Collin
Roche

C Collin Roche (Nazareth) is another catcher to keep close tabs on from the event. A varsity starter since his sophomore season, Roche stands out behind the plate with clean, easy actions and a big arm that topped at 82 mph. His arm plays easy, accurate and with all kinds of carry to second base. Solid overall day; though the arm played really well from behind home. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound catcher showed easy bat strength in his right-handed swing launching his furthest batted ball 354 feet which easily led the event. Roche also recorded the third best average bat speed on the day at 69.9 mph.

Positional Profile: C/1B
Body: 6-2, 184-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Wide setup, small leg lift back, long stride. Stays direct to the ball, quick swing, works the pull-side of the field. 67.7 mph bat speed with 5 G’s of rotational acceleration.
Power: 98 max exit velocity, averaged 92.3 mph. 377’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 80 mph. 3/4 slot, loose/quick action.
Defense: 2.14-2.16 pop times. Squatted stance, twitchy mover, replace step footwork.
Run: 6.86 runner in the 60.

Uncommitted. Currently ranked No. 98 in the state. 6-foot-2, 182-pound frame with a high waist and a trim look. Natural defender behind the plate, soft hands work to present pitches around the zone with confidence, flexible hips, looks to work under the ball. Easy and fluid blocker, moves well out of the chute. Loose right-handed swing, easy operation that stays flat through the zone, finished the day with three doubles and two RBIs. High-ceiling backstop still on the market.

Uncommitted, currently ranked No. 145 in the state. Roche gave an upside look behind the plate on Saturday. He stood out with how strong and true his arm played behind the dish. He caught a runner trying to steal in the very first inning of the game who was caught in between 1st and 2nd; Roche tossed a seed down to the 2nd base bag which led to Nazareth tagging the runner out in a rundown. He showed athleticism and quickness out of the crouch as well, putting up pop-times in the 2.00-2.10 range. Roche also impressed with the bat from the right side. Batting out of the nine-spot, Roche has a balanced, slightly crouched setup with a short leg-kick trigger, swinging with a level path that can produce line drive contact. He finished the day 1-for-3 with an RBI, and will be a backstop to continue to follow in the state’s junior class.

Uncommitted. 6-foot-2, 180-pound, high-waisted, projectable, right-handed hitting catcher. Started behind the plate and hit in the seven-hole; finished 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and run scored. Knack for the barrel at the plate, was consistently on time, took quality at-bats throughout and uses the middle of the field. Grounded a single back up the middle in his first at-bat, drove a double to deep right-center in his third at-bat and lined a sacrifice fly to center field in his final at-bat. Steady receiver behind the plate, active blocker and works to present pitches. 

C Collin Roche (Nazareth) Roche took one of the more impressive round of defense from behind the plate; showing soft-hands and a quick/clean transfer, remaining in-line out of the crouch with directional footwork and reaching as low as 2.08 for his pop-time (T78 mph). He showed the ability to deaden the ball out front on blocks and hop out of the crouch with quickness and athleticism. The right-handed hitter has a direct swing with strong hands and creates leverage to the pull-side at times. Also, ran a 7.05 60, well above-average for his position and age.

Positional Profile: C/1B
Body: 6-2, 180-pounds. Lean, athletic build with room to fill out.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, quiet load and stride. Direct swing, strong hands, gap-to-gap approach.
Power: 91 max exit velocity, averaged 85 mph. 321’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 78 mph. Short arm action, operates from high 3/4 angle. Throws play with carry, flashed accuracy from behind the dish.
Defense: 2.08-2.14 pop times. Sure handed behind the plate. Low transfer, gets rid of the ball quickly. Gains ground on throws out of the crouch. Flashed soft blocking skills.
Run: 7.05 runner in the 60. 

Positional Profile: C/1B
Body: 6-1, 165-pounds. Athletic, high-waisted build with upside.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, quiet load and short stride. Quiet, balanced swing, stays flat through the hitting zone, easy effort and was consistently on the barrel throughout.
Power: 85 max exit velocity, averaged 74.8 mph. 230’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 73 mph. Comes out of the ear, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.21-2.39 pop times. Flexible receiver, presents pitches, clean and directional out of the crouch. Played with bounce and body control coming out of the crouch to field the bunt.
Run: 7.32 runner in the 60. 

Positional Profile: C/1B
Body: 6-0, 160-pounds. Long, lanky frame with upside.
Hit: RHH. Balanced setup, hands start back, toe-tap timing trigger.  Long and level bat path, pull-side approach. Flashed juice off the barrel to the pull-side gap when levers extended, more untapped juice as frame projects.
Power: 85.1 max exit velocity, averaged 80.5 mph. 299’ max distance.
Arm: RH. C - 72 mph. Short, over-the-top slot, put throws on the bag consistently.
Defense: 2.11 - 2.33 pop times. Soft, confident hands, works under the baseball and frames pitches around the zone. Feet work in-line out of the crouch.
Run: 7.63 runner in the 60.