Central Florida Play Hard Showcase: Catching Analysis

January 6, 2016

By Rob Sidwell
Florida Scouting Director

Orlando, FL—The Central Florida Play Hard Showcase saw many players at different positions and many that played multiple positions. Today we continue our positional analysis with catchers, which was the most talented group of all the positions. Led by 2019 C Parker Aultman (Graceville HS, FL), who is only a freshman, but a very athletic and young player with a lot of upside. He has a chance to be very good on offense and defense. He is followed by 2017 C Riley Wash (Lake Mary Prep, FL), who showed very good catch-and-throw skills with some pop in his bat. He had a 91-mph exit velocity. 2017 C Luis Ortiz (Pine Ridge HS, FL) also showed very good catch-and-throw skills. He was an aggressive, shorter and stockier catcher, but had arm strength with a quick release.

Here are the rest of the catchers in alphabetical order.

Parker Aultman, OF/C, Graceville HS, FL (2019)
5-foot-11, 165 pounds with a strong, athletic and projectable frame. Behind the plate he has also made huge strides since last summer. The first thing I noticed was that his footwork behind the plate was much better, allowing him to throw with his legs. The result was that he was showing a lot more arm strength, accuracy and consistency. He made five strong, accurate throws, showing a solid-average major league arm. While only a freshman, Parker is already starting to show the tools, body and athleticism that recruiters look for. He has a strong, muscular lower half. He’s always had an aggressive approach at the plate with strength and quickness in the bat. However, he now seems to be a bit more consistent in repeating his swing. The result was the ability to drive the ball to more of the field instead of just showing pull power previously. Ran a 7.18 60. 82 mph exit velocity. Threw 77 mph from behind the plate with a 1.94 pop time.

Yoan Borrego, 3B/C, Colonial HS, FL (2017)
5-foot-10, 176-pound catcher with a strong, blocky catcher’s body. Aggressive, high-energy kid that likes to play. Has quick, soft hands with quick feet. Gets rid of the ball quickly and is fairly accurate. Most throws are around the bag. Lacks arm strength to second base, but makes up for it with quickness and accuracy. Seems to have the makeup for the position. At the plate he loads with his body and has a nice plane through the zone. He stays inside the ball well and hits to all fields. Has strength and quickness in the bat. Aggressive approach. Attacks the ball. 8.0 60. 70 mph catcher’s velocity. 82 mph exit velocity.

Jacob Jacome, C/2B, The First Academy, FL (2017)
5-foot-8, 140-pound C/2B with a lean, loose, athletic and projectable body. Good catch-and-throw guy with a loose easy arm and good carry to second base. Good body control. Keeps feet under him. Hands and feet work well together. Arm will continue to get better and is solid-average now. At the plate he gets a good separation for his load has a nice swing plane through the zone. He possesses a short, quick swing and hits line drives to all fields. He has wiry strength and the ball comes off his bat well for his size. Can play anywhere on the field. Overall game will continue to improve with physical maturity. Ran a 7.25 60. Pop time was 1.94 to second base. Threw 79 mph from behind the plate. 82 mph exit velocity.

Luis Ortiz, C, Pine Ridge HS, FL (2017)
5-foot-7, 175-pound catcher with a thick, stocky and strong catcher’s body. Solid receiver with good catch-and-throw skills. Light on his feet with good body control. Quick release with a short quick arm. Throws have good carry and accuracy. Pop time was 1.96. Attacks target with back instep and keeps head on target. At the plate he has a short, quick swing with a nice path through the zone. He possesses good bat speed with loose and quick hands. He has good hand-eye coordination and hits consistent line drives to all fields. Ran a 7.14 60. Threw 74 mph from behind the plate. Exit velocity of 89 mph.

Ryan Savitt, C/3B, Alonso HS, FL (2018)
5-foot-10, 185-pound C/3B with a thick, blocky and strong body. Solid receiver with good hands. Good footwork. Stays in line and attacks the target with his right in-step. Light on his feet. Hands and feet work together. Can speed up release by letting ball travel closer to body. Arm gets a little long in back and throws have some tailing action. At the plate he gets a leg kick for his stride, a short, quick swing, and good bat speed. He sometimes pulls off the ball, but he hits hard line drives and doesn't get beat inside. Ran a 7.55 60. Threw 65 mph from behind the plate with a 2.2 pop time. 82 mph exit velocity.

Joey Stancombe, 3B/C/RHP, Lake Gibson HS, FL (2018)
5-foot-11, 180-pound 3B/C/RHP with a blocky, strong and young body. Behind the plate, he is a solid receiver with a fairly quick release. Occasionally tries to hurry with a two-hand catch-and-throw approach. Has more carry and accuracy on throws when he stays on his backside and doesn’t get out front. Head stays on target. At the plate he gets a nice separation for his load and has a good bat path through the zone. He gets good leverage in his swing and hits consistent line drives that carry. Threw 71 mph from the infield and 73 mph from behind the plate. 83 mph exit bat speed velocity.

Riley Wash, C, Lake Mary Prep, FL (2017)
6-foot-1, 175-pound catcher with a tall, lean, loose, athletic and projectable young frame. Solid receiver behind the plate with good catch-and-throw skills. Good body control. Light on his feet. Good footwork. Attacks target with his right instep. Head stays on target. Ball jumps out of his hand. Shows good arm strength with accuracy. Average major league arm that will improve with physical maturity. Continues to improve. At the plate he has a good base, gets a good separation for his load and gets a leg kick for his stride. He has a nice, loose bat path and hits consistent line drives. He stays inside the ball well and drives the ball to all fields. Will be a Division I catcher. Threw 78 mph from behind the plate with a pop time of 1.97. Exit velocity of 91 mph.

Central Florida Play Hard Showcase: Catching Analysis

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