Wisconsin 2019 Rankings: Risers
April 4, 2018
Yesterday, we released an updated look at Wisconsin’s class of 2019. After a long offseason, we were fortunate enough to get a first-hand look at a ton of talent across the state that enabled us to put together a top-100 list covering the top juniors in Wisconsin.
On Tuesday we highlighted the class’ top 10, but today we’ll take a closer look at the names who made substantial gains since we saw them last, thus making their way north on our list’s update. We’ll dive deeper into the 2019 class rankings and look at some names that climbed our charts and why.
Of all the names on this top-100 list, none made as significant a leap as RHP Jason Jennerjohn (Hortonville). Jennerjohn, who recently committed to Eastern Illinois, jumped more than 25 spots to place himself among this group’s top 20. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound righty showcased an 87-89 mph fastball this winter paired with a dynamic 75-77 mph curveball.
Jason Jennerjohn (2.17.18)
INF/RHP Andrew Sweetalla (Appleton East) improved his stock as well, but not where we were expecting. Sweetalla had always been more of an intriguing left-handed bat, but this winter he showed us a serious uptick in velocity from the mound, climbing from the 80-83 mph we saw him last season to a present 86-87 mph that touched 90 mph. He’s still understably raw, so he’ll need to acclimate to his newfound abilities on the mound. Still, Sweetalla’s arm speed is quick and he’s throwing his secondaries aggressively and with conviction, giving him the makings of a legitimate next-level pitching prospect.
Austin Glidden (Westosha Central) is another two-way player who has abilities on the infield as a pitcher. Glidden hasn’t yet shown high-end velocity, but he makes up for it with confident pitchability of three pitches. His three-pitch mix rivals many of the top arms in the state, and features a sharp, biting curveball. For these reasons, Glidden enters the top 25.
Continuing the trend of arms on the rise, LHP Jacob Wilde (Waukesha West) keeps moving up our rankings board. He moved up nine spots in each of our last two updates. Wilde is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound southpaw and continues to fill out his frame, while still maintaining upside. His arm is loose and easy and sits at 83-84 mph with excellent feel for a changeup and a 1/7 curveball. Wilde now resides in the top 35 but could easily find himself moving even higher if he continues his trend upwards.
Jacob Wilde (2.25.18)
Adding 20 spots to our 2019 board leaves little room for additional notable numerical jumps, but there were still several prospects who made improvements over the winter, even though their needles may not have moved in their rankings. Keep an eye on RHP Trent Turzenski (Burlington), C Connor Handel (Monona Grove), C Kameron Laskowski (Hamilton), OF Cody Tostrud (Bradford), SS Kaden Lehman (Portage) and RHP Kyle McKinnon (Bradford) as they continue to develop into next-level prospects this spring.
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