DFW Top Prospects Showcase: Catching Analysis
August 6, 2018
PLANO, TX - Here is the catching analysis from the DFW Top Prospects Showcase.
CATCHERS
Luke Stine, 3B/C, Lovejoy HS, 2019
Very strong 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame. Stine is built like a brick-house, but has athletic fast-twitch actions in his body. At the plate, he drove balls during BP from the right side with bat speed (91 mph exit velo off the tee), he showed power to all parts of the field and had impressive control of his body with fluid movements throughout his swing. His BP round was loud with balls jumping from his barrel off the wall to the left-center wall. He starts in an athletic stance, has a small toe tap back with his front foot in his load and has a long linear stride, has simple rhythm in his hands with a powerful compact stroke, and has a long finish through the hitting zone. From behind the plate, he has a quick exchange with quick feet, leading to a quick release; kept the ball low around the bag (80 mph) and pop times ranged from 2.01-2.26. He also flashed a live arm from the infield, with carry and accuracy at 82 mph. Stine was a standout for Lovejoy High School, and will be a strong presence in the middle of the lineup at the next level.
Kolsen Powers, C, Liberty Christian HS, 2019
Strong and muscular frame at 6-foot-3, 215-pounds. Powers showed power to both gaps in batting practice and pounded a 92 mph exit velo off the tee. Powers hits from an athletic stance, has rhythm in his hands and body before and during the load and his smooth small leg kick, and has loose and quick hands with strength at the point of contact. Powers has a smooth powerful load, and lifts his back foot to trigger his load, and to feel the weight on the inside of his back foot, stays behind the ball well with his body, and has barrel control through the zone with a smooth finish above shoulder-level with his hands. The ball jumps off his bat with easy effort. From behind the plate, he has quick and powerful footwork in direction to second base, made accurate throws on the bag with pop times ranging from 2.08-2.22 seconds and 75 mph arm strength. He has quiet body and glove actions behind the plate and handled pitchers well both receiving and blocking. He ran a 7.43 laser-timed 60. Powers has a high ceiling with the combination of his strength, ability to handle the bat, catch and throw, and his solid actions behind the dish.
Athletic 6-0, 170-pound frame. McMahan received well in the bullpen sessions showing quiet glove actions while receiving and stuck the ball well in the zone. He showed hip mobility in his blocking and receiving, and came out of his stance with athleticism while throwing, blocking, and making a play on a bunt. He flashed carry on his throws topping out at 77 mph, and his pop times ranged from 2.04-2.15 seconds. He made hard contact in BP with an early load out of an athletic stance at the plate. He has his hands high, and loads them higher during the load/stride phase of his swing. He swings with intent to drive the baseball, and he has a high finish in his swing, which creates some natural lift and carry to balls off his barrel. He hit the ball hard from line to line, and shows true gap to gap extra-base hit power potential. McMahan’s work ethic showed in how he approached the handling of live pitchers during the bullpen sessions, as he worked hard to present balls well and to shift and block balls outside of his frame. High energy catcher with upside. McMahan ran a 7.62 laser-timed 60.
Koby Ketcher, C/OF, Legacy Christian HS, 2019
Strong 6-0, 180-pound athletic frame. At the plate he has a smooth load with a leg kick where he brings his knee back to his midline before striding. He has a compact swing with minimal head movement, works behind the ball well with his body to create the space for his barrel to get on plane, and he gets extension through the hitting zone with his barrel. He has easy effort in his swing, and the ball jumps off his barrel with gap to gap pop; 87 mph exit velo. Ketcher ran a 7.18 laser-timed 60, and that athleticism transferred behind the plate while blocking and coming out of his stance on a bunt play. Ketcher has quick feet behind the plate, posted pop times of 2.14-2.26, and was accurate with balls in the tag zone at second base; top velo from C was 73 mph. From the outfield he had fluid movements and topped out at 80 mph, making low and accurate throws through the cutoff man.
Carson Gordon, C/3B, Frenship HS, 2019
Big frame with strength, 6-foot-3, 195-pound. Gordon showed some pop at the plate by posting an 87 mph exit velo off the tee and by driving balls to left field in BP. Simple compact swing from the right side, and has strength throughout his swing. He starts from an open stance, has a long stride reach with the front foot, and leaves his hands back over his back foot to get a ton of separation and generate some power. In the infield he made accurate throws from different arm angles, and he topped out at 75 mph across the diamond. Quiet glove and body actions behind the plate, blocked well during the live bullpen sessions. His pop times ranged from 2.34-2.44 with 70 mph arm strength. He ran a 7.50 laser-timed 60.
Nicholas Young, C/1B, The Colony HS, 2019
5-foot-11, 195-pound frame. Young is a switch hitting catcher with a compact swing from both sides of the plate. From the left-side he has early rhythm with his load and stride, he loads back over his back foot with his body and his hands to work behind the baseball, has a crouched set up in the box, and made hard contact to right field taking aggressive swings. From the right side he had similar actions with early rhythm in his load and stride, was strong at the point of contact and flashed gap power to the left-center gap in BP. Young works in-line to second base with his feet from behind the plate, and made throws on line around the bag. His pop times ranged from 2.25-2.37 with 71 mph velocity. Young ran a 7.92 laser-timed 60.
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