprise to see Voit atop another chart, but a 94 mph max from the infield is significant. Darryl Jackson (King) is an uncommitted junior worth getting to know – he crept up on our radar in 2019 and has gotten even better since. He topped 91 mph across the infield. Reese’s arm is big across the infield, too, as he’s demonstrated some two-way abilities for us in the past. And one of the biggest names to know for future MLB Draft purposes, junior SS Noah Miller (Ozaukee; Alabama), topped 89 mph across the way, but his arm was the best of the bunch. Miller naturally flicks baseballs to first with precision from multiple arm slots and carry. Choi’s athleticism on defense is similar, and he, too, landed near the top of this list.

Union Grove has an intriguing roster ahead of Opening Day later this month, and Josh DeGroot (2022; uncommitted) looks like an underclass contributor, at this point, and he showed well on defense. The 5-foot-5 twitchy Alicea is one of the smoothest infielders in the state, despite being just a freshman, and he notably notched an 86 mph high across the diamond. The takeaways from the leaderboard above go further than we can really convey in this space.

TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY

Lippe's overwhelming physicality appears inside his arm strength, too, where he topped this group with a 95 mph high to home. High school teammate and fellow sophomore D.J. Kojis (uncommitted), was another one of the day’s big winners and he trailed Lippe by a tick here, topping 94 mph. A third Whitefish Bay product landed inside the top-three, junior OF Jack Stecker (uncommitted), reached a 92 mph high, tied with fellow unsigned 2021 Kyle Mitchell (Westosha Central). Among the freshmen in attendance, few enhanced their own stock like Zachary Olson (Oak Creek; uncommitted), who battered baseballs in BP and also recorded a 90 mph high to home plate. Junior high school teammate Tyler Gall (uncommitted) also reached 90 mph from the outfield, and he was also similarly effective on the mound.

Sophomores like Kim, Michael Rueth (Wauwatosa West; uncommitted), Dylan Mass (Franklin; uncommitted), Tristan Ott (Oconomowoc; uncommitted), and James Duncan (Arrowhead; Illinois State) could be categorized as prospects who recorded a well-rounded performance on Sunday and capped it off with above-average arm strength from the outfield.

TOP CATCHER VELOCITY

Uncommitted junior backstop Noah Berndt (Winneconne) is built at a physical, large, and strong 6-foot-1, 210 pounds. Still, he maneuvers well from behind the late and recorded the day’s top velocity out of the crouch. The aforementioned Xavier recruit, Christiansen, was among the most efficient with his catch-and-throw skills, and he topped 80 mph. A junior who’s going to be climbing the ranks this spring is Tremper backstop Joseph Ricchio (uncommitted), who was excellent behind the plate and in the right-handed batter’s box. Indiana commit and freshman T.J. Schuyler (Antioch, IL) has an advanced defensive skillset and he topped 78 mph from out of the chute on Sunday.

TOP POP TIMES

Christiansen averaged the day’s lowest pop times by a relatively healthy margin, as you can see for yourself. The freshman Schuyler was effectively tied for second lowest with three other catchers: Sage Stellmacher (Markesan, 2021; uncommitted), Alec Campbell (Milton, 2022; uncommitted), and Trevor Rockweiler (McHenry, IL, 2021; uncommitted). Berndt was a fraction behind the group above, too, and Ricchio was sandwiched in between.

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