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By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

On Sunday, December 14 a total of 37 unsigned seniors convened at Legends Sports Academy for the PBR Kentucky Winter Unsigned Senior Showcase.  The group produced some very impressive performances which we will feature over the coming days.

The following is a look at the group of catchers that participated at the event.  This is position player analysis only.  Those catchers that also pitched at the event will have their pitching evaluations featured in a separate article.

Max Sweet, C, L/R, Tates Creek HS, 2015
5-foot-8, 165-pound prospect, athletic frame with strong legs, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance and takes a minimal stride, maintains good balance, quiet approach, bat speed is present, 86 mph exit velocity, line drive type hitter with flashes of gap power, impressed in batting practice consistently squaring the baseball, showed good speed in running a 4.25 down the first base line.  Defensively, feet are extremely quick, extremely quick transfer and release, good athleticism behind the plate, solid receiver, lacks some arm strength at 72 mph but more than makes up for it with his combination of quick release and quick feet, pop times ranged from 1.87-1.92, very athletic catcher.

Robert Stroub, C, R/R, Harrison County HS, 2015
6-foot-3, 180-pound prospect, wiry and athletic frame with room to continue to fill in, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance and squares front side with a toe tap, line drive type hitter who works the middle of the field, took a solid round of batting practice in consistently barreling up the baseball, showed some speed for the catcher position with a 4.50 home to first time, 82 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, shows good lateral movement behind the plate, fairly quick transfer and release, tends to drift into right-handed batters box on throws at times and come up early from crouch, above average arm strength at 77 mph, pop times ranged from 1.95-2.00 on mostly accurate throws to the bag, good upside with the potential to develop some power in offensive game as he works to get stronger.

Robert Metz, C, R/R, Campbell County HS, 2015
6-foot, 205-pound prospect with strong build, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance and utilizes a leg kick with a short stride, explodes with lower half, short swing path with good extension through contact, hands stay inside the ball well on the inner half producing some pull-side power, high one hand finish, registered 83 mph exit velocity, 4.87 home to first time.  Defensively, showed 74 mph arm strength with most throws accurate on the second base bag, pop times ranged from 2.05-2.10, solid glove to hand exchange, footwork tended to take him into right-handed batters box on occasion, solid strong-framed catcher.

Dallas Kuebler, C/RHP, R/R, Jeffersontown HS, 2015
6-foot, 210-pound prospect with strong frame, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance and uses a long stride, hands start high, longer swing path, uses strong lower half to generate some bat speed, occasional pull-side power, recorded a 90 mph exit velocity, 4.94 home to first base time.  Defensively, showed 75 mph arm strength on throws to second base, some accurate throws to the bag, pop times ranged from 2.01-2.11, fairly quick glove to hand transfer, has room to improve receiving skills especially with higher velocity pitchers.

Austin Ysidro, C, R/R, Whitley County HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 230-pound prospect, strong frame, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance, short stride, gets involvement from strong lower half, slight uppercut in swing creates some lift, shows flashes of power potential especially to the pull-side, ball jumps of bat when he squares it, raw strength in swing, showed bat speed with 92 mph exit velocity, posted a 4.85 home to first base time.  Defensively, showed 74 mph arm strength on throws to second base, pop times ranged from 2.17-2.29, pop times have room to improve with work on quicker transfer, release, and footwork.