Wisconsin Class of 2022 Rankings: Newcomers, Part One

On Tuesday, the PBR Wisconsin team updated the state’s Class of 2022 Rankings for the first time, after unveiling the first edition of the board back in early September. Well, a busy fall allowed us to accrue enough intel to update and expand the board by 20 prospects, doubling it. Early indications are this sophomore class has the makings of becoming a memorable one. The talent runs extremely deep, through the top-40.

Today, we’re going to introduce you to 10 new names who operate primarily as position players. These 10 faces are making their rankings debuts inside this update.

UP THE MIDDLE

+ The position player making the biggest splash inside this update is Indian Trail’s middle infielder Ian Choi. Back at the PBR Midwest Fall Championships in Westfield, Ind., in mid-September, Choi came away from the event as one of the most impressive sophomores in attendance. He was constantly on base for the eventual champs, Hitters Baseball, and he spent most of his time occupying shortstop. At 5-foot-9, Choi gets the most out of his lean, athletic build. On the infield, he moves exceptionally well and a quick funnel to release helps his average arm strength play up – though as he matures, it projects to above-average. In the right-handed batter’s box, Choi has a knack for the barrel, which allows him to spray line drives all over the field. It’s a pretty quiet, simple bat path, so it helps Choi find the barrel more often. He’s also pretty fleet footed, having run a 6.91 mark in the 60 back in March. He debuts inside the top-20.

Ian Choi (9/15/19)

+ We tabbed 2B/SS T.J. Williams (Racine Horlick) as a “Just Missed” prospect when we first launched our rankings, so now that we’ve expanded the board, he’s debuting inside this update in the No. 30 spot. Williams is a highly competitive middle infielder who plays the game especially fast, and his speed is his best tool. He may be 5-foot-4, but Williams has a live body with soft hands and smooth infield actions that should allow him to thrive long-term at second base, and shortstop for at least the foreseeable future. At the plate, he’s a left-handed bat with a smooth, line drive swing that will favor the opposite field. Anything on the ground to the left side gives Williams a chance, using his plus speed down the line and putting immense pressure on opposing infield defense.

T.J. Williams (7/23/19)

+ From Mount Horeb, Kolton Schaller is just a couple spots under Williams on the new board and brings with him some real upside as a 6-foot-1 lean, projectable athlete. While Williams is supported on the board by his stellar defense, Schaller’s left-handed bat is what helped him debut on this edition of the rankings. He swings off a level path with loose hands and twitch which helps him create some hard contact into both outfield alleys. On the infield, his feet work well and it could keep him up the middle, but we saw him play some solid innings over at third base this summer, too. Either way, he has the tools to make it work and the projection here inside his frame makes him an enticing follow.

BACKSTOPS

+ A couple catchers are debuting inside this new-look top-40: Charlie Jarvis (Catholic Memorial) and Heath Venne (Muskego). Jarvis brings a little more balance to the position. He can defend – he handled the daily backstop duties at powerhouse Arrowhead as a freshman before transferring – and he can really swing it, too, with a level and loose righty bat. He showed well at both The Rock and Badger State Battle tournaments from the plate and he’s athletic enough to confidently roam left field as well. As for Venne, he’s built with advanced strength that also includes some twitch. He’s quick from the crouch with sound actions on the block and as a receiver, and he also swings a really aggressive and physical right-handed bat. The definition in his 5-foot-10 frame is useful in the box and he homered in front of our staff at The Rock this summer also.

Heath Venne (10/19/19)

AT THE CORNERS

+ Theo Zeidler (Bay Port) and Ragan Pinnow (River Falls) are ranked back-to-back on the 2022 board with similar looking profiles: tall, 6-foot frames with simple, quick right-handed bats and the athleticism to fit at third base long-term. Even the measurable tools taken at various PBR-hosted events are practically identical. We just saw Zeidler at the Southern Wisconsin Open where he came away as one of the top prospects in attendance, and the top 2022 overall. There, he made consistent hard contact in BP – topping 88 mph at the exit velocity station –  and defended with above-average handiwork and actions, actions that could keep him tied to shortstop. He’s got plenty of arm, too, and has some additional upside on the mound, where he was up to 81 mph in October.

As for Pinnow, the story’s pretty similar. Our PBR Minnesota team was on-site at the Minnesota Blizzard program’s scout day in November where Pinnow was one of the top sophomores in attendance. There’s a little more extension and quickness through contact with Pinnow, which helps elevate his batted ball profile, especially for his age. Zeidler may have the edge on defense, but Pinnow can certainly hold his own at third base. And, also like his Bay Port counterpart, Pinnow has a quick arm on the mound that has been up to 80 mph, too.

Ragan Pinnow (11/3/19)