Norcal Underclass Games: Catcher Reports

ISLANDERS FIELD - LATHROP, CALIF. - A total of 39 position players were in attendance, 10 of whom competed primarily as catchers.The event was comprised entirely of 2024/2025 grads, with one reclassified 2026 in attendance.

In addition to the traditional showcase (60 yard run, BP round, defensive workouts), the pitchers competed in live game action where their data was gathered, and each position player had four at-bats during the game they played in.

(Note: All showcase videos have been edited and added to the players' profiles)

CLICK HERE FOR SORTABLE PLAYER STATISTICS INCLUDING TRACKMAN AND BLAST MOTION DATA

LISTED IN ORDER OF MAX THROWING MPH DURING THE WORKOUT SESSION

Ian Fernandez, Vintage (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 6-1, 162-pounds. Lean strength throughout, streamlined athletic body.
Hit: RHH. Wide even feet, off the plate, medium depth in the box, slight crouch, small lift out to short stride, lowers hands during fairly deep load. Flat stroke, uses middle of field well which showed in BP and game at-bats, both bat speed and hand speed play, has present power with promise for more in the future.
Power: 92.3 max exit velocity, 72.3 max bat speed, 23.9 max hand speed, 70.1 on-plane efficiency avg.
Arm: RH. C - 78 mph. OF - 82 mph. Quick strong arm, catcher throws carried on line to the bag, OF arm action is clean with small circular backside, outstanding accuracy.
Defense: 2.01-2.15 pop times. Quick efficient feet, received in game action with soft hands and worked below ball well with quiet athletic actions, OF routes and angles are clean with good body control.
Run: 7.00 runner in the 60.

Kalen Clemmens, Casa Grande (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Strength throughout, muscular lower half, well-proportioned athletic build.
Hit: RHH. Wide even feet, balanced with slight weight to backside, small quiet stride, small compact load, creates barrel tilt in load. Powerful stroke, maintains balance and body control while driving ball, works middle of field with gap to gap power, strong top hand in two hand finish, physical swing with bat control and legitimate raw power.
Power: 92.4 max exit velocity (85.78 avg), 70.7 max bat speed, 22.4 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 76 mph. OF - 84 mph. Physical arm, 3 of 4 pop throws right on the bag mid-shin high both in workout and game action, some tailing action on throws, OF arm is strong and accurate with carry and a quick athletic release.
Defense: 2.10-2.16 pop times. Sat and received on pop-throws giving true reads on the times, clean exchange that can quicken up with technique adjustments, athletic block and recover skills, strong receiver, OF routes and reads are clean, confident actions with corner OF range.
Run: 7.25 runner in the 60.

Miles Tenscher, Napa (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/P
Body: 6-0, 155-pounds. Lean body type with sinewy and wiry strength.
Hit: RHH. Medium width feet, open stance, tall set-up, hands start head high then lower to slightly below shoulder height with medium depth load, smooth lift out to even stride. Flat swing, consistently works middle of field, balanced throughout with quiet head and barrel control, slashing type line drive swing, handsy stroke, creates leverage against stiff front side.
Power: 86.9 max exit velocity, 67 max bat speed, 22.6 max hand speed, 73.5 on-plane efficiency.
Arm: RH. C - 76 mph. Quick loose arm, accurate more often than not, game throws more impressive than workout throws, showed off outstanding back-pick skills in game as he nabbed a runner at 1st, projects to be above average arm, talented thrower.
Defense: 2.05-2.15 pop times. Light feet with agility to be well above average blocker, soft strong receiver, quiet with subtle actions and nuanced receiving skills, has energy and athleticism for the position.
Run: 7.69 runner in the 60.

Ben Straw, Granite Bay (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C
Body: 5-9, 175-pounds. Compact body type, developed strength on stout build.
Hit: RHH. Wide feet very slightly open stance, deep in box and off the plate a bit, balanced, small quiet back to short even stride, smooth easy small hand load. Catches ball out front, ample bat speed and hand speed, top hand release, flashes ability to impact the ball with gap juice, balanced throughout swing, EV readings didn't reflect his raw hitting tools.
Power: 82.6 max exit velocity (though 91.8 at previous event), 77.1 max bat speed (outstanding), 24.3 max hand speed. 73 on-plane efficiency
Arm: RH. C - 76 mph. Accurate on the bag, easy quick short arm action, efficient mechanics, ball comes out cleanly
Defense: 1.95-2.15 pop times. Quick efficient feet in transfer, strong soft hands, plays the position with calm, clean mechanics with strong block/recover skills.
Run: 7.93 runner in the 60.

JT Summers, Casa Grande (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/1B/3B
Body: 6-3, 195-pounds. Long body, broad frame with ample room for significant future size and strength gains.
Hit: RHH. Tall set-up, open stance with medium width feet, hitterish in box, relaxed and tension free, smooth lift out to longer stride, quiet smooth hand load, creates outstanding separation. Flat powerful stroke, projects for significant power, chin stays shoulder to shoulder, top hand stays above ball well, punishes ball up in zone, works inside with timing for consistently out front contact with powerful leverage.
Power: 91.8 max exit velocity (85.18 avg), 70.9 max bat speed, 22.6 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 75 mph. Easy arm, clean out of glove, some tailing action on throws at the bag, generally accurate.
Defense: 2.11-2.25 pop times. Strong soft hands as receiving, can receive and works well with pitchers, calm presence, stood out of crouch early in the pop time evaluation, bigger body catcher with fair agility and range for the position.
Run: 7.89 runner in the 60.

