Tyler
Phillips

Georgia Highlands Commit. 6-foot-2, 200 pounds. This powerful masher in the middle of the Rams order is exactly what you look for in a catcher. His loudest tools are without question the raw power and arm, but he’s far from just a raw power guy offensively. Phillips is one of the most complete hitters in the state at the C position, with all-fields power that shows often in game due to his pitch recognition, plate discipline, and approach. But none of those intangibles can be put to use without high level swing mechanics and the ability to manipulate the barrel to any pitch location. If you don’t have a clean inside-out swing, how can you take advantage of the outer edge pitch that you timed up perfectly? Short answer is, you can’t. And wow did T Phillips take one of the cleanest inside-out cuts I’ve seen all season vs the Broncos. He let a middle away pitch get a bit deeper than normal (still in front of the plate), and nearly sent it to the moon with perfect backspin to right center and was robbed on the wall in the deepest part of the park. Everyone there thought it was gone for sure. So although he had a likely 100 mph EV his first AB to LF, his 2nd AB was by far the most impressive. He had 3 barrels in 4 AB’s, but that wasn’t even what stood out to me most. It was the unreal catch & throw qualities that combine with his usable power to make in my eyes a player who’s a legit prospect now. On multiple throw downs he was slinging 1.91 - 1.95, and clocked in a 1.92 bottle rocket on an in game throw late. He also looked straight at me and nodded after throwing a perfect strike on a throw down. This is a confident catcher who is hungry to be the best. His A/AVG arm and quick transfer definitely sold me on the total package, but he’s also an impressive receiver and might love to block more than everything else he’s good at. Not only do I hope to see him later this spring, but I look forward to scouting him in summer ball and at our Juco Scout Day at LakePoint this fall. This is as serious as it gets as an incoming juco draft follow.