PBR Scout Day: 5 Star Baseball - Catchers

Athletic receiver with a strong arm and quick release.  Athleticism packed into a 5-foot-9, 160 pound frame.  Pop times ranged 1.95 - 2.17 with some accuracy.  Arm carry and velocity from a short stroke and high-¾ slot, topping at 79 out of the crouch.  In the bullpen, handled pitchers well, presenting an easy target.  Hands worked to received with softness.  Ran a 7.22 sixty. Right handed hitter works with aggression, showing rhythm and a feel for the barrel.  Balanced and athletic, loads back with the hands, using a short stride.  Good approach, working level through the zone, wanting extension.  Stayed gap-to-gap.  Can improve strength and carry off the barrel.  Exit velocity touched 80.

Young catcher with solid tools behind the plate.  Flashed pop times ranging 2.03 - 2.22 with a short, over-the-top slot.  Average carry with the arm speed measuring 72mph from his stance.  Tends to receive high, especially in an aggressive stance.  Hands have some stiffness in them while receiving and the hips lack some activity to help the hands work.  Left handed hitter stands 5-foot-10, 145 pounds and ran a 7.73 sixty and registered an exit velocity of 77 off the barrel.  Stays on the backside using uphill leverage to stay gap-to-gap.  A little stiffness in the swing to set the swing plane.  Works from a tall stance, using a leg kick to load the backside.  Bat drags at times as the weight stays behind the swing.

An average build at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds produces an accurate arm with pop times ranging 2.17 - 2.47.  Low exchanges did not always allow the arm to load, minimizing some carry and allowing the positional velocity to top at 69mph.  Short arm swing works to a high-¾ slot.  Good feel for the body, to be accurate from some different timings with the hands and feet.  Right handed hitter has an athletic stance, loading back and inside with the hands, and using a leg kick to trigger a short stride.  Bat works level through the swing plane, staying gap-to-gap with the approach.  Good, fluid rhythm in the setup, sweeping the bat at times with average bat speed.  Exit velocity topped at 78mph.  Ran a 7.36 sixty.

Strength in an average frame, listed at 6-foot, 180 pounds.  Produced an exit velocity of 86mph from the right handed swing.  Tall stance works with waggle in the bat head as the hands trigger the barrel to a vertical slot.   Launch position was inconsistent, causing some issues with barrel awareness at contact.  Wants extension, looking to create power to the pull side.  Some stiffness as the swing works with average bat speed.  Strength over quickness in the swing.  From behind the plate, pop times ranged 2.12 - 2.35 with accuracy.  Throws tended to fade as they approached the bag.  Positional velocity topped at 69mph from the crouch.  Tends to receive a little high but presented “want to” with pitchers making him a target pitchers trusted.  Ran a 7.93 sixty.

Strength over quickness in an athletic 6-foot, 205 pound frame.  Switch hitter showing some pop from both sides of the plate with a swing geared to create leverage, driving balls to the pull side, from both sides.  From the left side there is better barrel awareness, working from a balanced setup and a ‘C’ load rhythm with the hands.  Works open to even with his stride, staying on the backside as better than average bat speed works through the ball, producing a lot of pull side action.  On the right side, a similar setup but the barrel tends to wrap around the head, producing a little more length in the swing.  Still pull oriented with his contact.  Best exit velocity produced on the day was 85 mph.  Chance to develop into an elite arm in the 2019 class, posting pop times of 2.00 - 2.10, with a positional velocity of 81 from the crouch.  Very consistent with the release, carry, and accuracy.  Short arm stroke to an over-the-top slot, from a very easy and consistent transfer.  Receives with ease, taking control of the bullpen.  Athletic in the hips, moves easy and presents received balls well.