On July 16th, Prep Baseball Wisconsin traveled to Valley Sports Academy in Lake Hallie, WI, for the Western Wisconsin Rising Stars ID. The event featured a mix of players in the 2028-2029 classes, allowing our staff to get a look at them before their high school careers begin.

Below are the day’s top performers, broken down by position players and pitchers, as well as a scouting report on every player. To see a list of those that attended, click here. For all of the statistics from this event, click here. 

POSITIONAL TOOLS

TOP 60-TIMES

MAX INF VELOCITY

MAX OF VELOCITY

MAX C VELOCITY

TOP POP-TIMES

TRACKMAN

We'll continue to roll out the data we gathered from this event, starting with the analytics we have at our disposal from our TrackMan units.

MAX FASTBALL VELOCITY & AVERAGE SPIN RATE

Max Fastball Velocity: This metric calculates the speed of the pitch as it’s released from the pitcher’s hand.

Spin Rate: This metric calculates the rate of spin on the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand, measured in revolutions per minute (rpm). Historical data shows that high-spin fastballs lessen the impact of gravity, allowing for more ‘rise’ (or less fall, in other words) as it carries through the zone. Low-spin fastballs typically indicate the pitch has greater horizontal action, often making it tougher to square up, but generally easier to make contact with, leading to more ground balls, while high-spin fastballs show a correlation with swings and misses.

AVERAGE FASTBALL HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

Horizontal Break: Outlined on TrackMan’s own website: “... horizontal movement is measured in inches between where the pitch actually crosses the front of home plate side-wise, and where it would have crossed home plate side-wise if had it traveled in a perfectly straight line from release. A positive number means the break was to the right from the pitcher’s perspective, while a negative number means the break was to the left from the pitcher’s perspective.”

AVERAGE CURVEBALL & SLIDER SPIN RATE

AVERAGE CHANGEUP HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT

MAX & AVERAGE EXIT VELOCITY (HITTING)

MAX DISTANCE (HITTING)

SWEET SPOT % (HITTING)

Sweet Spot percentage: This metric is determined by how often the player produces a batted ball during the session with a launch angle between 8 to 32 degrees. Sweet spot percentage can be used in concert with hard-hit rate -- the percentage of a player's batted balls that have an exit velocity of 90 mph or higher. Per MLB glossary.

ALL PROSPECTS (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

Maxel Keyes, Menomonie (WI), 2029
Positional Profile: 3B
Body: 5-7, 159-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Stock set up with higher hands, simple move to the hitting position on time. Consistent hard barrel contact to all fields, hitterish feel to this bat and move through the baseball. mph bat speed with G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 82 max exit velocity, averaged 77.5 mph. 252’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 66 mph. Shorter arc, 3/4 arm slot, some carry through throw.
Defense: Two hand gather, shuffle step towards target, softness to hands, quick first step laterally.
Run: 8.42 runner in the 60.

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Medium leg lift, balanced, gets down the hill with good direction to home, repeats, athletic.
Arm Action: RH. Medium online arm action, 3/4 slot, repeats.
FB: T68, 66-68 mph. Carry through the zone, can get it to spots. T1928, 1845 average rpm.
CB: 58-60 mph. Shorter 11/5 two plane breaker, can land and get below the zone. T2171, 2095 average rpm.

Kaden Kruschke, Eau Claire Memorial (WI), 2028
Positional Profile: SS/C
Body: 5-7, 135-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Wider set up, with slightly open set up, lands centered with balance. Short and compact, quick hands, hard line drive contact through the middle. mph bat speed with G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 85 max exit velocity, averaged 82.7 mph. 284’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 72 mph. Shorter arc, compact arm action, accuracy.
Defense: Clean actions, soft hands, clean footwork, quick first step, up the middle defender.
Run: 7.47 runner in the 60.

Ryan Reesman, Eau Claire Memorial (WI), 2028
Positional Profile: SS
Body: 5-8, 178.1-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Stock set up, gets good separation on time. Short and quick hands, direct, back spins the ball through both gaps, has feel for the barrel. mph bat speed with G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 90 max exit velocity, averaged 81.9 mph. 297’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 76 mph. Minimal arc, short, compact arm action.
Defense: Quick first step, two hand gather with soft hands, clean transfer, into short arm action, works.
Run: 7.90 runner in the 60.

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Simple delivery, repeatable, good lines and direction to home, medium leg swing finish with balance through the plate.
Arm Action: RH. Long arm action, online arm action, quickness to the arm.
FB: T78, 75-78 mph. Carry through the hitting zone with the ability to land to areas. T2178, 1976 average rpm.
SL: 64-67 mph. Short and quick breaker, can land to areas. T1904, 1735 average rpm.
CH: 65-67 mph. Feel for the pitch, can land in zone and feel to get below. T1590, 1491 average rpm.

Aaron Smith, Eau Claire Memorial (WI), 2028
Positional Profile: C/1B
Body: 5-10, 205-pounds.
Hit: LHH. Wide base, simple move, minimal to no stride to hitting position on time. Short and compact, into the hitting zone, can drive the ball to all fields. mph bat speed with G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 86 max exit velocity, averaged 77.5 mph. 305’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 66 mph. Short arc, clean smooth action, 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.32-2.82 pop times. Short and quick jab step, quick and clean transfer with direction towards second base, soft blocker, soft hands, athletic out of the crouch on a bunt.
Run: 7.93 runner in the 60.

Eastin Sorenson, Chippewa Falls (WI), 2029
Positional Profile: 1B
Body: 6-2, 160-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Stock set up, short stride, simple move to balanced hitting position with good rhythm and timing. Short and compact, feel for the barrel, drives it to all fields, hitterish, advanced look at the plate. mph bat speed with G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 89 max exit velocity, averaged 80.1 mph. 258’ max distance.
Arm: RH. INF - 73 mph. Short arc, compact, easy arm action, some carry through throw, accuracy.
Defense: Clean hands, soft hands, can navigate the 3-6-3 double play with feel for the position, athletic.
Run: 7.67 runner in the 60.

Positional Profile: RHP
Delivery: Balanced leg lift, online with good direction to home, clean lines, effortless and athletic delivery, repeats, ball jumps.
Arm Action: RH. Medium online arm action, 3/4 slot, very quick arm.
FB: T81, 78-81 mph. Carry and finish through the hitting zone, ball jumps. T2149, 1984 average rpm.
CB: 65-67 mph. Short breaker with 11/5 shape and action, can land. T1996, 1878 average rpm.
CH: 73-76 mph. Sells the pitch with fastball arm speed, has feel. T1730, 1582 average rpm.

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