On March 15th, the Prep Baseball Wisconsin staff traveled to GRB Academy in Windsor, Wis., to host the annual Madison Rising Stars ID. This event featured prospects from the 2029 and 2030 graduating classes and has consistently provided our staff with the names of players to consider inviting to the Prep Baseball Junior Future Games where they’ll represent Team Wisconsin at LakePoint Sports in Emerson, GA., at the end of the summer.

Now, at the event's conclusion, our staff will begin to compile some of our takeaways from this event while also hitting on some of the day's stat leaders. Below you'll find which players popped to our scouts, as well as which prospects headlined our respective statistical categories.

TAKEAWAYS

+ RHP/1B Eastin Sorenson (Chippewa Falls, 2029) is a talented 6-foot-3, 170 pound two-way player to follow in the 2029 class. At the plate, the right-hander swings a well sequenced and controlled bat with feel for the barrel. Defensively, Sorenson is a quality defender at first with sure hands and a strong arm up to 76 mph, with overall feel for the position. On the mound, showed advanced stuff with upside. Simple delivery with feel to repeat, working in line to the plate. The arm works compact behind, with quickness throughout from a lower slot. Three pitch mix, the fastball plays with life out of the hand in the low-80s reaching 83.6 mph on his firmest throw. Sorenson showed consistent feel to spin a two-plane breaking ball in the mid-60s and flashed a developing changeup. An athletic two-way prospect with a sky high ceiling that our staff will be monitoring.

+ INF/RHP Lucas Reinheimer (The Prairie School, 2029) is a talented two-way prospect who has established himself as a name to know for the 2029 class after the impressive performance he put forth on Saturday afternoon. Reinheimer started off his day by showcasing his ability to barrel up the baseball to all fields with a short and quick right-handed swing. He has a natural hitterish feel to how he gets to this hitting position and delivers the barrel to the baseball. In the infield, he displayed smooth actions with a quick first step to both the backhand and the forehand. Next, Reinheimer took his talents to the mound and put together a very impressive bullpen session. His delivery had a very advanced feel to it with balance and fluidity in delivering the ball. The right-hander maxed out at 80 mph with consistent strikes through the zone. He showed an advanced feel to spin a curveball and get through a change up with fastball intent with everything out of the same window as the fastball. Reinheimer has planted himself firmly on our staff’s radar going forward after this impressive look.

+ OF/LHP Robert Perez II (Bay Port, 2029) was one of the biggest winners of the day on Saturday. The two-way prospect stands 5-foot-11, 155 pounds with an athletic frame with very good proportions. Perez hit with a smooth left-handed swing and showcased the ability to drive the baseball to all fields throughout his round. Perez was 82 mph from the outfield which was the best mark on the day. His first base defensive work was also impressive with his feel around the bag and softness to his hands. On the mound, Perez repeated a smooth and athletic delivery and ran the heater up to 78 and was driving it through the zone with good carry on the fastball. He demonstrated solid feel for the slider (73-75 mph) with two plane action and had the ability to get through a change up (73-74 mph) with fastball arm speed. This is our staff’s second look at the two-way prospect in a showcase setting and Perez has undoubtedly established himself as a prospect in the 2029 class.

+ C/INF Hayden Jones (DeForest, 2030) opened some eyes with his performance at the event on Saturday. Jones is a strong and sturdy 5-foot-10, 168 pound athlete with more strength and size coming in his frame. Jones was all over the barrel in batting practice during the hitting portion of the event and registered the 2nd highest max exit velocity of the event at 85.9 mph and the second highest average exit velocity at 80.7 mph. He was hitting hard line drives throughout the round and showcased the ability to control the barrel to all fields. His pop time from home to second base was an event best at 2.25 seconds. Jones is still two years from high school and he is an extremely interesting prospect in the state for the 2030 class. Our staff will be locked into how he performs on the summer circuit.

+ UTL/RHP Balin Hillestad (Lodi, 2029) is a long limbed and projectable 6-foot-1, 170 pound two-way prospect. He started his day by running an impressive 7.04 seconds 60 yard dash which was the best time of the day. Hillestad hit with a well-sequenced right-handed swing and produced hard barrel contact throughout his round. His max EV of 85.1 mph and 79.4 mph average exit velocity were both 3rd best marks amongst all participants. On the mound, the right-handed pitcher deployed a three-pitch mix with a fastball, curveball and change up and was up to 75 mph with the heater. His delivery was fluid and repeatable and will certainly add to his velocity and overall stuff in the future.

+ LHP Gabriel Seifert (Jefferson, 2029) is long and wiry and will add considerable size and strength to his 6-foot-2, 170 pound frame. Seifert ran his fastball all the way up to 77 mph with a repeatable delivery from the left side. He also showcased impressive ability to spin a slider (62-63 mph) with an average of 2,412 RPMs with big horizontal movement. He rounded out his arsenal with a change up thrown with fastball intent. Seifert is an interesting prospect in the state for the 2029 class.

+ It was a good look at RHP/INF Easton Veenendall (La Crosse Central, 2030) at the event. On the mound, Veendendall showcased a very loose and fluid delivery and ran the fastball up to 73 mph. He deployed two different breaking balls: a curveball and a slider and he threw strikes with all three pitches. The two-way prospect hit with a downhill swing and backspun line drives consistently throughout his round. His athletic and projectable 5-foot-8, 130 pound frame indicates that he will add more size and strength and there is a likelihood for loud tools in the future.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

FASTBALL VELOCITY (MAX)

FASTBALL SPIN RATE (AVG.)

60-YARD DASH

EXIT VELOCITY (MAX)

TOP INFIELD VELOCITY

TOP OUTFIELD VELOCITY

TOP CATCHER VELOCITY

TOP POP TIMES

+ CLICK HERE for a look at the complete statistics from the event.

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