Wisconsin prospects for 2009

[knowitall]

Who might be drafted out of HS this year or college in the state of Wisconsin? Sounds like Kevin James from Whitefish Bay is coming out of nowhere to impress the scouts and might be a top five round pick. What about his teammate Charlie Markson, who is ranked high by PG. Any others on the short list?

[brewerguy71]

I doubt that James will be a top 5 round pick. If anything a top20 or even 30 round pick. The talent is not very deep this year in the state.

The top prospect by far is Joel Effertz from Ladysmith and then a notch below him there is also Chase Graskeiwicz from Hudson ansd Brad Schreiber from Kimberly. College wise there is Aaron Dott of UW Whitewater. Beyond that there are a few players here and there who could get picked up, but nothing of note.

[1e Corbeau]

Rawnsley at PGX certainly seems to think Kevin James is likely moving up boards. LHP can move quickly and unpredictably, it seems, Especially ones working 90-92 with a 77 nice curve and a good feel for an 81 change.

 

Chad and Kevin James Shine at Pre-Draft Showcase

 

Effertz is intriguing and certainly has the power arm. What's he throwing now? He's a "max effort" guy, though, right?

[colbyjack]

The only reason James wouldn't be a top 5 round pick is due to the fact that teams haven't been able to get a good look at him this spring. I'm not sure if you saw or heard about it brewerguy71, but Kevin James was throwing almost just as well as Chad James was at last week's PG National Pre-Draft in Cedar Rapids. Chad James is a potential first-round pick, and Kevin James definitely showed his stuff warranted a top 3-5 round pick if teams are comfortable with such a selection. He quickly asserted himself as the top prospect in the state. If he's not taken early he's Boston College bound.

 

Charlie Markson is Notre Dame bound. He won't get taken early enough to sway him away from that commitment and he still has work to do with his bat.

 

As noted, Joel Effertz is next, followed by Chase Graskiewicz. Again, I'm not so sure either gets drafted early enough for them to bypass their college commitments (Arizona and Kansas State respectively).

 

In addition to Dott, Nick Rice at the JC level could be drafted in the top 20-30 rounds out of Madison Tech. Madison Tech (like almost every other year) has a few other guys that could go pro. Sam Munson is an out-of-state JC (Walters State, TN) that also could be drafted in the 15-30 round range (my guess is that he returns for another year, or two - depending on where he goes - of college).

 

Wisconsin is never the greatest state for developing baseball talent, but James' emergence has definitely made it a better year than how it originally stacked up.

[brewerguy71]

Thank you for the update on James, Colby. I work more on the college end of things and did not hear about the showing in IA. He was definitely someone to look at preseason, but sounds like he has made some good strides. I know that a one time showing at a showcase can do wonders for a players stock. For me, I prefer to see them play in game action, and as you metion WI does not have the best reputation as being a draft prospect hotbed. Add to it that Whitefish Bay plays summer ball, he doesnt have a very big window for some scouts to take a look. Nonetheless, it is nice to hear that an area player is shooting up draft boards if this is truly the case.

[molitor fan]

I just wanted to piggyback on this thread for a moment to mention Phil Schreiber, the cousin of the beforementioned Brad. Phil ended up as the number 1 starter by the end of the year on a really poor Iowa team, and is poised to have a breakthrough as a sophomore next year as the team improves. I know his committment was very strong to the Hawkeyes, but a 4th round level bonus would have been tantalizing I would guess.

[BrewCrewWS2008]

colbyjack wrote:

few other guys that could go pro. Sam Munson is an out-of-state JC (Walters State, TN) that also could be drafted in the 15-30 round range (my guess is that he returns for another year, or two - depending on where he goes - of college).

That'd be nice and knowing Sam I'd think that he'd probably sign but I hope he should sticks around for another year and his draft stock should get much higher. He plays for one of the top JUCO teams in the country and is the everyday shortstop so he's going to get looked at. He should have been drafted last year but I think a lot of the scouts and FIU backed off once there was a big off field issue right around draft time. (no character issues with him at all) You look at his PG ratings his senior year and they are both 9.5 so he has the talent and tools.

 

The main reason I think that is knowing the family for the a long time, the whole Wes thing I think would plays a role. Wes has regretted not signing with the Brewers coming out of high school. He went down to Mizzou didn't really like it and it didn't work out then was going to play for MATC (Madison) before then signing on with UWM where he has had injuries that have kept him off the field and not allowed him to get back to form. Tore his rotator cuff beginning of this season and played a extra game or 2 with it before it got dianosed (explains the errors and batting stats) So who knows if he'll get another chance to make it to the minor leagues.(He did medically redshirt so still will have 2 more seasons to work with) So i think for Sam it would be take the chance when you have.

[brewerguy71]

BA posted its Wisconsin Draft list and neither James nor Markson are on it. Then again, neither are Effertz, Dott or Greskiewitz. Here is their list: Adam Frost, St. Norbert Schrieber Cody Kaback, SPASH Kyle Barry, MaTC Doug Coe, UWSP And of those players none are expected to go in the first 10 rounds.

