Abe
Herchenbach

6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. After emerging as a winner from the winter, our staff got our first look at Herchenbach on the mound this past weekend. The right-hander’s FB ranged between 82-84 mph with life, as it was complemented by a sharp SL that played in the upper-60s. Herchenbach performed well against one of the toughest lineups in the field—striking out seven batters in five innings before the game was delayed and postponed to the next day. The to-be senior missed barrels consistently and only allowed one earned run in the process—providing an upside look in Mauston.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-1, 180-pounds. Good proportions, athletic, strong and sturdy.
Delivery: High in-line leg tuck, lands down hill with in-line direction to home, high leg swing finish over front side.
Arm Action: RH. Medium arc, 3/4 slot, powers through the baseball.
FB: T87, 84-87 mph. Heavy life at the plate. T2326, 2259 average rpm.
SL: 69-72 mph. 10/4 shape and break, can land and expand the zone. T2158, 2098 average rpm.
CH: 76-79 mph. Fading action at the plate, thrown with fastball intent. T1834, 1631 average rpm.
ATH: 31.60 max vertical.

One of the most put together ‘pens was brought by RHP Abe Herchenbach (Elkhorn, 2025) who is a name to closely monitor heading into the spring. Herchenbach, who stands at a lean 6-foot-1 180 pounds, is a ultra-simple and easy mover on the mound, pairing it with a loose and clean arm. Out of a 3/4 slot, Herchenbach pumped his fastball up to 87.3 mph, while sitting in the 84-87 mph range throughout. Metrically his fastball is intriguing, too, as it spins at an above-average rate, while also featuring nearly 16 inches of arm-side run. He went to a lateral breaking slider that played exceptionally well off of his fastball, coming from the same arm slot and sitting in the low-70s. Rounding out his three-pitch mix was a deadly changeup that was thrown at arm speed and played with late fade/depth in the upper-70s.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-1, 170-pounds. Athletic, proportional frame with room for added muscle.
Delivery: Slightly up-tempo, clean operation, high leg-lift into balance point, tall/fall lower-half, gets the body moving down the mound in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Long/loose arm swing into a 3/4 slot.
FB: T85, 84-85 mph. Jumps out of the hand with life through the zone and arm-side life. T2186, 2110 average rpm.
SL: 72-75 mph. Sharp 10/4 shape with late bite. T2105, 2029 average rpm.
CH: 78-80 mph. Plays with some fade to the arm-side, kept mostly down. T1884, 1639 average rpm.

Herchenbach came away a winner on the mound from Sunday’s event. Currently ranked No. 21 in the state, Herchenbach boasts upside within his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame, and with added strength should only help him on the mound. The right-hander worked his fastball up to 85 mph, sitting mostly 83-84 mph with a tall/fall operation and ¾ slot. He showed outstanding feel for his 71-75 mph slider, landing it for a strike 100% of the time according to TrackMan and playing with sharp 10/4 action. He also featured a heavy running changeup to fill out his arsenal, 77-80 mph. 

RHP Abe Herchenbach (Elkhorn Area, 2025) came away a winner on the mound from Sunday’s event. Currently ranked No. 21 in the state, Herchenbach boasts upside within his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame, and with added strength should only help him on the mound. The right-hander worked his fastball up to 85 mph, sitting mostly 83-84 mph with a tall/fall operation and ¾ slot. He showed outstanding feel for his 71-75 mph slider, landing it for a strike 100% of the time according to TrackMan and playing with sharp 10/4 action. He also featured a heavy running changeup to fill out his arsenal, 77-80 mph.

Positional Profile: RHP
Body: 6-1, 170-pounds. Athletic, proportional frame with room for added muscle.
Delivery: Slightly up-tempo, clean operation, high leg-lift into balance point, tall/fall lower-half, gets the body moving down the mound in-line.
Arm Action: RH. Long/loose arm swing into a 3/4 slot.
FB: T85, 84-85 mph. Jumps out of the hand with life through the zone and arm-side life. T2186, 2110 average rpm.
SL: 72-75 mph. Sharp 10/4 shape with late bite. T2105, 2029 average rpm.
CH: 78-80 mph. Plays with some fade to the arm-side, kept mostly down. T1884, 1639 average rpm.

Standing at 6-foot, 180 pounds, Herchenbach showed the ability to control his body well down the mound with a fluid tempo and slight drop/drive lower half. When moving downhill, Herchenbach tends to stride slightly across his body, creating a tough angle for would-be right-handed hitters, and yet he’s still able to clear his hips to the plate and create torque effectively. His fastball reached 84 mph and it played through the zone with arm-side action, averaging over 21 inches horizontal movement to the plate. Herchenbach also showed two quality change-of-pace offerings; an 11/5 curveball at66-69 mph, and a changeup that featured slight arm-side action, 73-75. Both offerings have the potential to develop into plus pitches with added arm speed and natural development in the coming years. 

Positional Profile: RHP/2B
Body: 6-0, 140-pounds. High-waisted frame.
Delivery: Fluid delivery, works with a slight drop/drive lower-half down the mound, strides slightly across his body.
Arm Action: RH. Long arm circle out of the glove that moves into a loose 3/4 slot.
FB: T83.8, 82.1-83.7 mph. Jumps out of the hand with running action to his arm-side.  T2201, 2072 average rpm.
SL: 66.4-69.1 mph. Gradual 11/5 shape, feel for the zone. T1884, 1867 average rpm.
CH: 73.1-75.3 mph. Thrown with fastball intent, slight action to the arm-side.  T1351, 1235 average rpm.