Prep Baseball Report

Class of 2020 Showcase: Catcher Analysis


By Illinois Scouting Staff

On Oct. 14, the PBR Illinois staff hosted the fall’s Class of 2020 Showcase at The MAX in McCook, Ill. There, more than 80 high school juniors came out to perform in a pro-style workout in front of our staff and a group of college coaches.

Today, we’ll begin rolling out our position-by-position breakdown of the event, beginning with the day’s catchers.

There were 16 backstops in total who made it out to the event and we ranked the top three, starting with Harrisburg’s Isaac Crabb. The strong 6-foot-1 receiver recorded the day’s lowest pop time – and was the only catcher with a registered pop under 2.00 seconds – and was just one tick off the lead in velocity on throws to second. Crabb, who is a multi-sport athlete, also took solid round of BP driving balls to both gaps with regularity.

While Crabb’s all-around profile helped land him the No. 1 spot, Garrett Powell (Kenwood) and Zachary Schwartz (Elk Grove) displayed some of the best offensive traits within this group.

Check out the full reports below on all three of these catchers, as well as each and every one of those who took reps at The MAX last month. We’ve already published the Statistical Analysis from this showcase, too. Keep an eye out tomorrow when we evaluate the group of outfielders from this event.

TOP PROSPECTS

1. Isaac Crabb, C/RHP, Harrisburg, 2020
6-foot-1, 190-pound two-way player, strong build. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, leg lift stride, solid balance through contact. Simple approach showed ability to spray to all fields, path is level and gets extension. 88 mph exit velocity from the tee. Above average arm strength, carries out of the crouch, played on line with accuracy, short over the top slot, 77 mph. Actions are quick and clean, showed soft hands, 1.98-2.12 pop times. 7.69 runner in the 60.

2. Garrett Powell, C, Kenwood, 2020
5-foot-10, 190-pound catcher, strong build. Right-handed hitter with bat strength, balanced stance, wider setup, minimal stride, stays quiet and balanced. Present bat strength, made hard contact to the middle of the field, short path line drive gap to gap approach. 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Arm played over the top and accurate to the bag, flashed carry, 76 mph out of the crouch. Pop times ranged 2.12-2.22, hands play soft and feet work athletically. 7.48 runner in the 60.

3. Zachary Schwartz, C, Elk Grove, 2020
5-foot-11, 170-pound catcher, lean build. Offensive minded prospect, left-handed hitter with bat speed. Hits out of a tall open stance, long stride, on time. Hands are loose, creates whip through hitting zone, some length with pull side approach. 89 mph exit velocity from the tee. 7.17 runner in the 60. Arm plays short and over the top, some effort out of the crouch, 73 mph. 2.29-2.37 pop times out of the crouch.

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Dennis Barber, C/1B, Jones College Prep, 2020
6-foot-1, 165-pound catcher, lean frame with upside. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short stride, average balance. Path works with some length, pull side approach. 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is short and loose, over the top slot, 71 mph out of the crouch, 75 mph across the diamond. Pop times play 2.17-2.30, plays tall out of the chute, flashed quiet hands, played similarly around the bag. 7.33 runner in the 60.

Zach Brothen, C, Lincoln-Way East, 2020
5-foot-10, 190-pound catcher, solid lower half. Defensively arm works short out of a high ¾ slot, 65 mph. 2.37-2.62 pop times. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, short stride, minimal load action. Pull side approach, 78 mph exit velocity from the tee. 7.46 runner in the 60.

Noah Curl, C/RHP, Reed Custer, 2020
6-foot, 195-pound two-way player, solid lower half, carries some strength. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short toe tap stride. Path has some length, uphill path, occasional hard contact up the middle, 86 mph exit velocity from the tee. Arm action is loose, high ¾ slot, 75 mph out of the crouch. 2.22-2.37 pop times out of the crouch. 8.70 runner in the 60. On the mound arm is over the top, loose action. Simple squared delivery. Fastball is straight, 79-80 mph, topped at 81 mph. Curveball has 12/6 shape, 67-71 mph. Changeup is straight, 70-72 mph.

Michael Davis, C/INF, St. Charles North, 2020
5-foot-10, 150-pound catcher proportional frame. Right-handed hitter, open stance, bg loading action onto back side, arm bar into long leg kick stride. Path is level through zone, occasional hard contact, 80 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm plays above average for his age, 80 mph across the diamond, 77 mph out of the crouch, over the top slot. Feet work quick out of the crouch, tall side setup. 2.07-2.26 pop times. Infield actions play two hands through the baseball. 7.47 runner in the 60.

