By Rob Allison
Prep Baseball Report Minnesota

The Prep Baseball Report MN Top Prospect Games event took place on Monday and Tuesday, June 19-20, 2017. The event was held at Veteran's Field at Minnetonka High School in Minnetonka, MN. The event featured prospects from the 2018 grad class; and included many breakout performances from this year's participants. Players showcased their talents in front of our scouting staff and over 60 college coaches in attendance. 

There were a number of great individual performances this year at the MN Top Prospect Games.

As we drill down into the statistics:

+ 20 catchers recorded 70+ mph throws to second base
+ 18 catchers recorded sub-2.1 pop times

CLICK HERE TO VIEW COMPLETE STATISTICS IN PDF FORMAT.

Below we have listed each catcher from the event along with their evaluation.

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catcher evals (alphabetical)

Tucker Alstead, C, Owatonna, 2018
6-foot, 190-pound left-handed hitting catcher. 7.43 runner. Body load with leg kick trigger, short path to contact, exits zone early with barrel, pull approach, has strength and flashes pop in bat, 89 mph exit velocity. Shows good hands receiving with strength, quiet movements behind plate, athletic actions and has appropriate footwork, clean exchanges, hitch in arm action effecting accuracy, solid carry to bag, 73 mph arm strength with 1.96-2.08 pop times.

Drew Bulson, C, St. Cloud Tech, 2018
6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed hitting catcher. 7.1 runner. Line drive hitter, shows ability to drive baseball when consistently clears high back elbow, barrels baseball consistently with avg. pop in bat, 83 mph exit velocity. Shows soft hands receiving with ability to deaden blocks well, solid footwork with arm strength behind plate, inconsistent accuracy, flashes carry on throws from ¾ arm slot, 78 mph arm strength with 2.05-2.2 pop times.

Kyle Chiriboga, C, Hopkins, 2018
6-foot, 160-pound right-handed hitting catcher. 7.76 runner. Inverted C load with heavy leg kick trigger, solid fly ball contact, mid/pull approach with avg. pop in bat, 79 mph exit velocity. Wide square stance behind plate, solid/avg. receiver, should improve with added strength, flexible and quick to block, mostly around bag with 73 mph arm strength and 2.00-2.13 pop times.

Jake Christianson, C, Cretin-Derham Hall, 2018
6-foot, 160-pound switch hitting catcher. 7.97 runner. Tall stance with easy rhythm, consistently finds barrel, Mid/pull approach with flashes of pop in bat, 82 mph exit velocity. Directs traffic well on field, vocal, and plays with high energy. Soft receiving glove and shows flexibility and athleticism behind plate. Appropriate footwork with compact clean actions on catch and throw, accurate to bag with solid carry, 76 mph arm strength with 1.96-2.14 pop times.

Ross Cochran, C, Eastview, 2018
6-foot-3, 210-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Large strong build behind plate. 7.77 runner. Body load, strides square to pitcher, aggressive swinger, produces bat speed with extension through contact, flyball contact with pop to all fields, 90 mph exit velocity. Good setup behind plate, shows ability to receive, works ball back to middle, soft hands and above avg. glove, some length to exchange on throws, above avg. arm with most throws on or around bag, 80 mph arm strength with 1.98-2.15 pop times.

Jonathan Draheim, C/RHP, Jordan, 2018
6-foot-4, 170-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.94 runner. Slight crouch, strides square, avg. use of lower half in swing, pull hitter, flashes pop in bat to pull side, 81 mph exit velocity. Moves well for size behind plate with quick feet, avg. receiver, holds glove close to body, quick to block. Some length to exchanges, hitch in arm action, solid carry to bag with above avg. accuracy, 76 mph arm with 2.03-2.10 pop times.

Dawson Hensley, C, Shakopee, 2018
6-foot-2, 225-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Large frame behind plate. 7.91 runner. Body load, dive bomb hitter, mid/pull side approach, looks to drive baseball, some length to swing with inconsistent contact, 80 mph exit velocity. Has strong hands, sticks pitches in zone, needs to improve flexibility and mobility, avg. footwork, length to exchange, avg. carry to bag, most throws on around base, 72 mph arm with 2.09-2.28 pop times.

Chandler Ibach, C, Fargo North (ND), 2018
6-foot-2, 170-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Physical build with lean strength. 7.28 runner. Balanced swing with short stride. Line drive contact and shows ability to use the gaps. 87 mph exit velocity. Shows above avg. ability to frame and receive with strong glove hand. Quick release on throws, avg. accuracy with above avg. carry to bag. 74 mph arm strength with 1.92-2.1 pop times.

