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Top Prospect Games: Catching Analysis

July 8, 2015

By Rob Sidwell
Florida Scouting Director

The Prep Baseball Report Top Prospect Games took place on Tuesday, June 23rd  at the Lake Brantley High School complex in Altamonte Springs, Fl. This event featured 2016 and 2017 uncommitted graduates.

38 prospects came together to show off their skills in front of the PBR Scouting Staff in a pro-style workout setting.

Today we’ll take a look at the catchers from the event. We had a very good group of catchers, led by 2017 Connor Andrews from Mt Dora HS. He showed the quickest, most accurate throws with a 1.9 pop time. Everything he threw was around the bag. Gabe Bowling also showed a quick release with a 1.93 pop time with a power bat to go along with it. Dylan Owens also showed a very quick release with a 1.9 pop time and showed strength in the bat with the highest exit bat speed velocity of 91 mph for catchers.

Let’s take a look at the top catchers from this year’s Top Prospect Games:

Top Catchers

1. Connor Andrews, C, Mount Dora, 2017
6-foot-1, 170 pound catcher with a tall loose lean athletic projectable body. Very good catch and throw guy. Plenty of arm strength to go along with a very quick release and accuracy, to throw runners out. Short quick high ¾ arm. Has a nose for the bag. Threw a runner out on a fast ball down and in to a right handed hitter. Solid receiver with quick hands and mobility to block balls in the dirt. Aggressive approach at the plate. Good load and separation with a long stride and a long loose swing. Has a good bat path. Barrel stays in the zone. More power will come with physical maturity. Very good young catcher. Ran a 7.28 60. 87 mph exit bat speed velocity. 1.9 pop time with a 76 mph catchers velocity.

2. Gabe Bowling, C, Niceville, 2016
5-foot-10, 197 pound catcher with a thick stocky strong durable catchers body. Good catch and throw guy with plenty of arm and a quick release to throw out runners. Short quick high ¾ arm. Is a high energy, take charge type guy for this position. Solid receiver with mobility to block balls in the dirt. Is an offensive guy with power. Has an aggressive approach with strength and bat speed. Swing is short and compact. Attacks ball. Good load and separation with a slight uphill bat path. Has power mostly pull-side. Ran a 7.26 60. 85 mph exit bat speed velocity. 1.93 pop time to second base. 77 mph catcher velocity.

3. Dylan Owens, C, Cocoa, 2016
6-foot-2, 195 pound catcher with a big strong durable catchers body. Quick release with quick soft hands and a ¾ slot. Ball has run but is usually around the bag. Good mobility for big guy. Aggressive approach with the bat. Wraps bat a bit and swing has length with strength and quickness. Good bat path. Barrel stays in zone. Good load and separation with a modest leg kick.  Lands hard but has loft in swing with a good balanced finish. Showed above average ML power. High energy guy that hustles. Shows grit and toughness. Ran an 8.03 60. 91 mph exit bat speed velocity. 1.9 pop time with 77 mph catchers velocity.

4. Zach Mishriki, C, Olympia, 2016
5-foot-11, 210 pound catcher with a big strong thick durable catchers body. Solid receiver with good hands and an average ML arm. Throws downhill to second base. Occasionally steps backward to throw. Not the quickest release but has strong and accurate throws. Fluid, under control release when he stays on his backside. Spread stance with good load and little separation. Small stride with strength and quickness in swing. Good bat path. Barrel stays in zone with gap to gap approach. Good hip action with a balanced finish. Good all around player. High energy guy that takes charge and is a leader. Ran a 7.65 60. 72 mph exit bat speed velocity. 2.07 pop time with a catchers velocity of 77 mph.

5. Frank Niemann, C/1B, Lake Mary, 2017
6-foot, 185 pound catcher with a strong athletic young body. Solid receiver with mobility to block balls in dirt. Quick release with accurate throws. Quick hands with a short quick high ¾ slot. Stays in line to target. Front foot hitter with aggressive approach at the plate. Hips occasionally drift. Long loose swing with a good bat path. Barrel stays in zone. Stays inside ball well. Uses the whole field. Good balanced finish. Occasionally releases top hand on finish. Makes a lot of hard contact. Shows power in both gaps. Ran a 7.82 60. 86 mph exit bat speed velocity. 2.03 pop time with a catchers velocity of 75 mph.

6. Joey Bellini, SS/C, Edgewater, 2016
6-foot2, 150 pound middle infielder with a tall loose lean projectable young body. Very young body with a lot of upside. Loose  easy actions in the field with soft hands and good instincts. Sound mechanics with good body control. Light on his feet. Lacks ideal foot speed but makes up for it with good first step quickness and baseball instincts. Has enough arm to play on left side of infield. Has aggressive approach at the plate with a loose quick bat. Has good hand eye with a good bat path. Makes a lot of hard contact. Lacks strength right now but ball still jumps off his bat. Very projectable bat. Good hitting instincts. Will be fun to watch when his body starts filling out. Is also interesting behind the dish. Is a bit crude but certainly has the tools and the make up and the baseball instincts to become a catcher. I don’t think he has to yet because he’s a very good infielder. However, that makes him a bit more valuable knowing that it’s a possibility. Ran a 7.47 60. 86 mph exit bat speed velocity. 80 mph infield velocity. 2.0 pop time with 74 mph catchers velocity. Excellent academic kid with top of the chart grades.

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