Jack
Thelen

4/7/16 - Verbally committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

10/24/15 - Currently ranked No. 28 in the Wisconsin Class of 2017. Lean, lanky frame at 6-foot-3, 190-pound, Right-handed hitting catcher. Defensively has a short arm action from an over the top arm slot. Accurate throws with carry. Soft hands receiving with a quick, clean transfer and fluid footwork. Popped 2.02-2.08 and threw 77 mph from the crouch. Flexibility in the lower half creating a low target for pitchers, showed ability to stick pitches in bullpens. Offensively hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and good balance. Fluid rhythm with looseness in the hands. Level swing path with extension thru contact. Showed strength thru contact with 84 mph exit velocity from a tee. Ran the 60 at 7.59.

5/9/15 - 6-foot-3, 185-pound catcher with a projectable frame. Has some burst for his age, size, and position, 7.45 in the sixty-yard dash. Has some physical maturity with room to develop more. Athletic and loose behind the dish. Whippy, over-the-top arm action. Pop times were in the 2.10-2.18 range. Best time was 2.00. Replaced the shoulders and feet naturally, seemed comfortable maintaining an athletic position in the crouch. Strong, fast hands at the plate. Flashed a direct path to the ball with level and violent extension through the hitting zone. Short, smooth load, stayed balanced throughout the swing. Looked to have a plan at the dish with some consistent and fluid rhythm. Above average athleticism and an apparent natural feel for the game makes Thelen an interesting underclassman follow in this 2017 bunch.

3/1/15 - Long lanky frame, 6-foot-3, 180-pounds projectable frame, slender build, will fill out. Good catch and throw prospect. Arm action is short and loose, over the top slot, arm carries through target, highly accurate and stays online, 74 mph arm strength. Feet worked well, quick clean exchange, showed softer hands.  Posted pop times at 2.00-2.08. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, leg lift stride. Spray hitter, uses the whole field, showed good bat speed, 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Raw bat with upside, athletic hands. Ran the 60 at 7.53.

10/25/14 - 6-foot-3, 174-pound catcher, long lanky frame, projects. Defensively uses a short, high ¾ arm slot, showed some accuracy at 75 mph. Solid base when blocking the baseball, posted pop times at 2.08-2.19. Offensively hits from a balanced stance, slight leg kick trigger, good balance. Flat path through the zone, line drive approach, long armed swing, 67 mph exit velocity from the tee. Ran the 60 at 7.66.

9/23/19: Junior catcher at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds. A lean/strong athlete, Thelen is a big-bodied follow coming off a nice spring in which he hit .313 and slugged .552, with eight doubles and five home runs. There’s some swing and miss in the path, the kind that resulted in 27 punch-outs in 96 at-bats, but there’s no doubt the same bat can result in loud barrels. In gameplay, he crushed a fastball some 400 feet after doubling earlier in the game. Thelen sets up in a balanced/athletic stance and is simple and quiet, bat plane is level, strong hands/wrists. A solid all-around catch-and-throw, consistent sub-2.00 pops with accuracy, average arm strength.