Prep Baseball Report

Underclass Trials: Catcher Analysis


Trey Sofio
Louisiana Scouting Director

The Underclass Trials took place on Sunday, May 20th, at St. Thomas Aquinas high school in Hammond, LA. The open event saw 84 underclass prospects from all across the state of Louisiana in attendance. We broke down the event from a statistical view in the Stats Breakdown, which you can find HERE.

To see the complete stats from the event, click HERE.

To see the quick hits article from the event, click HERE and HERE.

Today we will take a deeper look at the catchers in attendance.

Braden Corkern C / SS / West Feliciana, LA / 2021

Medium 5-foot-7, 145-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting wide balanced setup with loose rhythm as he works forward to back. Quick knee-to-knee load with short stride collapsing on backside. Rotational path with strength and uphill finish that produced an exit velocity 78 mph. Solid defender that showed athleticism with rhythm, fluid footwork and receptive hands. Behind plate showed athleticism in setup with loose, receptive hands. Fundamental footwork with short, quick arm stroke producing a positional velocity of 72 mph from crouched position and pop times ranging 2.05-2.19. Ran a 7.21 60-yard dash.

Colin Cure C / 3B / John Curtis Christian, LA / 2022

Medium 5-foot-9, 165-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting from tall, relaxed setup with looseness in hands. Smooth, simple rhythm working into balanced hitting position. Short, direct path with loose, uphill finish that produced an exit velocity 80 mph. Solid defender that gives good target out front and is high in setup. Clean midline exchange with directional footwork, working into short high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 68 mph and pop times ranging 2.07-2.18. Ran a 7.83 60-yard dash.

Benjamin David C / OF / Barbe, LA / 2020

Currently ranked No. 35 in Louisiana's 2020 class. Strong 5-foot-10, 175-pound frame with athletic build. Quality defender with soft hands, fluid footwork, and quick, clean exchanges. Short arm action into high-3/4 release with carry and accuracy on throws, posting a positional velocity of 76 mph and a pop time of 2.01-seconds. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced, athletic setup with smooth load, short stride, and quality balance. Line-drive, gap-to-gap approach with fluid rhythm, and simple, direct path to the baseball. Finds the barrel consistently with solid bat speed that posted an exit velocity of 82 mph. Also posted a 7.01 60-yard dash.

Logan Doody C / 2B / Northshore, LA / 2020

Currently ranked No. 25 in Louisiana's 2020 class. Medium 5-foot-7, 155-pound frame, athletic build with room to add strength. Advanced defender with wide base in setup, showing hip flexibility, soft hands with feel to catch, fluid footwork and quick, clean exchanges. Short arm action into high-3/4 release with accuracy and carry in throws producing a pop times ranging 2.04-2.18 seconds, and a 74 mph positional velocity. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced setup, hands starting slightly above shoulders, shifting weight from front to back in load, short stride and balance throughout the swing. Line-drive approach with solid rhythm, slightly uphill path and bat speed that produced exit velocity of 82 mph. Ran a 7.58 60-yard dash.

Noah Gaspard C / OF / Kaplan, LA / 2020

Currently ranked No. 25 in Louisiana's 2020 class. Medium 5-foot-7, 155-pound frame, athletic build with room to add strength. Advanced defender with wide base in setup, showing hip flexibility, soft hands with feel to catch, fluid footwork and quick, clean exchanges. Short arm action into high-3/4 release with accuracy and carry in throws producing a pop times ranging 2.04-2.18 seconds, and a 74 mph positional velocity. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced setup, hands starting slightly above shoulders, shifting weight from front to back in load, short stride and balance throughout the swing. Line-drive approach with solid rhythm, slightly uphill path and bat speed that produced exit velocity of 82 mph. Ran a 7.58 60-yard dash.

Jake Harvill C / 1B / Evangel Christian, LA / 2020

Strong 6-foot, 205-pound frame. Showed quality athleticism for his size posting a 7.15 60-yard dash. Right-handed hitter starting from wide, balanced setup with high hands. Simple leg lift rhythm, with short stride. Short, direct path with strength and bat speed, posting an 89 mph exit velocity. Solid defender that showed off high-level catch and throw skills with flexibility in hips and firm wrist receiving. Clean midline exchange with length working into short, quick high-3/4 release posting a 78 mph positional velocity as well as pop times ranging 1.87-2.01.

Kyle Landry C / 3B / Zachary , LA / 2020

Medium 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting from tall and stacked setup with high hands. Smooth, simple rhythm working into balanced hitting position as hands create separation. Short, flat path with inside/out approach and bat speed that produced an exit velocity 85 mph. Quality defender that displayed athleticism in setup with looseness in hips. Gave big target out front with soft hands receiving. Quick, clean midline exchange with fluid footwork, working into short, quick high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 75 mph pop time ranging 1.87-2.02. Showed athleticism running a 6.95 60-yard dash.

