By Toby Bicknell
Texas Scouting Director

Follow us on Twitter: @PBR_Texas

On Monday, January 16, Prep Baseball Report and its staff converged on Lamar University in Beaumont to evaluate players from all over the states of Texas and Louisiana in the first annual I-10 Border Battle. The day began with each player going through a full pro-style workout, then continued with a game between Team Texas and Team Louisiana. The PBR staff was able to record stats and video on each player in attendance. PBR will continue to work to be the #1 news source for all of high school baseball across Texas. Continue to check back for updated reports, video, and events.

Below is a complete breakdown of all catchers. Each player has an updated profile with stats, a player write-up, and video from the event.

catchers

+ Nathaniel Davis, C, Klein HS, 2019
6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. The right-handed hitter starts from an tall, athletic stance with a flat bat in a relaxed position on his shoulder. Shows some rhythm with an early toe-tap to load.  Creates good leverage with his back leg as he transfers his weight through contact and has good lift in his swing that created good power to the pull side during batting practice. Registered an exit velocity of 87 mph. Defensively, Davis flashed consistent pop times of 2.03-2.1, throwing 71 mph to second base. He ran a 7.92 60-yard dash.

+ Mario Castillo, C/2B, South Houston HS, 2018
5-foot-7, 170-pound, strong frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, narrow stance with quiet rhythm. Rocks back slightly to start his load with his hands moving down and back. Castillo creates good leverage with a leg-kick, lands balanced with his hands back, firing his lower half with good energy. Hand path is on-plane with slight lift to produce a gap-to-gap line drives during batting practice and an exit velocity of 81 mph off a tee. Behind the plate, Castillo shows smooth footwork clean exchanges and rhythm on his throws to second base. His pop times ranged from 2.01-2.1 with accuracy at 72 mph. On the infield, the second baseman shows average footwork with good glove action and clean exchanges. Throws from a high-¾ slot across the diamond at 76 mph.Ran a 7.97 60-yard dash.

+ Jared Harris, C/SS, Klein HS, 2019
5-foot-8, 140-pound, athletic, still-developing frame. Behind the plate, Harris received with advanced feel during the game showing the ability to handle velocity in the strike zone. Harris has solid fundamental footwork and clean exchanges throwing to second base with a clean, elbow dominated arm action. His pop times ranged from 2.15-2.2 with a velocity of 68 mph. At shortstop, Harris has solid footwork and rhythm through the ball. He shows good hip mobility and the ability to play low with good glove action out in front, transitioning with clean exchanges and footwork into his throwing motion at 70 mph. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from an athletic, neutral stance with rhythm and continues into a simple load, shifting his weight and hands back, then a short stride to land with good energy. Makes a natural transition into his launch position, firing his back leg to slot a flat hand path that releases the barrel through contact with a loose finish. Registered an exit velocity of 69 mph. Ran an 8.16 60-yard dash. Although a young sophomore, with added strength, look for Harris to make jumps as his fundamentals are solid.

+ Justin Smith, C/3B, Hardin-Jefferson HS, 2019
5-foot-10, 170-pound frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a balanced, neutral set-up and relaxed hands. Starts his swing with a simple load and short stride with smooth rhythm. Level hand path produced line drives during batting practice with an exit velo of 81 mph. Behind the plate, Smith exhibits soft hands, fluid footwork and clean exchange on his throws to second base. His pop times ranged from 2.1-2.15 seconds at 65 mph. Ran an 8.02 60-yard dash. On the infield, Smith has soft hands with and good glove skills with average footwork. Clean exchanges on both routine plays and plays on the run to throw 72 mph across the infield.

>>CLICK HERE for the complete STAT SHEET

>>CLICK HERE for the complete ROSTER

recent news