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Wisconsin Class of 2023 Rankings: Update

September 8, 2022
By Wisconsin Staff

Today, PBR Wisconsin is updating its Class of 2023 rankings following a crucial summer for these incoming seniors. The final summer of their travel ball careers is always an important one, and we were able to expand our ‘23 rankings by 25 names inside this update as a result. We gathered important information about the players at the top of this list, several of whom are stirring some pro interest already, and there’s a ton of high-level uncommitted players left on the board, worthy of collegiate attention.

We’ll break down the players inside the top-10 today, as well as those who rose inside the top-20 or so.

AT THE TOP OF THE CLASS

Dylan Questad RHP / Waterford, WI / 2023

Questad, an Arkansas commit, looks like he might have the talent to remain locked into the state’s No. 1 spot since he first took over this time last year. He followed a stellar spring by starring along the summer circuit on the national scene, including most recently at the Area Code Games. Questad was one of the top performing pitching prospects in the entire country at the event where he was named ‘Pitcher of the Week.’ Questad features a fastball that fills the zone and has reached as high as 96 mph in his starts, and he has a couple offspeed weapons attached to it. He displays a couple of different breaking balls in the low-80s and he has a swing-and-miss changeup that often looks like his best secondary. The Waterford prospect gives you every reason to believe that he will take steps forward in the coming years as he repeats his delivery and pounds the zone with strikes.

(8/7/22)

+ (Edit: Fisher has since committed to Florida State following the coaching change at Notre Dame, where he was previously committed) SS Cal Fisher (Deerfield; Florida State commit) talents shined through during the high school season, earning PBR Wisconsin First Team All-State honors. He continued to perform on the summer circuit and outperformed the competition at the Area Code Games where he tied for the most hits (7) for the week for the entire event and was eventually named the event’s ‘Player of the Week,’ earning Wisconsin both of the event’s individual awards. Fisher’s standout tool is the bat, where he displays a natural feel and instincts for timing and for the barrel to drive balls to all fields. The glove is not far behind the hit tool. He has the tool kit to stick at shortstop at the next level working through balls with quick feet and a natural clock. Additionally he has the arm strength and accuracy to drive the baseball through his target on a consistent basis in order to make all the plays.

(8/10/22)

+ The No. 3-ranked player in the class is another middle infielder who shows the ability to stay at shortstop. SS Ethan Hindle’s (Arrowhead; Kentucky) progress up the middle is noteworthy, he’s made huge strides and now looks the part of a silky shortstop, with a more fluid arm action that complements his overall athleticism. That defensive profile has enhanced his prospect stock, as he’s long shown the ability to be a middle-of-the-order kind of hitter. He thrived for Arrowhead in the spring and it carried over into the summer; the ball jumps off of the bat and can hit for power to all fields. He’s a high-follow prospect who’s made the most of every offseason, so we’re excited to see how he’ll look entering the spring of 2023.

(6/23/22)

ELSEWHERE ON THE TOP-10

+ The next ranked player in the class is another right-hander with impressive stuff, pitchability and competitiveness. RHP Thomas Burns (Hortonville; Arizona State) was a dominant force on the mound during the high school season and continued the success into the summer. Burns is a large-framed athlete with a steep fastball in the low-90s and a hard, biting slider. He fills the zone frequently, which helps him generate swings and misses repeatedly, and he’s often shown us shutdown stuff and the ability to rise up to the occasion against talented opponents.

(7/23/22)

+ RHP Cole Selvig (Eau Claire Regis; Texas) is ranked No. 5 in this update, no change from last time, as he continues to show arm strength, a deceptive delivery, and biting secondaries to add to his swing-and-miss profile. Selvig is consistently in the low-90s with his fastball, showing ability to control it effectively, especially for a player his age. He has some natural hide to the delivery making the fastball difficult to pick up for hitters. Additionally he has a hard biting breaking ball with late downer action getting chase and swings and misses out of the zone. And he adds to his arsenal a power changeup that gives him three viable offerings that should keep him as effective as ever headed into his final prep spring.

(6/25/22)

+ MIF Jack Counsell (Whitefish Bay; Michigan) is this class’ No. 6-ranked player, and he performed like it for the Blue Dukes in the spring, and his summer was similarly impressive. Counsell’s showing signs of making authoritative contact more regularly, inside a wiry 6-foot, 175-pound frame. His quick hands and barrel awareness allows him to sting balls into both gaps, and he’s a talented middle infielder who profiles best at second base – though he’ll provide real value there.

+ Last summer,  C/3B Evan Gustafson (Altoona; Oregon State) showed that he was one of the top backstops in the region at the 2021 PBR Future Games, which ultimately led to his commitment to Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon State. Since then, Gustafson has continued to attract many eyes all across the country during the 2022 summer circuit. Now boasting a more physical frame, at 6-foot-2, 195-pounds, his offseason gains only added to his already impressive offensive skillset. Most recently, Gustafson was in attendance at the PBR at The Rock 17U Summer Championships, he continued to show his bat-to-ball skills with repeated hard contact throughout the weekend, culminating in his GRB Rays Green squad taking home the trophy. While he doesn’t rise inside this update, he’s one of the prospects on this list with the biggest upside. As he continues to hone his skill set as a receiver, all while flaunting his loud and athletic left-handed swing more regularly in-game, Gustafson has sky-high potential.

