Wisconsin 2016 Rankings Updated

November 2, 2015

By Steve Nielsen
Scouting Supervisor –Wisconsin/Illinois

Just like in the summer of 2013 when the rise of Jeren Kendall took center stage on a national landscape, Wisconsin is back in the conversation of high end national prospects, with professional scouts flocking to catch the top end of what the state has to offer.

This year there is more than just one prospect grabbing the headlines as C Ben Rortvedt (Verona Area) and SS Gavin Lux (Indian Trail) have both seen their names atop several national lists and a must see for cross checkers across the country.

Both could easily headline the 2016 class in Wisconsin as 1A and 1B but someone has to take the top slot and the tool of a premium bat is more likely going to win out every time. That being said Rortvedt’s bat gives him the slight edge over Lux in the 2016 class. Lux is no slouch with the bat by any stretch of the imagination but Rortvedt is garnering comps to a Kyle Schwarber 2.0, and the success that Schwarber had on the biggest of stages this year in the MLB playoffs may be rubbing off on scouts alike to find the next big bat.

Most recently both were on center stage in Jupiter where Lux swung a hot bat and showcased his usual stellar defense up the middle, and although the attention has not necessarily been on Rortvedt’s defense he gunned down two would be base-stealers giving scouts an insight to his potential behind the dish.

Top Ten

RANK	NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
1	Ben Rortvedt	WI	Verona Area	2016	C	Arkansas
2	Gavin Lux	WI	Indian Trail	2016	SS	Arizona State
3	Nathan Brown	WI	Arrowhead	2016	RHP	Florida
4	Justin Lavey	WI	Tremper	2016	3B	Louisville
5	Jack Eagan	WI	Wautoma	2016	LHP	Indiana
6	Cyrillo Watson	WI	South Milwaukee	2016	OF	Illinois
7	Alec Marsh	WI	Reagan College Prep	2016	RHP	Arizona State
8	Ryan Schmitt	WI	Arrowhead	2016	RHP	Illinois
9	Matt McCarty	WI	South Milwaukee	2016	RHP	Louisville
10	Joe Acker	WI	Marquette University	2016	OF	Nebraska

CLICK HERE for complete Wisconsin 2016 Rankings

The rest of the top ten is littered with arms, topped by Florida commit RHP Nathan Brown (Arrowhead) who is also seeing some draft buzz surround his name of late. Along with Brown, LHP Jack Eagan (Wautoma), RHP Cyrillo Watson (South Milwaukee), RHP Alec Marsh (Reagan College Prep), RHP Ryan Schmitt (Arrowhead) and RHP Matt McCarty (South Milwaukee) make up one of the best crop of top end pitchers the state has seen in a long time. We’ve seen all but McCarty reach the 90 mph mark, and McCarty, a Louisville commit, may be the toughest at-bat of the group.

Stay tuned the rest of this week for further breakdowns of the updated 2016 rankings as we will check out several of the top new prospects and risers, discussing just how they got there.

Wisconsin 2016 Rankings Updated

Top Ten

Related Content