Prep Baseball Report

Future Games Recap - Catchers


Prep Baseball Report Georgia
Staff



This past weekend the Prep Baseball Report Future Games were held at the LakePoint Sports Complex and States and scouts from all over the country invaded the facility, In what can only be described as the countries best uncommitted event.  With over 300 college scouts filtering through, this event has and continues to pay huge dividends for both scouts and players alike.  Today we focus on Team Georgia and the talented catcher group that represented the great state of Georgia.

 

Harry Ford C / OF / North Cobb, GA / 2021

The 5-foot-10, 180 pound Ford can only be described as dynamic behind the plate, and Georgia Tech obviously thought so also, as Ford committed to the Yellow Jackets quickly after the event. Very few catchers can match his athleticism behind the plate and scouts see it as soon as he squats behind the plate. Ford is light on his feet and shows soft hands, giving him easy range behind the plate. His arm strength registered at the top of the scale at 83 mph and line up well with his Future Games best pop time of 1.83 to 1.90. There is little doubt the catch and throw skills are elite, but probably most impressive was just how well, Ford is swinging the bat these days. Smooth easy right-handed stroke played well during the workout, but also carried over to the games, as Ford just missed running a couple balls out of the ballpark. He showed consistent hard contact while never really getting hard on his front side, like we saw earlier in the Spring. Arrow way up for this young backstop after his showing at the Future Games. 

 

Jared Jones C / 1B / Walton, GA / 2022

Jared “Bear” Jones checks in at a whopping 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and leaves zero doubt about why he is also known as Bear. Jones participated in the Future Games amidst attending Football workouts, but you never would of known from his performance at this event. Jones drew plenty of attention during the showcase portion of the event, sending baseballs deep into the night.  His exit velocity of 102 ranked 2nd in this event among a strong nationally ranked crowd. The imposing right handed swing of Jones at time appears to have an uppercut swing, but more importantly he gets on the same plane with the baseball and has the ability to stay balanced with a nice easy stroke, finding the bat-head frequently. Especially for a young power hitter. Defensively the big “Bear” from Walton high school showed very well in the workout, posting a pop times as low as 1.90, which puts him in pretty elite company. His arm strength is plenty as he turned in the 3rd best reading at 82 mph. Jones spent most of his summer with East Cobb at first base in order to give himself more versatility in the future and those reps have paid off, but Jones will be back behind the plate this Spring, where he started as a Freshman for a very good baseball program in 7A. Jones is already a big name on the east coast, but after this event and the schools showing interest, look for Jones to be a player on the national scene going forward.  


Hunner Lawrence C / OF / Strong Rock Christian , GA / 2021

Lawrence has a good catchers frame at 6-foot, 190-pounds and is a sneaky athletic kid with good strength. He flashes power to all fields, almost driving a ball out the opposite way in Team Georgia’s game vs Team Carolina's. His exit velocity registered as high as 93 mph at the Future Games. Defensively Lawrence more than held his own with a pop time of 1.93 to 2.08. The scouts got a good look at what Lawrence has offer at the next level both at the plate and behind it. Lawrence definitely has good ability that will play well at the next level. Hunner was selected from a talented group that attended the PBR Georgia Underclass Games.


Grayson Taylor C / RHP / North Paulding, GA / 2022

Taylor was coming off a hip injury that kept him sidelined much of the summer, but the 6-foot-1, 188-pound Taylor showed well at this event in spite of being slowed down on the bases due to the injury.  Taylor has a good frame for a backstop and showed a pop time between 2.10 and 2.19, with a catching velocity of 75 mph. Left-Handed hitters have always been coveted and Taylor’s smooth easy left handed stroke is no different. He showed a direct path to the baseball, with the ability to stay long through the baseball. Taylor’s package both behind the plate and at it, put him on plenty of radars this week at the Future Games. This 2022 left-handed hitting catcher from North Paulding high school will be one to watch over the coming year.

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