Ben Lavery C / 1B / Shenendehowa, NY / 2019

Cevette's Quick Hit: Hails from the greater Albany area, attends the talent-rich Shenedehowa HS and after seeing Lavery indoors Feb. 22, I left with one simple phrase on my mind - "He's a guy". There's athleticism in the long frame, obvious juice in the bat, and in terms of catch-and-throw and factoring in his arm-strength, he's probably top three catching prospect in the state. He just entered the 2019 rankings at No. 67 which is great, but if the boxes keep getting checked off look for him to explode this summer. NYS Games could be a game changer for Ben.

Scouting Report: Lavery stands an impressive 6-foot-3, 210 pounds from a frame that can handle more physical strength gains. He ran a 4.39 home-to-first time showing off some signs of athleticism from the large framed backstop. At the plate, slightly crouched wide stance, on the pitch he uses a smooth load, powers to the ball with a slightly uphill barrel path, easy power projection especially to his pull side, 89 mph exit velocity. Defensively there is just a tons of tools to project on. Wide open large target, slightly offset as the pitch approaches, very quick transfer, back and fluid arm-action, releases from a high 3/4 slot with an impressive 80 mph arm-strength producing consistent 1.97 pop times. Currently enters the 2019 rankings in the top 65, but expect to see that ranking jump come summer.