By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

On Sunday, January 19, a total of 49 prospects showcased their abilities to the PBR Kentucky staff and several college coaches.  The group of catchers turned in a number of solid performances as some underclassmen established themselves as prospects to follow, and other players we had seen before showed improvement from previous events.

Yesterday we took a look at the outfielders from the event.  We continue today with analysis of the catchers and will continue with other positional groups the rest of the week. Players will be featured at their primary position.  Those position players who also pitch will have their pitching write-ups included in the analysis of all pitchers.

The following is a look at the group of catchers by class that participated in the event.

class of 2015

Brice Stockton, R/R, C, Anderson County HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 205-pound prospect with a physical frame and strong lower half, continues to improve each time we see him, shows solid and consistent footwork and gains ground well on throws, quick glove to hand transfer, solid receiver and blocker, pop times ranged from 2.02-2.12 (previous best was 2.04) with 75 mph (previous best was 74) arm strength from the crouch.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good use of his strong lower half generates barrel whip through the zone, shows some power potential, ran 5.02 down the first base line, solid 2015 prospect who continues to progress, the most polished all-around catcher at the event. 

Chance Bodine, R/R, C, Bethlehem HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 180-pound prospect with athletic build, good setup behind the plate, displays good receiving skills, shows athletic feet and gains ground on throws, quick glove to hand transfer, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 1.96-2.07.  At the plate, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good rhythm in swing, good use of lower half, slight uphill path creates some lift, gets to extension well, shows some potential to hit for power, ran 4.58 down the first base line, 81 mph tee exit velocity, solid 2015 prospect.

Nathan Phillips, R/R, C, Yorktown HS (IN), 2015
6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect with strong/physical frame, showed solid receiving skills and good lateral movement behind the plate, above average arm strength at 76 mph from the crouch, had difficulty throwing to the bag, pop time was 2.30 (has been 2.17-2.26 at previous event).  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with minimal stride, inconsistent use of lower half, shows some raw strength in swing, , ran 4.94 down the first base line, 91 mph tee exit velocity.

Dallas Wills, R/R, C, Shelby County HS, 2015
5-foot-9, 140-pound prospect, small/athletic frame, shows good receiving skills, accurate throws to second base with 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.07-2.16, room for quicker pop times with quicker footwork and more consistent glove to hand exchange, average blocking skills.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, doesn’t fully incorporate lower half in swing, line drive type hitter, ran 4.70 down the first base line, registered 79 mph exit velocity off the tee.

class of 2016

Brayden Imel, R/R, C/RHP, Knox Central HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 205-pound prospect with strong lower half and physical frame, shows solid receiving and blocking skills, room for improved glove to hand transfer and release, 72 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.08-2.14.  At the plate, hits from an open and tall setup and squares front side with a short stride, good balance throughout, shows raw strength in swing, ran 5.13 down the first base line, 80 mph tee exit velocity, solid 2016 prospect.

Derrick Kromenacker, R/R, C, Bullitt East HS, 2016
5-foot-8, 145-pound prospect with smaller build, shows quick feet and gains ground well on throws, will need to focus sticking pitches to the corners of the plate otherwise receiving skills are solid, shows good blocking skills with good lateral movement behind the plate, pop times ranged from 2.02-2.18 with 72 mph arm strength from the crouch.  At the plate, hits from a slightly open stance with a toe tap, long stride to the ball, has a tendency to lunge with too much head movement forward, line drive type hitter, showed some bat speed with tee exit velocity of 80 mph, ran 4.65 down the first base line, raw skills are present to be solid defensive catcher with some refinement.

Aaron Smith, R/R, C/IF/RHP, Trinity HS, 2016
5-foot-8, 135-pound prospect with smaller frame, shows fairly quick feet and gains ground well on throws, has a longer release, shows good receiving skills sticking pitches well, 69 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.21-2.30, pop times will improve with additional arm strength and quicker release.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a toe tap trigger, level swing plane and line drive type hitter, showed good barrel awareness with a solid round that included line drives to all fields, ran 4.83 down the first base line, 71 mph tee exit velocity.

class of 2017

Jackson Campbell, R/R, C/SS, Logan County HS, 2017
5-foot-6, 120-pound prospect with small build at present, shows quick feet behind the plate, quick glove to hand transfer, 68 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.00-2.14, accurate arm with throws on or close to the bag, good lateral movement.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with minimal stride, very good use of lower half, hands are quick, good balance throughout, consistently barreled up the baseball, solid young hitter, ran 4.56 down the first base line, 77 mph tee exit velocity, high follow in the 2017 class.

Hunter Combs, R/R, C, Muhlenberg County HS, 2017
5-foot-7, 170-pound, young prospect, good setup behind the plate, footwork is solid, fairly quick transfer, long release, shows good arm strength for young prospect at 74 mph from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.25-2.31 and will improve with quicker release.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses his lower half well to generate good bat speed through the zone, consistently barreled up the baseball in his round and showed some power potential, ran 4.57 down the first base line, 81 mph tee exit velocity, definite prospect to follow in the 2017 class.

Tanner Johnson, R/R, C, South Oldham HS, 2017
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect with lanky build, improved footwork will lead to better balance throwing the baseball, shows solid receiving skills, boxes and frames well, good blocking skills, good arm strength for young prospect at 74 mph from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.07-2.15 and will improve with more consistent footwork.  At the plate, hits from a slightly open stance, squares front side with a short stride, short path to the ball with some hand quickness, cuts off lower half at times with a lack of extension and finish, good balance throughout swing, ran 4.75 down the first base line, 74 mph tee exit velocity, definite prospect to follow in the 2017 class.

Mathew Phillips, R/R, C, Yorktown HS (IN), 2017
5-foot-11, 225-pound prospect, showed 66 mph arm strength from the crouch with long arm action, pop times ranged from 2.20-2.40, pop times will improve with better footwork and quicker release.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, limited use of lower half, showed an opposite field approach, ran 5.66 down the first base line, 83 mph tee exit velocity.