Derrek Lathon, Jr. C / 3B / University Lab, LA / 2020

Medium 5-foot-7, 180-pound frame with strong, developed build. Showed off quality athleticism posting a 7.21 60-yard dash. Quality defender that displayed flexibility in hips with quality catch and throw skills, quick, clean exchanges with fundamental footwork posting pop times ranging 1.94-2.11 and a positional velocity of 73 mph from crouched position. Right-handed hitter starts from a tall and open setup. Works closed with simple rhythm and short stride, creating separation with hands. Strong, compact stroke with quality bat speed posting an exit velocity of 84 mph.

Matthew Lee C / 3B / Catholic(BR), LA / 2020

Athletic 5-foot-11, 170-pounds with lean, wiry build, and room to add strength. Showed off high-level catch and throw skills with soft hands, fluid hips, and quick footwork. Posting a pop time ranging 1.88-2.01 seconds, he showed quick, clean exchanges, consistently getting the ball out of his glove quickly with accuracy and carry on throws to 2nd, posting a positional velocity of 74 mph. Ran a 7.47 60-yard dash. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced, athletic setup with smooth load, short stride, and quality balance. Leg kick load as hands work back into firing position. Line-drive/ground ball contact with fluid rhythm, and short path to the baseball, posted an exit velocity of 78 mph.

Matthew Linn C / St.Thomas Aquinas, LA / 2020

Currently ranked No. 61 in Louisiana's 2020 class. Medium 5-foot-8, 196-pound. Right-handed hitter starting from tall, relaxed setup with looseness in hands. Smooth, simple rhythm working into balanced hitting position. Short, direct path with loose, uphill finish that produced an exit velocity 80 mph. Solid defender that gives good target out front and is high in setup. Clean midline exchange with directional footwork, working into short high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 66 mph pop ranging 2.18-2.36. Ran a 7.68 60-yard dash.

Dale Martin III C / 3B / North Vermilion , LA / 2021

Long-limb 6-foot-1, 160-pound frame with room to continue to fill. Right-handed hitter starting from tall, open setup with high back elbow set. Simple rhythm working into balanced hitting position with long stride. Pull type approach with flat, rotational path producing an exit velocity 80 mph. Solid defender that gives good target out front and is high in setup. Clean exchanges with developing footwork, working into short high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 65 mph and pop times ranging 2.41-2.51. Ran a 7.18 60-yard dash.

Alex McElwee C / Sacred Heart of Ville Platte, LA / 2021

Athletic 5-foot-10, 155-pound frame with room for added strength. Right-handed hitter starting from open and relaxed setup with loose rhythm in hands. Smooth, simple rhythm with leg lift loading and short stride. Short, flat path through the zone with developing balance; produced an exit velocity 77 mph. Solid defender that gives good target out front with receptive hands and somewhat high in setup. Clean exchange with deliberate footwork, working into short, high-3/4 release with stiffness, posting a positional velocity of 76 mph and pop times ranging 2.04-2.09. Ran a 7.19 60-yard dash.

Kaipo Pascual C / 3B / Southside, LA / 2020

Medium 5-foot-7, 165-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting from tall, open setup and simple, loose rhythm in hands. Smooth load, short stride and balanced throughout swing. Loose, quick hands through the zone creating groundball/fly ball contact with uphill finish, recorded and exit velocity of 84 mph. Solid defender that works high in setup while giving big target. Receptive hands working into clean exchanges with inline footwork and short arm stroke producing a positional velocity of 70 mph from crouched position and pop times ranging 2.08-2.15 positional. Ran a 7.33 60-yard dash.

Ben Robichaux C / 3B / Notre Dame, LA / 2020

Medium 5-foot-11, 197-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting from tall and stacked with bat waggle rhythm. Smooth, leg lift loading with short stride. Rotational path with length into uphill finish that produced an exit velocity 78 mph. Solid defender that gives target out front and is high in setup. Clean, slow exchange with deliberate footwork, working into short high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 75 mph pop ranging 2.08-2.19. Ran a 7.82 60-yard dash.

Cade Tramuta C / 3B / Destrehan, LA / 2020

Medium 5-foot-10, 145-pound frame. Right-handed hitter starting from open, relaxed setup with looseness in hands. Simple rhythm with toe tap working closed with a short stride. Loose stroke with uphill finish creating ground-ball/line-drive contact and an exit velocity of 75 mph. Solid defender that gives good target out front and is high in setup. Clean, lengthy midline exchange with directional footwork, working into short high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 69 mph and pop times ranging 2.17-2.25. Ran an 8.04 60-yard dash.

Dakota Wilson C / 3B / Walker, LA / 2020

Hulky, strong 5-foot-11, 207-pound frame. Right-handed hitter that hits from tall, open, balanced setup, loading with leg lift and short stride. Gap-to-gap type approach with slight uphill path, smooth rhythm and solid bat speed, produced an exit velocity 86 mph. Quality defender that gives good target out front with stiffness in setup. Clean midline exchange with fluid footwork, working into long arm stroke and high-3/4 release posting a positional velocity of 69 mph pop ranging 2.12-2.31. Ran a 7.41 60-yard dash.

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