Baseball players who grow up far from the draft pipelines of warmer weather states sometimes fly under the radar. They don’t get the same exposure, and their draft stock is often undercut by a perceived — or actual — weakness in their competition. There often isn’t enough information to confirm or deny those assumptions. Some tools can be measured and provide objective data, but players from the Midwest will always have a bit of an uphill battle to reach widespread recognition.
Wisconsin prep star Jerred Kelenic could have been overlooked for those reasons. Only seven Badgers have ever been selected in the first round.