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Eau Claire Preseason ID: Quick Hits

February 14, 2023
By: Wisconsin Staff

On Sunday, Feb. 11th, the PBR Wisconsin team hosted our second event of the 2023 winter showcase circuit with the first-ever Eau Claire Preseason ID showcase at Valley Sports Academy in Lake Hallie, Wis. Nearly 25 players made it out to this event, providing us with updated looks and a new list of players to follow in Wisconsin. 

Today, we’ll be highlighting the players who stood out in Lake Hallie within this Quick Hits piece. Stay tuned throughout the week as we continue to break down the in-depth metrics measured at this event, with the help of our tech partners TrackMan, Blast Motion, and Vizual Edge.

TWO-WAYS

+ RHP/1B Chase Watkins (Eau Claire North, 2024) stands at a lean, wiry and projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pounds. Watkins impressed during the hitting portion of the event when he showcased his smooth, loose, free and easy left handed stroke driving balls to all fields, registering a max EV of 90.9 mph and driving the second farthest ball of the event at 333 feet. On the mound, Watkins repeated an athletic delivery with a quick arm and drove his fastball through areas of the zone, topping at 81.6 mph. He flashed a sharp downer breaking ball and a change with quality arm speed. While Watkins did initially catch our staff’s attention as an arm during the summer, he did walk away from Saturday’s event as an intriguing two-way follow after his quality round of BP.

+ 1B/RHP Sawyer Stein (Eau Claire Memorial, 2024) was responsible for arguably the most consistent round of BP. Standing at a physical 6-foot-2, 230-pounds, Stein registered a highest average EV of the day at 90.2 mph, with his hardest coming off the bat at 94.2 mph. On the mound, Stein works with rhythm and features repeatable mechanics. During his ‘pen he ran his fastball up to 81.5 mph from a three-quarter slot to go along with a sweeping slider and a changeup, both of which he was able to throw in the zone.

+ LHP/1B Warren Bowe (Cadott, 2025) is another name who caught our attention during our summer circuit and during our time in Eau Claire, he continued to show well in front of our staff. Bowe has a well-proportioned 6-foot, 180-pound frame that has the ability to add more strength. He really impressed at the plate as he displayed a quiet, balanced and relaxed setup from the left-side. Bowe flashed quick and aggressive hands that helped him produce the second-highest bat speed of the day at 73.8 mph, and he showed the ability to hit line drives to all-fields. His max EV on the day was 91.7 mph. On the mound, Bowe’s fastball sat in the 83-84 mph range,  and it showed late run to the arm-side. His curveball had a max spin rate of 2,226 rpm and showed a late bite with two-plane depth. His changeup has late depth and fade (15 IVB), and he showed the ability to land the pitch for strikes. Overall, it was a good look at Bowe and despite recording some of the best metrics on both sides of the ball, he is still a raw prospect who has plenty more in the tank. 

+ RHP/SS Bennett Stokke (Altoona, 2025) is listed at a strong and well-proportioned 5-foot-9, 175-pounds. Stokke impressed our staff on the mound with his ability to repeat an athletic delivery with a low three-quarter arm slot. Stokke filled up the zone with his fastball in the low-80s that featured late tailing and sinking action. As for his offspeeds he showed the ability to land a slider that he spun at a max 2,303 rpm and change up with fade/depth in zone. Stokke also tallied a 93.5 mph max EV during his BP round, respectively. Stokke’s ‘pen was an impressive one, and as only a sophomore he is certainly someone who we will keep an eye on as he continues to progress throughout his prep career. 

+ LHP Aaron Ploszay (Holmen, 2025) stands 6-foot, 155 pounds with some projection coming to his long wiry frame. Ploszay displayed a short compact arm path and repeatable delivery on the mound with some arm quickness, touching 81 mph with his fastball that had late tailing action. Ploszay also featured a slider and a changeup that he showed the ability to throw for strikes. While Ploszay does profile best on the mound, he did register a max EV of 82.6 mph from the left-side. 


POSITION PLAYERS

+ 3B Leo Lauscher (Eau Claire Memorial, 2024) continued to open eyes at Saturday’s event. Despite his stout 5-foot-10, 250-pound frame, Lauscher moves surprisingly well as he recorded the fifth-best 60-yard dash time at 7.34 and also a 27.6 inch vertical. He then moved over to the hitting portion of the event where he took the loudest round of the day. In the right-handed batters box, Lauscher displayed a short compact swing with quick hands and the ability to impact line drives to all fields, registering a max EV of 98 mph which was the highest for the event. Lauscher then showcased his defensive acumen with a quick first-step laterally, smooth hands and an accurate arm up to 84 mph. Lauscher remains as one of the state’s most intriguing talents for the class of 2024 after an impressive showing during our inaugural event in the Eau Claire area. 

+ Another name who impressed our staff was SS JV Castillo (Abbotsford, 2024). Castillo is listed at 5-foot-7, 150 pounds. His quickness, athleticism and quality baseball actions were on display throughout the day. He registered the best 60-yard dash of the day at 7.16 showing quick burst and an athletic gait. During hitting, Castillo showed off his hand quickness and the ability to impact the ball by registering a max EV in the high 80s with the ability to shoot the ball to the entire field. This coupled with his well-above average athleticism point to Castillo profiling as a top of the order type player at the next-level. His defense stood out with quality middle infield actions and arm strength of 83 mph in the infield and 89 from the outfield during the defensive portion of the day. 

+ C Carter Vieth (Elk Mound, 2024) stands at a sturdy 5-foot-9, 175-pounds with strength throughout his frame. Vieth showed strong hands during hitting, registering a max EV in the upper-80s. His swing showed the ability to hit line-drives to pull side and loft balls to the middle and opposite fields. Behind the plate, Vieth featured a pop time at 2.28 and showed a quick transfer and an accurate arm.  

+ C/OF Chase McQuade (River Falls, 2024) is a strong and athletic 5-foot-9, 180-pound right-handed hitter. McQuade put together one of the better rounds of BP during our time in Eau Claire. At the plate, he sets up relaxed and balanced, before using his quick yet strong hands to create EVs in the low-90s, with his hardest registering at 94.8 mph. He led the event in max distance (359 ft), bat speed (74.9 mph), and pop-time (2.18). Behind the plate, McQuade was quick out of the crouch and paired it with a speedy transfer. 

+ SS Nick Hirsch (Hudson, 2025) stands a projectable 6-foot-1,165 pounds. Hirsh showed off his athleticism running a 7.20 60-yard dash with a vertical jump of 28.0 inches. He showed a balanced repeatable swing during batting practice with a max EV of 92 mph. Hirsch then displayed quality actions in the infield portion of the event and was tied for the best arm strength from the infield group at 84 mph. Nick will be someone our staff keeps an eye out for this spring and summer. 

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