Preseason All-State Central: Catcher Breakdown

April 20, 2021
John Nolan
Virginia Scouting Director & Managing Editor

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In mid March, over 120 players from all corners of Virginia descended on RockIt Sports in Richmond, Virginia for the PreSeason All-State Showcase Central. We continue our detailed breakdown of the event with the primary catchers:

***Position players will be featured at their listed primary position***

Gabriel Alexander C / OF / Woodrow Wilson , VA / 2023

Alexander is 5-9 with an athletic 175 pound frame that has strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a balanced athletic stance, two step stride on line, smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, goes straight to the ball, uphill swing path, strong at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working gap to gap, extra base power present in the alleys, exit velocity was 87. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 75 and pop times 1.98-2.14. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with a knee down, tracks down to up receiving. Ran a 7.48 60 yard dash.

Cooper Angilly C / 1B / Cape Henry Collegiate, VA / 2023

Angilly is 6-0 with a lankier athletic 185 pound frame that has some strength present and projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a s,ightly open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working gap to gap, extra base power present in the alleys with some more to pull side, exit velocity was 91. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a low three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 75 and pop times 1.98-2.08. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, changes stances, showed a bit of sway, reaches out to get ball and present strike. Showed versatility working out in the infield as well. Ran a 7.58 60 yard dash.

Tony Benitez C / RHP / Trinity Episcopal, VA / 2024

Benitez is 5-9 with a 170 pound athletic frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, leg kick stride on line, smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, extra base power present in the alleys with some more to his pull side, exit velocity was 90. Behind the plate, gains ground during exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 68 and pop times 2.20-2.45. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with knee down, works down to up and sways body behind ball. Ran a 7.56 60 yard dash.

Dominick Cafferillo C / OF / Charlottesville, VA / 2024

Cafferillo is 6-1 with a 165 pound lankier athletic frame that has plenty of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, smooth load back. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, quick to the ball, uphill swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, some extra base power present with more to come in the future, exit velocity was 89. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short loose arm action, position velocity was 71 and pop times 2.03-2.14. Receiving, works with knee down, sways body behind ball, quick soft hands. Ran a 7.59 60 yard dash.

Angel "Coco" Calderon C / 3B / Albergue Olimpico Baseball Academy, PR / 2024

Calderon is 5-10 with a compact athletic 168 pound frame that has strength present. He is a switch hitter, from the right side hits from a tall open relaxed stance, low leg kick stride on line, smooth load back to a wrap. Hips rotate completely and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some strength at contact, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap. From the left side, hits from a taller slightly open balanced stance, low leg kick stride on line, smooth load back to a wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact and some extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap. Best exit velocity was 78. Behind the plate, gains ground during exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 63 and pop times 2.28-2.47. Receiving, works with knee down, shows some sway.

Micah Canterbury C / 1B / Buffalo Gap, VA / 2023

Canterbury is 6-2 with a strong physical 205 pound frame with some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, short smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short and quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some whip in his bat, strong at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, power is present to all fields with still more to come, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short loose arm action, position velocity was 76 and pop times 1.98-2.11. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works mostly with a knee down, shows some sway, firm receiver.

Kaegan Costa C / 3B / Monticello, VA / 2022

Costa is 5-11 with an athletic 195 pound frame with some strength in the lower half and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, minimal load and has a slight wrap. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill line drive swing path, strong at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, extra base power present in the middle of the field, exit velocity was 89. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 68 and pop times 2.08-2.27. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works from a wider stance, shows some sway.

Clark Driscoll C / RHP / Clover Hill , VA / 2022

Driscoll is a VMI commit and is 5-8 with a strong compact athletic 170 pound frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short and quick to the ball, uphill swing path, strong at contact with extension through the ball, generates natural loft, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, extra base power present to all fields, exit velocity was 90. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short quick arm action, position velocity was 77 and pop times 1.99-2.07. Receiving, works with a knee down, shows some sway and soft hands. Showed versatility working out in the infield. Ran a 7.36 60 yard dash.

Charlie Felmlee C / 1B / Virginia Episcopal, VA / 2023

Felmlee is 5-11 with an athletic 185 pound frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short load down and back. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some extension through the ball, showed a good approach working gap to gap, extra base power present in the alleys with room to add more as he adds strength, exit velocity was 91. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 74 and pop times 2.00-2.16. Showed accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with a knee down, shows some sway receiving the ball. Ran a 7.52 60 yard dash.

Braydon Kelman C / 3B / Loudoun County , VA / 2023

Kelman is 5-9 with a compact athletic 165 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, short smooth load down and back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, quick to the ball, uphill swing path, strong at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, swing generates a lot of natural loft, extra base power present to his pull side, exit velocity was 89. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short quick arm action, position velocity was 76 and pop times 1.98-2.07. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works from various set-ups, shows sway receiving the ball.

