By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

While the 13 catchers that participated in the Preseason All-State Showcase was the smallest positional group, that doesn't reflect on the quality of the group as a number of solid performances were turned in.  Below we take an in depth look at the catchers in attendance.

top performers (alphabetical order) 

Brayden Blair, R/R, C, Bullitt East HS, 2015
5-foot-11, 160-pound prospect with athletic build, good setup behind the plate, good receiving and blocking skills, shows good lateral blocking ability, quick transfer and release, 72 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 1.96-2.08 (have seen arm up to 76 mph with 1.88-1.96 pop times at event last summer).  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good use of lower half torque, tends to have an arm bar in load but gets the barrel through the zone with quick hands, line drive type hitter shows mid-field approach, ran 7.27 60 yard dash (7.10 at previous event), showed slight increase with 82 mph tee exit velocity, athletic 2015 catcher.

Vincent Boils, R/R, C, Southwestern HS, 2016
5-foot-11, 190-pound prospect with strong frame, shows solid receiving skills, very good blocker, quick transfer and release, 73 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 1.97-2.08.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses strong lower half well, short path to the ball, shows strength in swing, made consistent hard contact with some pull-side power, ran 8.13 60 yard dash, 85 mph tee exit velocity, definite prospect to follow in 2016 class.

Addison Coffey, R/R, C/RHP, Boyle County HS, 2015
5-foot-9, 160-pound prospect with athletic build and room for additional strength, shows good athleticism behind the plate, sets up well and shows solid receiving skills, has a quick transfer and release with 74 mph arm from the crouch, pop times ranged from 1.95-2.03 (best was 1.90 at summer event.)  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good balance, slight arm bar in load, has made strides as a hitter showing improved bat speed and hand quickness, line drive type hitter, showed improved tee exit velocity at 84 mph.

Dale Gumm, L/R, C/3B, John Hardin HS, 2014
5-foot-10, 210-pound prospect with physical frame and strong legs, shows quick feet behind the plate, event best 77 mph arm from the crouch, quick transfer and release, event best pop times of 1.86-1.95, will need to refine footwork moving forward as he drifts hard into the right-handed batters box, also shows good arm strength at third base at 84 mph and from the outfield at 87 mph.  At the plate, he explodes with lower half to generate plus bat speed through the zone, uphill path creates lift, shows good pull-side power and has displayed the ability to hit to all fields, ran 7.50 60 yard dash, tied PBR Kentucky record with 99 mph tee exit velocity.

Ben Schanding, L/R, C, Bourbon County HS, 2014
5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect with athletic build, shows good setup behind the plate, stays low, polished receiver and blocker, good lateral movement behind the dish, shows good athleticism, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.07-2.18, quicker release will lead to improved pop times.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter hits from an open setup and squares front side with a short stride, good rhythm and balance, shows quick hands and routinely squared the baseball, impressive round that consisted of line drives to all fields, shows some pull side power, solid unsigned catcher and left-handed bat, ran 7.32 60 yard dash, 89 mph tee exit velocity.

Stephen Treadway, R/R, C, East Jessamine HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 180-pound prospect with athletic build, sets up well behind the plate and shows very good receiving skills, good blocking skills and lateral movement behind the plate, quick transfer and release, showed 76 mph arm strength from the crouch with throws on the bag and pop times ranging from 1.90-1.98.  At the plate, hits from an open setup and squares front side with a toe tap trigger, arm bar in load, level swing path with line drive production, good use of lower half torque, ran 7.42 60 yard dash, 88 mph tee exit velocity, solid unsigned catcher with good defensive skills.

best of the rest

Cody Clark, R/R, C, Marshall County HS, 2016
6-foot-3, 240-pound prospect, shows a quick transfer with a longer release, 72 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.10-2.20, room to improve pop times with quicker release.  At the plate, hits from a slightly closed setup with a toe tap trigger, has an arm bar leading to some length in swing, tends to get to front side early, mid-field approach, showed bat speed with 89 mph tee exit velocity, ran 8.12 60 yard dash.

Lain Hager, R/R, C, East Jessamine HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 175-pound prospect, sets up well behind the plate, solid blocking skills, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.26-2.34, room to improve pop times with additional arm strength and quicker release and footwork.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses his strong lower half well, shows good balance throughout, routinely squared the baseball in his round with line drive production, ran 7.70 60 yard dash, 82 mph tee exit velocity.

Brian Johnston, R/R, C, St. Mary HS, 2015
6-foot, 185-pound prospect with strong build, shows good blocking skills, 73 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.23-2.33, room to improve pop times with quicker release.  At the plate, hits from a slightly open setup and squares front side with a short stride, creates some bat speed with strong frame but lacks complete use of lower half, showed an opposite field approach, ran 7.89 60 yard dash, 81 mph tee exit velocity.

Zechariah Maulden, S/R, Nelson County HS, C/3B/OF, 2015
6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect with athletic build and room to fill in, shows good athleticism and lateral movement behind the plate, solid blocking skills, 76 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.08-2.15, room to improve pop times with quicker release, also showed soft hands at third base with good corner actions and 82 mph arm across the infield, 84 mph arm from the outfield.  From the left side of the plate, hits from a tall and open setup with a big leg kick, tends to wrap bat in load creating some length in swing, shows a mid to opposite field approach.  From the right side, starts in a tall and slightly closed setup, aggressive stride, creates better bat speed from the right side, shows strength in swing with good lower half torque, ran 7.52 60 yard dash, reached a top tee exit velocity of 84 mph.

Kaden Rose, R/R, C/3B/RHP, West Carter HS, 2017
5-foot-9, 191-pound prospect, strong lower half, shows good blocking skills, footwork is quick but drifts consistently into right side batters box, quick transfer and release, showed 72 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 1.99-2.08, also participated as a 3B, showed average body control with accurate 75 mph arm across the infield.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, uses a short stride, balance is good throughout, incorporates lower half, short path to the ball, line drive type hitter should continue to develop some power, showed above average bat speed for age with 83 mph tee exit velocity, ran 7.73 60 yard dash, 2017 prospect to follow.

Jakob Shuler, L/R, C, Daviess County HS, 2016
6-foot, 205-pound, solidly built catcher, shows mechanically sound blocking skills, good receiver, showed 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.14-2.27, room to improve pop times with quicker transfer and release.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup, minimal stride, short path to the ball with solid extension, incorporates good use of lower half, good barrel awareness, makes consistent hard contact with gap-to-gap approach, solid left-handed hitter that should continue to develop power, ran 7.57 60 yard dash (best is 7.35 at previous event), 88 mph tee exit velocity, 2016 prospect to follow.

Colin Suttles, R/R, C, Dixie Heights HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 190-pound prospect with athletic frame, solid receiver, good blocking skills and lateral movement behind the plate, can refine footwork to gain more ground on throws, showed 70 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.15-2.21.  At the plate, hits from a slightly open setup and squares front side with a short stride, arm bar load creates some length in swing, gap to gap approach with occasional pull-side power, gets lower half involved, flashed good bat speed with 91 mph tee exit velocity, ran 7.59 60 yard dash.

additional event news:

Preseaon All-State Showcase: Corner Infield Analysis (Part Two)

Preseaon All-State Showcase: Corner Infield Analysis (Part One)

PBRPlus KY Preseason All-State Showcase: Standout Corner Infielders

Unsigned Senior RHP/OF Preston Frommeyer Emerges at Preseason All-State Showcase

Preseaon All-State Showcase: Middle Infield Analysis (Part Two)

Preseaon All-State Showcase: Middle Infield Analysis (Part One)

PBRPlus KY Preseason All-State Showcase: Standout Middle Infielders