Joey Kalish, C/RHP, Elk Grove, 2020
6-foot-2, 174-pound two-way player, long frame. Right-handed hitter, tall balanced stance, long stride. Path is short and level, tends to stay on top of the baseball. 87 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively plays with long levers out of the crouch, some effort, 2.19-2.33 pop times. Arm played over the top at 70 mph. On the moundarm played slightly lower at a high ¾ slot. Fastball runs slightly to arm side, 77-79 mph. Curveball has 12/6 shape, showed feel, 60-66 mph. Changeup fades to arm side, 70-73 mph.

Jordan Krasner, C, Vernon Hills, 2020
5-foot-9, 165-pound catcher. Right-handed hitter, crouched open setup, short stride gets to even, hands load back. Path is level and firm through medium finish, occasional line drive contact. 79 mph exit velocity from the tee. 2.18-2.34 pop times, showed actions getting out of the couch, soft hands, ability to block. Arm action is short and over the top, 70 mph. 8.21 runner in the 60.

Darren Mancke, C/OF, Oswego, 2020
6-foot-2, 170-pound catcher/outfielder, long lean frame that projects. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, short stride, minimal loading action, maintains balance through contact. Simple approach, path works on level plane, occasional extension, fluid hitter. 84 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm actions is short and over the top, 72 mph from the outfield, 77 mph from the outfield. Hands showed soft actions, exchange has some length, 2.25-2.40 pop times. Outfield actions get behind the baseball, 7.31 runner in the 60.

Cole Nelson, C/INF, St. Charles East, 2020
5-foot-7, 150-pound catcher/infielder. Right-handed hitter, balanced stance, smooth loading action, short stride, solid balance. Path has some length, flashed har contact up the middle. 80 mph exit velocity from the tee. Arm plays short and over the top, 65 mph out of the crouch, 72 mph across the infield. Pop times ranged 2.25-2.44. Infield actions profile at a corner spot. 8.06 runner in the 60.

Steven Russell, C/INF, Lemont, 2020
6-foot, 185-pound catcher/infielder, solid build. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short stride dives, average balance. Path works slightly uphill, made line drive contact, 74 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm plays over the top, with effort, 66 mph out of the crouch, 72 mph across the diamond. Hands showed ability to play with softness, 2.26-2.50 pop times, gets out of the crouch early at times, exchange has length both out of the crouch and on the infield. 8.15 runner in the 60.

Caleb Sjordal, C, Wheaton Warrenville, 2020
6-foot, 190-pound catcher, solid strong lower half. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short leg kick stride back to even, average balance. Loose hands with strength, path has some length, slightly uphill, hits in rhythm, flashed gap to gap contact. 74 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is short and over the top, 72 mph out of the crouch. 2.26-2.36 pop times out of the crouch, clean exchange, flashed soft hands. 8.02 runner in the 60.

Tyler Steck, C, Galesburg, 2020
5-foot-11, 170-pound catcher. Right-handed hitter, balanced, slightly open, tall setup. Level path, showed some bat strength, compact top half, showed consistent feel for the barrel. 84 mph exit velocity from the tee. Arm plays long, 77 mph out of the crouch, high ¾ slot. Pop times ranged 2.11-2.25, set up tall. 7.48 runner in the 60.

Luke Thompson, C/INF, Burlington Central, 2020
6-foot, 175-pound catcher/infielder, solid build with strength. Right-handed hitter, open stance, short stride, hands drop into load with leg kick stride. Path is level, low finish, 86 mph exit velocity from the tee. Defensively arm action is short, over the top slot, accurate at times, 69 mph out of the crouch and across the infield. Pop times range 2.33-2.44. 7.88 runner in the 60.

Matthew Zahora, RHP/C, St. Laurence, 2020
6-foot, 190-pound two-way player with arm strength. On the mound delivery play tall and fall, regular effort, lands closed to, rotational finish. Short draw arm action, ¾ slot. Fastball plays with slight run to arm side, 82-84 mph. Above average slider for age, 10/4 shape, sweeping action, near fastball arm speed, 74-76 mph. Changeup slightly fades to arm side, 75-76 mph. Right-handed hitter, tall setup, short stride, solid balance. Path is short, line drive contact, 83 mph exit velocity from the tee. Arm played strong out of the crouch, 78 mph, flashed carry. 2.08-2.26 pop times. Ran the 60 at 7.27.

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