Seth Lahocki C / RHP / Deep Run, VA / 2022

Lahocki is 6-2 with a lankier athletic 187 pound frame that has a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working gap to gap, swing generates some natural loft, extra base power present to all fields, exit velocity was 91. Behind the plate, gains ground during exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 72 and pop times 2.18-2.39. Receiving, works from a crouch and gets into a good deep stance. Ran a 7.59 60 yard dash.

Benjamin Langsam C / OF / Yorktown , VA / 2022

Langsam is 6-0 with a lankier athletic 175 pound frame that has a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working gap to gap, extra base power present in the alleys, exit velocity was 92. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 72 and pop times 2.10-2.24. Receiving, works with a knee down and showed some body sway. Ran a 7.55 60 yard dash.

Nicholas McCray C / Hermitage , VA / 2022

McCray is 5-11 with a lanky athletic 170 pound frame that has a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the left side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, big leg kick stride on line, short smooth load back. Hips rotate completely and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, showed some pull side power with the chance to grow into more, exit velocity was 86. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 71 and pop times 2.12-2.28. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with a wide stance and holds strikes. Ran a 7.47 60 yard dash.

Sean Pokorak C / OF / Forest Park, VA / 2022

Pokorak is 6-1 with an athletic 195 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, short stride on line, short smooth load back. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, swing generates some loft, power is present to all fields, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 74 and pop times 2.02-2.14. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with a knee down from a low wide stance, good hands, drops into block easily. Ran a 7.30 60 yard dash.

Owen Prince C / OF / Lord Botetourt, VA / 2022

Prince is 5-9 with an athletic 150 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the left side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short and quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, extra base power present with more to come, exit velocity was 90. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short loose arm action, position velocity was 74 and pop times 2.01-2.15. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works with a knee down and shows some sway. Showed versatility working out from the outfield as well. Ran a 7.07 60 yard dash.

Jagen Ratlief C / RHP / Benedictine, VA / 2023

Ratlief is 6-0 with a lankier athletic 190 pound frame that has a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, showed a pull approach, potential to grow into some power, exit velocity was 85. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a low three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 75 and pop times 2.06-2.19. Receiving, works with a crouch and shows some sway. Ran a 7.33 60 yard dash.

Cameron Slough C / 3B / Glen Allen, VA / 2023

Slough is 5-11 with an athletic 175 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, short load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short and quick to the ball, uphill line drive swing path, strong at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, swing generates loft and carry, power present to all fields, exit velocity was 95. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short loose arm action, position velocity was 75 and pop times 2.00-2.09. Receiving, works from multiple stances, shows some sway.

Conner Spears C / 1B / Thomas Dale, VA / 2023

Spears is 6-3 with a lankier athletic 195 pound frame that has a lot of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a taller slightly open balanced relaxed stance, low leg kick stride on line, short smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some strength at contact, showed a pull approach, swing generates loft to pull side and power is present that way, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short loose quick arm action, position velocity was 79 and pop times 2.00-2.09. Receiving, works from multiple stances, tracks ball down to up. Ran a 7.35 60 yard dash.

Caden Swartley C / OF / Turner Ashby, VA / 2023

Swartley is 5-11 with an athletic 180 pound frame that has some strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open balanced athletic stance, strides on line, smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, uphill swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, gap power is present to all fields, exit velocity was 91. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 69 and pop times 2.07-2.20. Receiving, works from a crouch, shows some sway.

Tanner Thomas C / 3B / Liberty Christian Academy, VA / 2022

Thomas is a Mount St. Mary's commit and is 5-11 with a compact athletic 190 pound frame that has some lower half strength present and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a balanced athletic stance, short stride on line, short smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, gap power is present to all fields with some more to pull side, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 71 and pop times 2.06-2.18. Showed some accuracy on his throws. Receiving, works from a crouch, goes to a knee as sways to track ball. Showed versatility working in the infield. Ran a 7.07 60 yard dash.

Seth Truesdale C / OF / Cosby, VA / 2024

Truesdale is 5-10 with an athletic 175 pound frame that has strength present in the lower half and some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, two tap stride on line, short smooth load back to a slight wrap. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains some lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, some power is present to his pull side, chance to add more as he develops, exit velocity was 87. Behind the plate, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 71 and pop times 2.08-2.19. Receiving, works from a with a knee down, showed some sway tracking ball. Showed versatility working in the outfield. Ran a 7.54 60 yard dash.

Marsden Zajac C / OF / Colgan, VA / 2023

Zajac is 5-10 with a lankier athletic 165 pound frame that has plenty of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open balanced athletic stance, low leg kick stride on line, short smooth load back. Hips rotate completely with some violence and he maintains good lower half balance. Hands stay inside, short and quick to the ball, slightly uphill line drive swing path, some strength at contact with extension through the ball, showed a good approach working primarily gap to gap, gap power present to all fields with chance to add more as he fills out, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, quick clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short loose arm action, position velocity was 73 and pop times 2.03-2.17. Receiving, works mostly with a with a knee down, good hands receiving, shows sway tracking ball. Ran a 7.21 60 yard dash.