[brewerguy71]

Oh crap, and I just noticed that wast he 2008 list. 2009 will be released soon. Sorry for getting ahead of myself, while being behind at the same time.

[battlekow]

Here's the actual BA State Report on Wisconsin. The state gets two stars out of five ("Not up to par"). The rankings are:

 

1. Kevin James, lhp, Whitefish Bay HS, Milwaukee

2. Joel Effertz, rhp, Ladysmith HS

3. Charlie Markson, of, Whitefish Bay HS, Milwaukee

4. Adam Walker, 3b/c, Milwaukee Lutheran HS

5. Jason Hooper, rhp, Wisconsin-Whitewater

6. Nick Rice, lhp, Madison Area Tech JC

7. Tim Suminski, lhp, Parkway Christian HS, Oak Creek

 

Comments include:

• James' curveball and changeup need "a lot of work".
• Notre Dame head coach Dave Schrage compared Markson to A.J. Pollock.
• Effertz' velocity has been down and his arm action and conditioning are problems. He's not expected to be drafted high enough to keep him from attending Arizona.
• Hooper is "too raw for pro ball at this point".
  

[TheCrew07]

I like the Brewers to go after James if they can both because he's a LHP already throwing over 90 and because he's an in state kid. Scarpetta's breaking stuff needs quite a bit of work too... what young pitcher doesn't need work?

[JoeDirt]

Surprised to see Jason Hooper on there and no Aaron Dott. Dott didn't have a spectacular season at Whitewater but he's big, left-handed and he's had a lot of success in the Northwoods League over the past few years. Hooper has good raw stuff but he is very unpolished. His curve is nasty but he has trouble locating it. He usually sits in the 86-91 range but the problem is he is always fluctuating so much that you must think it has to be something mechanically.

Wondering about Carthage RHP Jordan Jahne-Llanas. He has good size and heard that he was hitting 91 mph towards the end of the season vs. UW-Whitewater when he eliminated them on 1 day rest. He's a 2006 Kenosha Bradford High School grad, who transferred to Carthage after 2 years at Wabash Valley CC.

[brewjihad]

I know I'm biased towards Brad, but why wouldn't he make the BA top prospect list for Wisconsin, especially when two other HS pitchers, Suminski and Effertz, are on it? I'm curious as to what you guys know about these two, because I find it hard to believe they're better pro prospects than Schreiber right now, even if he does have a pretty strong commitment to Purdue.

[brewerguy71]

I was little surprised by BA's list when it came out...that Schrieber was not on it, along with a couple of other players. But when it comes to Schreiber, I just dont think his stuff is there yet. He needs quite a lot of work I think and that is what is what will probably keep him from being drafted. I think even without the Purdue committment, he would have been drafted very late if at all.

[brewjihad]

I just dont think his stuff is there yet.

 

As a first-hand observer, he's been sitting 89-91 this spring and hit 93 a few times. One scout said said he had a "major-league curveball". And he's hit 6 homers in each of the last two FVA seasons, and is hitting about .450 again this year... for the second-best team in the state, and the FVA is a pretty good conference. And he only walked about 8 guys all year.

[brewerguy71]

I have seen Schreiber as well. I agree that he has pretty nice stuff for a High School pitcher, the reality of the matter is that he needs quite a bit of polish still.

 

When a scout goes to see a kid like Schreiber pitch, they could care less about how he hits. Its a nice bonus to his team if he can hit. He is obviously a good athlete as well, which is a plus for him when looking at the whole picture. And the thing about the FVA is kind of irrelevant. The best teams and conferences in Wisconsin dont really measure up on the national stage.

 

He will be a first team all state player. I just dont think he is ready yet for professional baseball. He should go to Purdue, work on his game, and in 3 years if he has dramatically improved himself, then he will get his shot at pro ball.

[brewjihad]

And I do agree with everything you say, but going back to my initial question... are there really 7 players to be ranked ahead of him? It seems like BA just forgot about him.

[brewerguy71]

Oh I completely agree. I personally feel he is the best player in the state of Wisconsin this year. I think they (BA) have dropped the ball on him. The other thing that I do not get is this kid from Oak Creek that is home schooled. He definitely has some nice stuff, but I am very skeptical of a player like him.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

I saw Effertz pitch twice this spring and was not impressed. I can't remember the exact score, but he was shelled in the game against Barron High School early in the season. Granted, Barron is probably one the top 2-3 powerhouse Division II programs in Northwest Wisconsin (4 state tournament appearances in the past decade), but this was a down year for them.

 

The impression I came away with is that Effertz is "mentally soft". I coached against him during basketball season and would classify him as anything but a high effort guy. He generally seemed uninterested/uninvolved in the game and I was impressed more with his younger brother. He has a great family but I would be absolutely stunned if he ever panned out as a MLB prospect.