By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Future Prospects Showcase and Educational Camp took place on the campus of Bellarmine University on October 20.  In the first of a series of articles, today we take a look at the three catchers who showcased their abilities behind the plate. 

While there is obviously still much development that will take place with all of the prospects in attendance, Jared Riordan stood out as the top defensive catcher of the group.  He is fundamentally sound behind the plate and while still a little early to tell, he has a chance to continue the run of impressive catching prospects to come out of Bullitt East HS as 2013 graduate Hunter Wood is now a freshman at Western Kentucky University, and junior Brayden Blair is ranked No.12 in Kentucky’s 2015 class.

Following is a look at the catchers from the event.

Jared Riordan, C, Bullitt East HS, 2017
5-foot-9, 130-pound freshman, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with an aggressive stride, good hand quickness creates some bat speed through the zone, body tends to drift forward, cuts off lower half at times, showed some pop in his round, ran 8.06 60 yard dash, 69 mph tee exit velocity.  Defensively, good setup behind the plate, shows good lateral movement and blocking skills, tends to receive ball deep on glove side, solid footwork, good glove to hand exchange, accurate arm at 66 mph from the crouch with pop times of 2.22-2.32, pop times will continue to improve with added arm strength and quicker release, solid young defensive catcher.

Matthew Ernst, RHP/C, Jefferson County MS, 2018
5-foot-10, 135-pound 8^th grader, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses very good lower half torque to generate good bat speed through the zone, solid young hitter, ran event best 7.07 60 yard dash, 72 mph tee exit velocity.  Defensively, needs to continue working on footwork and gaining ground on throws, throws with long arm action at 64 mph from the crouch with pop times of 2.30-2.37.  On the mound, pitches from the stretch only, long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, showed the top fastball of the day at 69-71 mph, two-seamer shows some arm-side run, curveball sat 61-62 mph with 11/5 action, throws a very good changeup at 63-65 mph with good run and sink when he stays behind it, solid 2018 pitching prospect.

Aaron Sary, SS/C, Noe MS, 2018
5-foot-5, 130-pound 8^th grader, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good balance throughout swing, barreled up the ball consistently in his round and displayed the ability to make hard contact to all fields, solid young left-handed hitter, ran 8.77 60 yard dash, 67 mph tee exit velocity.  As a catcher, shows good receiving skills, gains ground on throws, 64 mph arm from the crouch with pop times of 2.40-2.53, room to improve pop times with added arm strength and quicker glove to hand exchange.  As an infielder, shows soft hands and plays through the ball well, has a quick exchange with short arm action across the infield at 65 mph.