(7/24/22)

+ SS Alexander Alicea (St. Thomas More; Louisville) is a name our staff has kept close eyes on throughout his prep career and he continues to impress in every facet of the game. Throughout the spring, Alicea was hindered with an injury that kept him from playing for a good majority of the high school season and summer, but he’s healthy now headed into the fall, already looking like his old electric self. At the end of June, Alicea seemed to be as healthy as ever during his performance at the PBR Procase - Midwest, where he ran a 6.54 and reached an 83 mph high across the diamond with uber quick feet that grant him a huge range on the left side of the diamond.

There, Alicea caught the attention of both Director of College Scouting, David Siefert and Senior VP of Baseball Operations, Steve Nielsen who published this regarding Alicea’s performance:

 “SS Louisville commit, Alex Alicea (St. Thomas More, WI, 2023) is a handsy and dynamic middle infielder who posted a 6.54 in the 60 yard dash and uses that as a highlight of his game. For what Alicea lacks in power out of his 5-foot-8, 150-pound frame,  he makes up for with bat control from both sides of the plate. One of the better bat to ball performances of the day in live at bats, Alicea profiles as a tough strikeout victim at the top of the order.”

(6/21/22)

+ RHP Brayden Olson (St. Croix Falls; Purdue) may have put together one of the most dominant WIAA spring seasons we have seen in recent years. He basically willed St. Croix Falls to a Division 3 state championship berth thanks to his utter dominance all year long, in which he did not allow an earned run all year on the mound despite throwing the most innings. His talents also transferred over to the infield where he tallied a .465 batting average, with 12 doubles and three home runs, which landed him on the WIAA First Team All-State roster. Olson was another name in attendance at the PBR Procase - Midwest where he topped at 91.6 mph with his fastball and showed off two above-average offspeed pitches – the first being a late fading changeup that played well off of his fastball, that sat 79-82 mph and the second being a 11/5 breaking ball that he showed a lot more feel for since last summer. His outstanding spring and improved three-pitch mix helped Olson jump a few spots in this update of the 2023 rankings. Back in July, Olson made his commitment to Big Ten member Purdue, taking him off the market as the top uncommitted prospect in the entire state. 

(6/21/22)

+ C Thomas Curry (Arrowhead; Missouri) has a physical profile, built at a brawny 6-foot-1, 215 pounds. His violent right-handed swing results in some of the hardest-hit contact in the region, and he can get to it in-game. Defensively, he’s an aggressive backstop who constantly sheriffs the basepaths by back-picking runners on the regular. He attended June’s PBR Procase - Midwest where he logged a 102.2 max exit velocity with constant pull-side power. Curry’s strength transfers over to behind the plate where his pure arm strength topped at 82 mph, and it aids him in recording pops as low as 1.82 second to the bag. He remains one of the area’s top backstops.

(7/23/22)

TOP PROSPECTS ON THE RISE

+ RHP Keenan Mork (River Falls; uncommitted) is, without a doubt, the top-ranked uncommitted player in the state. He was dialed in, in our looks, all summer, both at Creekside and at The Rock Complex. Prior to that, during the WIAA spring, Mork was arguably the best pitcher in the state and he accumulated staggering numbers despite pitching in one of the most competitive conferences in Wisconsin this past season. For River Falls, Mork tallied 85 strikeouts across his 46.1 innings of work and he finished with a 1.36 ERA. At 6-foot-2, 190-pounds, Mork has some major upside while on the mound, despite already throwing a fastball that has been up to 92 mph in our looks. As for his offspeed offerings, he features a swing and miss slider in the high 70s, which will allow him to miss barrels at the next level. Mork is a raw athlete while on the mound, but nonetheless his raw talent is something that is impressive and he remains the top uncommitted prospect left on the board in Wisconsin’s senior class.

(6/25/22)

+ C/UTL Vidal Colon (University School; Illinois-Chicago) enters the top-15 after continuing to show one of the class’ best hit tools, again and again. Both at the summer’s Badger State Battle and again at the PBR at The Rock 17U Summer Championships, Colon routinely connected for hard-hit contact to all fields, and he demonstrates that he’s capable of generating legitimate pull-side power from his compact/strong stature, listed at 5-foot-10, 195 pounds. At the end of the summer, Colon homered a couple of times in the same game at The Rock Complex, ending the season with an exclamation point that vaulted him up to this place. He’s made some gains at catcher, and we’re interested in what another offseason at the new position will do to his profile, but he’s athletic enough to figure out a future defensive home somewhere at a skill position, and he’s going to motor any lineup he’s penciled into.

(7/21/22)

+ RHP Roman Trapani (Eau Claire Memorial; North Dakota State) moved the most significantly up the board of any prospect in this update, from No. 47 overall previously to 19. The jump up the board is a result of several dominant outings that Trapani authored in front of our staff, both  locally as well as elsewhere in the Midwest, like at Creekside in late June. In both outings, Trapani climbed into the upper-80s and sat right there, dropping in a swing-and-miss curveball with feel to locate. He’s long showed some pitchability, and the gains he’s made to his velocity have uplifted his overall profile, and he’s now a top-20 prospect and starter material at the next level, and he committed to North Dakota State just recently.

(7/22/22)

For a complete look at the state’s Class of 2023 rankings, click here.

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