Patrick
Bailey

03.08.17
North Carolina State commit that is extremely advanced behind the plate handling pitchers.  An easy target with good posture and excellent hands.  Blocks with ease.  Re-assuring and a positive communicator with pitchers.  Seemed to call his own game, with excellent feel for what the pitcher could do and how to attach advanced hitters.  East to throw to and seems to elevate the guy on the mound.  Quick release and strong arm with plus accuracy to 2B.  Feet work with good direction, getting extension.  Occasionally will rotate on the throwing arm foot, but still showed accuracy.  Pop times between innings ranged 1.94 – 2.01, all on the bag.  In the box, a switch-hitter, took aggressive swings, working to stay on the ball from the right side.  Swing is built to stay in the RCF gap, level, with barrel awareness.  Took one at-bat from the left side where the bat swept through the zone a bit more.

9/2016 - Made USA 18U National Team.

07.03.16 
Athletic catcher that has advanced catch and throw skills.  Made the 40 man trials of the 18U Team USA, with a chance to make the final roster that will compete in Mexico in September.  Consistently on the back with an easy transition and short arm action, Bailey has been anywhere from 1.95 - 2.11 in game action.

2020 DRAFT: Bailey is the rare college catcher who calls his own game -- an ability that will have him well-prepared for professional baseball. He has always soft-blocked well and been quick on his feet to field bunts, and now compared to several previous looks, his receiving skills were vastly improved during Week Three of the 2020 college season. He has a quiet setup, pro level receiving abilities and good game awareness. His arm strength was down a bit (50/55) compared to previous looks, but his release remains quick and he's able to consistently throw with accuracy to second base in the 1.95-2.00 range. Offensively, the athletic switch-hitter looks to pull the ball from both sides of the plate and profiles as power over hit ability due to swing/miss tendencies (22% K rate this spring and 12 in 30 plate appearances last summer with USA CNT). From the left side he sets up with an open stance, dives and hooks, working around the ball while generating fair bat speed with a bent front knee. Not the ideal way to hit, but with good pitch recognition, Bailey puts the bat on the ball and walks more than he strikes out (career 53 BB vs 47 SO). His right-handed swing is much improved, mechanically, since my initial look in July '18. At that time he was off-balance and carried his hands with his hips. He has since adjusted and now keeps his weight and hands back much better, hitting against a firmer front side. He also extends really well with his top hand. With a high floor and an extensive resume (which includes numerous All-American awards and two summers on the USA Collegiate National team), Bailey is a "safe" pick and has the resume, tools and analytics to warrant consideration in the top 12-15 overall picks.

2/29/20: Bailey is the rare college catcher who calls his own game -- an ability that will have him well-prepared for professional baseball. He has always soft-blocked well and been quick on his feet to field bunts on my multiple looks over the past 2-plus years, but I had never witnessed the receiving skills the industry has talked about. During this latest look in Minneapolis, I finally caught up with the industry consensus...Bailey has a quiet setup and pro level receiving abilities. His arm strength was down a bit (50/55 on this look) compared to previous looks, but his release remains quick and he’s able to consistently throw with accuracy to second base in the 1.95-2.0 POP range. Offensively, he’s a pull hitter from both sides of the plate. From the left side he sets up with an open stance, dives and hooks, working around the ball while generating fair bat speed with a soft front side. Not the ideal way to hit, but with good pitch recognition and hand/eye, Bailey puts the bat on the ball and walks more than he strikes out (career 53 BB vs 47 SO). His right-handed swing is much improved, mechanically, since my initial look in July ‘18. At that time he was off-balance and carried his hands with his hips. He has since adjusted and now keeps his weight and hands back much better, hitting against a firmer front side. He also extends really well with his top hand. After homering from the left side to lead off the 7th inning against Iowa, he hit a grand slam from the right side in the 8th inning after a left-handed pitcher entered the game to face him. (VIDEO) With a high floor and an extensive resume (which includes numerous All-American awards and two summers on the USA Collegiate National team), Bailey is a “safe” pick and has the resume, tools and analytics to warrant mid-first round consideration this June. (Seifert)

7/1/19: Switch hitting, athletic catcher with above average arm strength, a quick release, plus accuracy and consistent 1.9-1.95 POP times. Threw out three of seven base runners attempting to steal during the Trials. Good game awareness. Quiet setup. Blocks well and works hard behind the dish, especially with runners on base. Fair receiver, continued to whiff on random pitches, similar to my look this spring. Long, left-handed sweeping swing with strength, but marginal bat speed. He will need to shorten up at the pro level with a wood bat to hit for much average. Pull hitter with power over hit ability from both sides of the plate. Overall, a well-tooled and well-rounded prospect with first round potential, especially when the scarcity of top quality college catching prospects is considered. (Seifert)

2/18/19: Showed off his arm strength and quick release with a 2.10 POP time throwing out a base runner with ease. Also showed soft-blocking skills, surrounding several balls in the dirt and redirecting to just in front of the plate. The switch-hitter looked much more comfortable from the right side in a lone at-bat on Sunday. From the left side he drifts and floats hips which slows down his swing and limits his bat speed. (Seifert)

7/11/18: Switch-hitting, athletic backstop with an above average arm and a chance to hit for average. Overall, a well-tooled and well-rounded prospect. Defensively, Bailey showed good game awareness and made accurate throws with POP times ranging from 2.01 to 2.08 with a quick release and short, direct footwork. From the right side of the plate Bailey set up in a slightly open stance towards the back of the box. His balance was out front and he carried his hands with his hips. The result was a pull approach, marginal bat speed and little hard contact. His left-handed swing was more compact with better balance. More of a contact approach and swing, he kept his hands back with good separation and attempted to use all fields, staying inside the ball. Showed a much greater ability to extend an at-bat from this side of the plate as well. Overall, Bailey’s high-level skills and baseball IQ combined with a scarcity of top quality college catching each year in the draft give him Day One potential in 2020. (Seifert)