Trevor Johnson, C, Hinckley-Finlayson, 2018
6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed hitting catcher. 7.69 runner. Square stance, choppy rhythm, head bounces to contact, ground ball and line drive contact, avg. pop in bat, 80 mph exit velocity. Works hard behind plate, solid blocking skills, lacks footwork, long release on throws, tends to throw uphill, 70 mph arm with 2.08-2.21 pop times.

Benjamin Kinney, C/RHP, Kasson-Mantorville, 2018
6-foot-2, 180-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.94 runner. Body load with leg kick trigger, loose swing, consistently barrels baseball, singles hitter with avg. pop in bat, 83 mph exit velocity. Narrow stance, avg. mobility, works underneath pitches well, long release on throws, avg. accuracy and carry to bag, 72 mph arm with 2.14-2.3 pop times.

Ryan McDonald, C, Prior Lake, 2018
5-foot-10, 185-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Strong compact build. 7.46 runner. Balanced swing, easy short load, consistently barrels baseball, line drive swing, shows ability to use both sides of field, 85 mph exit velocity. Directs traffic and leads on field, shows ability to receive, lower center of gravity, works underneath baseball, has good sway side to side, controls game behind plate. Quick release with appropriate footwork, above avg. accuracy to bag, solid carry on throws, 74 mph arm strength with 1.89-2.07 pop times.

Tyler Peterson, C, Esko, 2018
6-foot, 200-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Physical with present strength. 7.38 runner. Balanced stance with short leg kick trigger, produces above avg. bat speed with pop, mid/pull approach, relatively short to contact, stays on and through contact, 96 mph exit velocity. Raw footwork and mechanics behind plate, throws have carry with solid accuracy, should continue to develop with instruction, 76 mph arm with 2.16-2.31 pop times.

Alex Prindle, C, Rochester Mayo, 2018
6-foot-1, 170-pound left-handed hitting catcher. 7.46 runner. Open stance with easy load, line drive swing plane, avg. bat speed, occasional hard contact to pull side of field, 76 mph exit velocity. Shows athleticism behind plate, flexible, and is above avg. blocker. Avg. footwork, length to exchange, longer arm action, inconsistent accuracy to bag, 73 mph arm with 2.03-2.15 pop times.

Ethan Roe, C, Blake, 2018
6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Tall lean build. Solid athlete. 7.15 runner. Rolling hand load, double tap stride to trigger swing, line drive swing plane, mid/pull approach, avg/solid pop in bat. 87 mph exit velocity. Low stance behind plate with flexible hips, works underneath pitches well, solid receiver, inconsistent accuracy to bag, short to bag, ¾ arm slot, 76 mph arm strength with 2.03-2.16 pop times.

Robbie Smith, C, Waconia, 2018
5-foot-9, 170-pound right-handed hitting catcher. High energy with big motor. Consistently on base and in the middle of action during entire event. 6.9 runner. Shoulder load with front heel turn trigger, short path to contact, pulls off occasionally with limited length through zone, line drive hitter, 81 mph exit velocity. Avg. receiver and blocker, decent footwork around plate, effort on throws with avg. carry and accuracy, 74 mph arm with 2.02-2.13 pop times.

Alex Snader, C, Chanhassen, 2018
6-foot, 165-pound right-handed hitting catcher. 7.14 runner. Solid athleticism, leg kick trigger, loose hands with easy load, consistently barrels baseball, shows ability to use whole field, line drive approach, 91 mph exit velocity. Moves well behind plate, has flexibility and present strength, ability to hold pitches in zone, quick and efficient footwork on throws, short arm action, avg. carry to bag with accuracy, 73 mph arm strength with 2.00-2.15 pop times.

Riley Swenson, C, Chaska, 2018
6-foot-3, 185-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Lean projectable build, has wiry strength, and projects to gain considerable size and strength. 7.21 runner. Pre-set hands, body load with leg kick trigger, flashes strength in bat with pop to pull side of field, 87 mph exit velocity. Shows ability to receive and block, hands are strong and sticks pitches in zone, simple repeatable exchange and footwork, upper echelon carry and accuracy to bag on throws, 84 mph arm strength with 1.94-2.08 pop times.

Phillip Zynda, C, Austin, 2018
5-foot-11, 185-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Strong physical build. 7.9 runner. Rolling hand load, decent rhythm, slight arm bar, mid/away contact, some stiffness through contact, 89 mph exit velocity. Shows good hands behind plate, smothers blocks well, slower feet and exchanges behind plate, ¾ arm slot causing sinking action on throws, 69 mph arm strength with 2.31-2.35 pop times.