Fox Cities Preseason I.D. Superlatives

March 4, 2015

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor – Wisconsin/Illinois

Here’s our quick take on a few baseball superlatives to take a look at the top tools from the Fox Cities Preseason I.D.

Best Fastball: RHP Jake Sommers (Hortonville, 2015)
These days it’s tough to find a senior arm lingering around this late in the recruiting process, but Jake Sommers showed up at the Fox Cities Preseason I.D. and blew the scouts away with his 87-89 mph fastball.

Best Breaking Ball: RHP Nate Burns (West Bend West, 2017)
Burns threw an 11/5 shaped curveball at 72-74 mph that would make most upperclassmen jealous. He showed excellent feel and threw it with confidence.

Best Changeup: RHP Nate Burns (West Bend West, 2017) and Nolan Rebernick (Union Grove, 2017)
Burns also threw a hard diving changeup that had swing and miss potential at 77 mph. Nolan Rebernick also showed advanced action on his change with feel and looks to be able to throw it in any count.

Best Three Pitch Mix: RHP Nate Burns (West Bend West, 2017)
Burns ability to mix all three pitches, throw them for strikes and show advanced action in the hitting zone make him the top candidate for the best three pitch mix.

Best Speed: INF Colton Burt (Wautoma, 2016)
Burt ran the fastest 60 time at the event which is typically a slam dunk for this category but he also translated those quick feet to his defensive game.

Best Arm Strength: RHP/INF Jake Sommers (Hortonville, 2015)
On top of Sommers’ electricity on the mound he also showed off the best arm across the infield at 85 mph.

Best Power: 1B Griffin Doersching (Greendale, 2017)
Rarely do you see the radar gun top 100 mph at any showcase, but Griffin Doersching hit it multiple times during exit velocities, and rattled the cages with authority in his evaluations stations. We’ve also seen Doersching take balls deep in games so we know it translates.

Best Receiver: C Jack Kinzer (Port Washington, 2016)
There were a lot of good catchers at the Fox Cities Preseason I.D., and Jack Kinzer narrowly edged several other for the top receiver. He showed soft hands and the ability to block and recover the baseball well while giving his pitchers low steady targets.

Best Two-Way Prospect: RHP/1B Max Alba (Franklin, 2018)
The 2018 class in Wisconsin has shown some incredible talent early in their high school careers. Left-handed hitter and Right-handed pitcher Max Alba looks to have high level abilities both with the bat and on the mound.

Highest Ceiling: Max Alba (Franklin, 2018)
Alba’s 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame as just a freshman with his athletic abilities gives him easily the highest ceiling of any prospect at the event. He already shows loose athleticism and will only get bigger and stronger, improving upon his already advanced tools. Alba is also a three sport athlete.

Fox Cities Preseason I.D. Superlatives

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