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Preseason All-State Catching Analysis

March 5, 2015






By Jeff Markle
Assistant State Director 

The Preseason All-State Showcase took place Sunday March 1st at Slammers South.  90 players from the 2015 and 2016 classes were on display at this event.  Prep Baseball Report Colorado will bring you analysis by position of the players who participated in the showcase.   Kicking off our showcase analysis are the catchers, where we saw strong arms with sub 2 pop-times and quick bats with exit velocities topping out at 93 MPH. To see the overall stats of the event click here.

Top Catching Prospects:

Maverick Handley, Mullen, 2016, C/MIF Stanford Commit
Highly physical 2016 prospect, shows advanced strength, 5-foot-10, 190-pound right-handed hitting catcher and middle infielder. Handley was one of the most eye-catching prospects at the event. Hitting from the right side he showed easy explosive bat speed. Posted exit velocity of 90 MPH from the tee. Hit from a balanced stance, lower half worked well, good balance throughout. Advanced bat speed, impressive whip through the zone that is slightly uphill. Produces gap to gap power. Ran a 4.35 home to first.  Defensively showed soft hands behind the plate, highly agile, high flexibility. Arm played at 77 MPH from the crouch, over the top slot, with accuracy and carry. Recorded event best 1.78 pop time. Handley is physically impressive, it is obvious to see he puts in hard work and should progress at a steady pace. The right-handed hitting catcher is a high follow in Colorado and the region.

Chris Diehl, Rocky Mountain, 2016, C/RHP
5-foot-11, 180-pound right-handed hitting catcher, a member of the defending 5A state champion Lobos.  At the plate, athletic-balanced set up, no wasted movement in load, smooth, fast bat speed with level path, strong lower half, works inside the ball with middle-opposite approach, pull power, posted one of the top exit velocities of the event at 90 MPH, runs a 4.48 home-to-first.  As a catcher, fluid footwork, quiet lower half, soft hands and a clean exchange, accurate throws at 77 MPH, pop times between 1.94 and 2.08.

Brandon Maes, Pueblo South, 2016, C/3B
6-foot, 210-pound right-handed hitting catcher.  He had a fluid exchange that produces pop times between 2.06 and 2.13 and throws that were mostly close to the bag.  Good movement behind the plate with a quiet body and soft hands when receiving pitches.  Maes has a 73 MPH positional velocity and ran a 4.68 home to first.  At the plate, Maes has an athletic stance with a load that goes back, with a leg kick. Maes showed good balance with a strong lower half. Swing has explosive power that stayed on plane with good extension through the hitting zone. Has gap to gap power.  Quick hands and lower leg drive produced a showcase best 93 MPH exit velocity.

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Josh Carrillo, Broomfield, 2016, C/1B
5-foot-9 160-pound right-handed hitting catcher.  His pop-times were between 2.03 and 2.07.  Carrillo has a fluid exchange and a positional velocity of 70 MPH.  Ran a 4.66 home to first.  At the plate, has a balanced stance with slight crouch, no stride approach with good leg drive through the ball produced an exit velocity of 80 MPH.  He has a level swing that produced mostly line drives. 

Patrick Kenny, Regis, 2016, C/MIF
5-foot-9, 162-pound left-handed hitting catcher.  He has a longer over-the-top arm action that produces pop-times between 2.21 and 2.26.  His has a clean exchange and his throws were mostly close to the bag.  Kenny has a 68 MPH positional velocity and runs a 4.9 home to first. At the plate, a balanced stance with a short stride and soft load produced gap-to-gap swings with good jump off the bat.  Exit velocity was 80 MPH.   

Kelton McCoy, Bayfield, 2016, C/3B
6-foot-3, 195-pound right-handed hitting catcher that shows that he is continuing to progress. He showed a quick, clean exchange that produces pop-times between 1.97 and 2.02.  His throws had carry and were consistently on the bag.  He recorded a positional velocity of 77 MPH from the crouch and ran a 4.43 home to first.  Offensively, he starts with a balanced, athletic stance and has a simple load with a level bat path.  He has a opposite field approach that consistently resulted in line drives and an exit velocity of 86 MPH. 

Sam Oswald, Mullen, 2016, C/1B
6-foot-2, 205-pound receiver. Showed good quick arm action, clocked at 72 MPH from the crouch, he recorded pop times of 2.06 and 2.19. His arm shows excellent carry from a short over the top arm action.  With a quicker approach out of the crouch Oswald’s pop times could see significant improvements. At the plate hits from a balanced stance, smooth load, with a short stride, solid balance throughout. Bat speed present, 89 MPH exit velocity and short path with gap-to-gap tendencies.  Ran a 4.68 home to first.

Kyler Paterson, Fort Collins, 2016, C
5-foot-10, 185-pound right-handed hitting catcher with a strong lower half hits from a balanced setup, short stride, hands load back smoothly, uphill bat path, high finish, right-center field approach with line drives during batting practice, 85 mph exit velocity which was fastest among catchers. Defensively, pop times ranged from 2.13-2.20, 64 mph out of the crouch to second, over-the-top arm slot with some accuracy. Solid at 3rd base, same arm motion from behind the plate, good feet at both position allows him to get into good throwing positions. Moves well when framing pitches. Ran a 4.88 home to first.

Brett Pearson, Alamosa, 2016, C/OF
5-foot-6 140-pound right-handed hitting catcher.  Behind the plate, has quick feet, quick/clean exchange, mostly accurate throws, 65 MPH positional velocity, pop times between 2.19 and 2.23.  At the plate, slight hand load, lands square, middle-to-opposite approach, level bat path to extension, overall simple and repeatable swing mechanics, 66 MPH exit velocity, runs a 4.78 home to first. 

Paul Thompson, Legacy, 2016, C/3B
5-foot-11 190-pound right-handed hitting catcher.  At the plate, loads lower half, fast bat speed, pull power, fluid rhythm, level to contact, high finish, 83 MPH exit, 4.6 home-to-first.  Behind the plate, soft hands, fluid/quick exchange, somewhat accurate throws, mobile and athletic, pop times between 2.03 and 2.10, 76 MPH positional velocity.

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