Prep Baseball Report

Top Prospect Games: Catching Analysis


Ronald Sims
Mississippi Scouting Director

The Top Prospect Games of Mississippi took place on Saturday, July 17th, at Smith-Wills Stadium, in Jackson, MS. The open event saw prospects from across the state of Mississippi perform in front of several college coaches, and the Prep Baseball Report Mississippi scouting staff.

Today, the Prep Baseball Report Mississippi scouting staff takes a deeper look at catching performances from the July event.

M. Hayden Graves, C, Ethel, 2021
Medium 5-foot-8, 140-pound frame, athletic build with room to add strength. Defensively worked with wide base in setup, showing hip flexibility, soft hands with soft hands receiving. Long, slowed exchange into short arm action and high-3/4 release, producing a pop times ranging 2.13-2.15 seconds, and a 71 mph positional velocity. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced setup, hands starting from shoulder height, abrupt leg lift loading with short stride. Loose stroke with slightly uphill path that produced exit velocity of 78 mph. Ran a 7.28 60-yard dash.

Braxton Thoms, C, Brandon, 2021
Medium 5-foot-5, 165-pound frame, athletic build and proportional strength. Defensively was high in setup presenting large target out front, directional footwork and made clean midline exchanges. Short arm action into high-3/4 release producing a pop times ranging 2.20-2.37 seconds, and a 67 mph positional velocity. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced and open setup, hands starting slightly above shoulders, shifting weight from front to back in loading as he strides closed. Rotational, direct, flat path to the ball slightly cutting swing off in finish, producing exit velocity of 73 mph. Ran a 7.72 60-yard dash.

Grady Lucas, C, Columbia, 2019
Medium 5-foot-8, 160-pound frame. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced setup, hands starting at shoulder height with loose rhythm. Pronounced leg lift loading, lands slightly open with balance. Loose whippy flat path and bat speed that produced exit velocity of 87 mph. Behind plate gave good target out front while high in initial setup, made clean midline exchanges with directional footwork to second base. Short arm action into high-3/4 release producing a pop times ranging 2.17-2.29 seconds, and a 74 mph positional velocity. In outfield worked through balls with rhythm and direction towards infield, making clean exchange into short high-3/4 release that produced a positional velocity of 79 mph. Ran a 7.37 60-yard dash.

Caleb Sterling, C, Warren Central, 2019
Athletic 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame with room for added strength. Left-handed hitter controlled the barrel well at the plate, making solid contact during BP driving balls to the outfield gaps; posted 90 mph exit velo off the tee.  Hits from an athletic stance, has a smooth load back and a low hanging leg kick where he maintains excellent balance, controls his weight-shift which keeps his head and eyes quiet throughout the swing, and has a quick hands that are level through the zone. Ran a 7.25 60-yard dash. His quick feet translate behind the plate where he is quick out of his stance to throw and has a quick release; posted pop times in the range of 1.79-1.97 seconds with 81 mph velocity.

Chase Honeycutt, C, DeSoto Central, 2020
Athletic 5-foot-11, 180-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 1.82-1.95 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 76 mph. Ran a 7.41 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 85 mph.

Zachary Griffith, C, Mize, 2020
6-foot-2, 178-pound frame. The right-handed hitter has loose hands at the plate, that work in sequence with a smooth leg kick. Athletic and tall lower half transfer as his hands work on a uphill path through the zone with a top exit velocity of 80 mph with a loose finish. Quick footwork and clean arm swing on throws to second base with a top velocity from the crouch of 74 mph and pop times ranging from 1.85-2.01. Ran a 7.22 60-yard dash.

Alex Frillman, C, DeSoto Central, 2019
Long-limb 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame with athletic build and room to add strength. 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. Showed a loose stroke with gap power posted an exit velocity of 84 mph. Turned around a 91 mph fastball during game play, recording a stand up double. Defensively displayed quality actions behind plate making accurate throws to second base, posting a top velocity of 75 mph and pop times of 1.95-2.01. Ran a 7.51 60-yard dash.

Colin Frederickson, C, St. Stanislaus, 2019
6-foot, 190-pounds, with a strong, muscular frame. The left-handed hitter took solid round of batting practice, making hard contact. Starting from a wide, slightly open stance, he triggers his hands back with a smooth load, then strides forward, landing balanced and square. Simple strength with a short, clean handpath, he posted a top exit velocity of 86 mph. Behind the plate has good mobility in his lower half, stays low with a clean exchange, directional footwork. Short arm stroke with a top velocity from the crouch of 74 mph, and pop times of 1.97-2.15. Posted 7.61 60-yard dash.

Tyler Harper, C, Northeast Jones, 2019
Hulky 5-foot-10, 195-pound frame. Right-handed hitter that hits from balanced setup, hands starting at shoulder height with loose rhythm. Subtle shift of weight loading, with short stride and balance. Aggressive swing with a flat rotational path and bat speed that produced exit velocity of 83 mph. Behind plate gave good target out front with looseness in hip, made clean midline exchanges with directional footwork to second base. Short arm action into high-3/4 release producing a pop times ranging 1.81-2.01 seconds, and a 75 mph positional velocity. Ran a 7.81 60-yard dash.

Gates Pee, C, Clinton, 2019
Medium 6-foot, 195-pound frame, athletic build with room to add strength. Defensively showed fluid footwork in direction to second base, made accurate throws on the bag with pop times ranging from 1.89-2.04 seconds and 70 mph arm strength. He has quiet body and glove actions behind the plate and handled pitchers well receiving. Right-handed hitter starts in an athletic stance, has a small leg lift load and has a short stride, has simple rhythm in his hands with a direct stroke, and has a long finish through the hitting zone, producing exit velocity of 81 mph. Ran a 7.64 60-yard dash.

Graham Crawford, C, Sumrall, 2019
Medium 6-foot, 205-pound frame. Behind plate gave good target out front with looseness in hip, made clean midline exchanges with directional footwork to second base. Short arm action into high-3/4 release producing a pop times ranging 1.86-2.05 seconds, and a 74 mph positional velocity. Switch hitter that hits from athletic, balanced setup, with short stride and solid balance. Gap to gap type approach with slight uphill path, loose stroke and strength to pull side, producing an exit velocity of 88 mph. Ran a 7.43 60-yard dash. Ran a 7.12 60-yard dash. 

Sam Suggs, C, Magnolia Heights, 2019
Physical 6-foot-1, 215-pound frame with present strength in build. Behind the plate displayed athleticism with flexibility in hips. Presents target well with average hands receiving, fundamental footwork and clean, midline exchanges. Throws from a short, high-3/4 slot with accuracy and pop times ranging 1.95-2.05, and 74 mph from the crouch. Right-handed hitter works from tall neutral setup and quite approach. Very subtle shift of weight as hands work backwards into hitting position. Solid lower half use with an aggressive uphill path that produced an exit velocity of 87 mph. Ran a 7.59 60-yard dash.

John Cartwright, C, Madison-Ridgeland Ac. 2019
Physically developed 6-foot-2, 240-pound frame with strong build. The left-handed hitter starts from a tall and athletic setup with smooth, simple load and direct path, producing line-drive contact with strength to the pull side posting a 89 mph exit velocity. Defensively he showed solid catch and throw skills with stiffness in setup, posting pop times ranging 1.87-2.12 seconds and a positional velocity of 71 mph. Ran a 7.44 60-yard dash.