By Jeff Markle
Assistant State Director

The Prep Baseball Report’s Denver Metro Prospect ID took place Tuesday June 23rd at Grandview High School. 25 prospects completed a pro-style workout for the PBR Colorado's Scouting Staff, several of whom are new to the staff.

Over the course of this week we will break down the performances of the prospects by position.  Continuing our look is the catching position.

Catcher Analysis: Best of the Best:

Tyson Hays, 2017, Grandview High School, C/3B
Hays was one of the top catching prospect at the event. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect ran a 7.63 60-yard dash and showcased an 88 mph bat exit velocity. Hays has a strong lower half to his swing and creates good barrel whip leading to the ball jumping off his bat when he squares the baseball. He displayed pop times of 1.97 and 2.00 on throws of 73 mph out of the crouch. Hays showed solid receiving during his bullpen sessions.

Mason Speirs, 2017, Broomfield High School, C/RHP
Speirs was one of the top athletes at the event. He showcased himself at three positions and stood out both behind the plate and on the mound.  Speirs hits from a slightly open stance with a toe tap for timing, his bat stays in the zone for a long period of time and produces an exit velocity of 83 mph.  Behind the plate he shows soft hands that receives pitches well and a quick transfer that produced a 1.94 pop time with a 79 mph arm.  On the mound he has good drive to the plate and was 80-82 on his fastball.  A 67-68 mph curve and 68-70 mph change round out his pitches.

Best of the Rest Listed Alphabetically

Jarod Graham, 2016, Grandview High School, C/OF
The 5-foot-7, 135-pound prospect ran a 7.59 60-yard dash and used a 74 mph bat exit velocity to square the baseball consistently in his round of batting practice. Graham utilized a short swing path and hits from a balanced stance.  During the swing he transfers to his backside and stays there through contact. Defensively he showcased pop times of 2.03 and 2.09 on throws of 69 mph out of the crouch.

Noah Kuzma, 2018, Valor Christian, C/3B
Kuzma is a 5-foot-10, 185-pound sophomore catcher who showcased 2.03-2.05 pop times on throws of 73 mph out of the crouch. He ran a 7.56 60-yard dash and displayed a 74 mph bat exit velocity. Kuzma had a solid round of batting practice, squaring the baseball consistently to left field.  He hits from a balanced stance that begins with a hard load, solid weight transfer at contact with a slight upward path through the hitting zone.

 

Derek Schroeder, 2018, Grandview High School, C/RHP
5-foot-11, 170-pound, sophomore uses an open stance with high leg kick to produce a 74 mph exit velocity.  Behind the plate he received the ball well and has a quiet lower half.  His pop-times were 2.34 – 2.36 with an arm velocity of 65 mph.  On the mound he throws from the same arm slot as behind the plate.  His fastball was 66-68 mph with good command of the outer half.  He rounds out his pitches with a 57 mph curve and 61-63 mph change.