Andre Medina, Rancho San Juan (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-10, 165-pounds. Average size frame, has some budding strength in lower half, fairly broad shoulders.
Hit: RHH. Wide feet, very slightly open, slight hunch, smooth lift to slightly closed stride, sees ball well, smooth easy medium depth load, has bat rhythm. Works inside, hitterish stroke, willing to spray around field, gets behind contact with balance and leverage, barrel angle a bit below ball in attack angle, fly ball approach, maintains balance.
Power: 85.5 max exit velocity, 67 max bat speed, 20.6 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 73 mph. Fair arm, inconsistent carry on throws due to fairly sizeable move toward the RH box, there is more in the arm than he showed.
Defense: 2.11-2.24 pop times. Soft hands, strong legs, squared up in set-up, early adjustment to pop position, hard working during games, has calm and strong presence behind the plate.
Run: 7.41 runner in the 60.

Ben Kreizenbeck, Granite Bay (CA), 2025
Positional Profile: C/P/3B – A top talent in the region in the 2025 class.
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Athletic build, lean strength, well-proportioned with ample room for size gains.
Hit: SH. RH - Medium width feet, balanced, off the plate, smooth longer stride with small lift, creates separation with medium depth load. Handsy stroke, ability to serve the ball to the opposite field, has strong barrel awareness with some present power to middle of field. LH - Weight slightly back, medium width feet, off the plate, similar look to RH set-up, smooth longer stride, depth in load as he creates separation, quiet head, balanced throughout, ability to spray ball to oppo field, looks to have legitimate switch-hit ability.
Power: 88.7 max exit velocity, 66.8 max bat speed, 20.3 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 73 mph. Easy arm, clean quick loose arm, gets air under it and gets it out quickly, consistently accurate throws, shows glimpses of more raw arm when at 3B.
Defense: 2.00-2.07 pop times. Efficient out of crouch, quiet actions, smooth feet, keeps all he does behind plate simple, showed strong infield (3B) talents as well, athletic catcher.
Run: 7.98 runner in the 60.

Joe Donnelly, Elk Grove (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: C/P
Body: 5-11, 145-pounds. Lean athletic body, wiry strength, room for strength gains.
Hit: RHH. Wide feet, very slightly open in small crouch, relaxed arms, shifts weight from front to back, small stride, balanced, load has some depth. Keeps hands separated from body, loose wrists, compact and direct to ball, tilts head and eye level as swing comes through, swing happens easily with rhythm.
Power: 85.9 max exit velocity, 64.9 max bat speed, 21.3 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 73 mph. Short somewhat slingish arm action from 3/4 slot, throws lacked carry though ball comes out decently, syncing of feet and the exchange would bring about more consistency.
Defense: 2.21-2.35 pop times. Has agility, energetic presence behind plate, worked well with pitchers, soft glove with confidence in his receiving.
Run: 7.78 runner in the 60.

Konnor Rodnick, Cardinal Newman (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: Catcher
Body: 6-0, 175-pounds. Broad frame, has present strength, chance to develop physically powerful body at maturity.
Hit: RHH. Balanced, wide even feet, off the plate with medium depth in box, hitterish presence, hands and feet have rhythm, medium depth load as separation created in stride. Balanced throughout, throws barrel head through contact, fairly flat stroke with ability to create backspin, has power that comes from natural hand strength, doesn't force the swing, sound hitting mechanics with projectable future power.
Power: 85.6 max exit velocity, 66.6 max bat speed, 20.3 max hand speed, 78 on-plane efficiency.
Arm: RH. C - 72 mph. Short arm stroke, quick flick arm action, has arm confidence, relies on quickness of release vs big arm.
Defense: 2.12-2.25 pop times. Soft and strong receiver, able to sit low with agility and flexibility, presents targets well, more of a picker than blocker with confidence in his glove, relaxed and quiet confidence presence behind plate, has field general qualities.
Run: 7.94 runner in the 60.

Ricky Maya, Christian Brothers  (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: Catcher
Body: 6-1, 175-pounds. Strong, wide shoulders, present muscularity, proportioned.
Hit: RHH. Deep in the box, open stance, medium width feet, hands start off body over backside, smooth rhythm in pre-pitch, quiet easy stride, compact load. Maintains balance, has all field hit-ability, flashed power in game AB with deep triple, gritty at-bat, maintains balance throughout swing, stays above the ball with top hand integrity, strength to muscle the ball into the OF for knocks.
Power: 82 max exit velocity, 65 max bat speed, 21.5 max hand speed.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Consistent thrower, gets air under it on way to bag, compact arm action with accuracy.
Defense: 2.15-2.29 pop times. Sat and received in pop time evaluation, strong soft receiver, calm actions oriented to accuracy of throws vs trying to be as fast as possible, gritty worker in game action, strong block skills, leader-ish presence.
Run: 8.32 runner in the 60.

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