Griffen
Sotomayor

Washington State commit; Powerful in all aspects of the game, showed a leadership presence as he worked with different pitchers throughout the day. Confident field presence. Powerfully put together at 6-foot-0, 190-pounds, chiseled muscularity on the frame.

60 yd: Even with a big frame, he impressed in his 60-yard dash. Came out of the start quick and with good motions, while pushing hard from start to finish.

Catching: With a wide and balanced setup, he gave pitchers a big target to throw to.  His receiving was soft and transition was flawless, making glove to hand quick. Footwork was quick and lined up directional to second base with ease. His throwing was plus with accuracy. Even the first two throw downs that one-hopped skipped right into the second baseman's glove. A 1.93-2.09 pop time was solid and consistent.

Hitting With a wide and balanced stance, the hips stack on top of the knees and stay inside the feet throughout the swing. Uses this wide stance to see the ball all the way through the zone and attack on each swing. A slight leg kick allows the hands to stay in that good hitting position to attack balls at all levels of the zone. In a smooth, quiet motion, the barrel gets on path early and stays there through the ball. With each swing, the back side came through, and he’s able to drive the baseball to all fields. As he finishes, the balance that he started with was maintained.

Summary: Overall he showed very well, and it was hard to pick out just one thing that stood out. He hit to all fields and was a plus defensive catcher on top of solid running times, tools with skill, and what appears to be exceptional make-up, he’s a nice package for the college game and possesses talent and attributes to draw pro interest next spring.

Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 6-0, 195-pounds. Thick and powerful, present strength throughout.
Hit: RHH. Wide feet, barrel relaxed over shoulder, slight crouch, balanced set-up, slight lift to small stride, short quick trigger, generates bat speed easily. Quiet yet violent, controls barrel w/life throughout the swing, generates power w/out over swinging; 21.6 max rotational acceleration (18.58 avg), 59% on plane efficiency, 81% LDs/fly balls.
Power: 96 mph exit velocity in live BP via TrackMan. 21.4 max hand speed, 73.8 max bat speed (67.4 avg).
Arm: RH. C - 78 mph. Strong arm with tailing action and inconsistent carry, the raw arm is present to develop above avg C/T skills.
Defense: 1.96-2.01 pop times. Lower body and arm were out of sync in C/T display, athletically bounced out of squat, wide base as receiver w/agility, strong soft hands, swallows up the pitch w/excellent presentation.
Run: 7.25 runner in the 60.

NorCal Preseason All State - After bursting onto our radars at the Top Prospects game in the Fall, Sotomayor did nothing to take away from his high ceiling during the Preseason All-State. Sotomayor has kept shaping his young frame and that has allowed him to decrease his 60 time while also improving his arm strength; the added athleticism carries over with his receiving/blocking. At the plate the even hands stay tight with quick turns allowing the barrel to adjust to locations and giving him the ability to whip the top hand through contact; the compact barrel is quick and able to drive balls through the pullside. During defense he was landing on the plate early, but made an adjustment keeping throws right on the bag for infielders to make plays. I lost count, but it seemed like he was constantly behind the plate for bullpens working hard for pitchers and using his strong glove actions to catch some of the higher velocity arms on the day. Add in his double-plus makeup and you’ve got a young player coaches are going to want to see.

PBR N CA Top Prospect Game - A major standout performer at the event, tools matched up with plus personality and game knowledge at a young age flashing a high ceiling. Wide sloping shoulders, broad upper body and well-proportioned at 6-foot-0 180-pounds. Slow load allows the direct hands to flash above-average bat speed (87 mph exit velo off tee) creating easy lift to the gaps and flashing pull pop during BP; 3 Quality AB’s drawing a walk and single with a hard line out to deep CF as he was consistently on pitches in the game. Defense was also stellar with advanced transition and strength in the arm (75 mph; 1.93-2.09 Pop). Receiving, blocking and game calling were all on display during the game, consistently working with pitchers in and out of the dugout. Type of personality found on contending type teams.