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By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

On Saturday, February 14, more than 100 players from all corners of the state convened at Champions Baseball Academy in Nicholasville for the third annual Preseason All-State Showcase. Over the coming days we will continue to take a look at all players who participated in the event.

Below we take a look at the Class of 2016 catchers who were in attendance. This is position player analysis only. Those players who also pitched at the event will have their pitching performance featured in a separate article.

Bryan Chilton, C, R/R, Christian County HS, 2016
6-foot, 182-pound prospect showed big arm strength at 84 mph from the crouch. Right-handed hitter hits from a slightly open stance and squares front side with a short stride, flat bat path and finish, line drive type hitter with occasional gap power, ran a 7.46 60-yard dash, 85 mph exit velocity. Defensively, has a strong stance behind the plate, good receiving and blocking skills, big arm strength behind the plate, release tends to get long, longer high-3/4 release, pop times ranged from 2.00-2.03 with mostly accurate throws (have seen 1.89-1.98 with quicker release), high-level defensive catcher, commtted to Murray State following the event.

Derek Schneider, C, R/R, McCracken County HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 225-pound prospect with strong frame, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance with a short stride, maintains balance through finish, has present strength in swing, level swing with flat finish, shows flashes of power to the gaps, has ability to make hard contact to all fields, ran a 7.70 60-yard dash, 90 mph exit velocity was a big jump from previous event (81 mph). Defensively, has significantly improved footwork with a quicker transfer and release, 78 mph arm strength with very accurate throws to the bag, 1.91-2.00 pop times.

Vincent Boils, C, R/R, Southwestern HS, 2016
5-foot-11, 195-pound prospect with strong frame, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good use of strong lower half torque, short path to the ball with good extension through contact, line drive type hitter with gap to gap approach, consistently squared the ball up in BP, ran a 7.91 60-yard dash (best to date), 84 mph exit velocity. Defensively, shows good receiving ability, consistently beats ball to the spot and sticks pitches, quick transfer with solid footwork, 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, 2.00-2.08 pop times with accurate throws to the bag.

Isaac Lineberry, C, R/R, McCracken County HS, 2016
6-foot, 200-pound prospect with strong frame, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance, squares front side with a toe tap and short stride, good strength present in swing, uses strong lower half well, show power potential, ran 8.02 60-yard dash, showed an increase in exit velocity at 85 mph (82 previous event). Defensively, has a good setup behind the plate, solid receiver with soft receiving hand, footwork drifts to third base side occasionally, short high-3/4 release with fairly quick transfer, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch (have seen better) with 2.09-2.19 pop times and some accurate throws to the bag.

Tyler Cunningham, C, R/R, Greenwood HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 165-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a narrow, slightly open stance, mid-length stride, short swing path with line drive production, has some quickness in hands, shows ability to use all fields, tendency to cut off finish through the baseball, ran a personal best 7.40 60-yard dash, 79 mph exit velocity. Defensively, has a good/wide base behind the plate, tends to flip glove at times on pitches to the corners that pulls them out of the zone slightly, shows good form and anticipation in blocking balls, solid transfer and release, pop times ranged from 2.06-2.09 with some accurate throws to the bag.

Wyatt Nunnelley, C, R/R, Henry Clay HS, 2016
5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a slightly open and wide stance, tends to remain open without squaring front side, short path to the baseball with high finish, line drive type hitter with a middle of the field approach, runs well for catcher position, 7.20-60 yard dash, 83 mph exit velocity. Defensively, has an athletic and well-balanced setup behind the plate, shows good receiving skills, receives pitches on the corners well, good direction with footwork, showed some arm strength at 77 mph from the crouch, 2.10-2.18 pop times, pop times will improve with quicker transfer and release.

Grant Martin, C, R/R, Prestonsburg HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 196-pound prospect, strong and athletic frame, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a toe tap trigger and short stride, shorter path to the ball, shows flashes of pull-side power, ball jumps when he squares it up, ran 7.65 60-yard dash, 81 mph exit velocity. Defensively, has a balanced setup behind the plate, strong receiver with soft hands, has room to get to knees quicker when blocking, showed 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, good direction with footwork, pop times ranged from 2.08-2.18 with some accurate throws to the bag.

Bradley Hammers, C, R/R, Garrard County HS, 2016
5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a slightly open stance and squares front side with a leg kick trigger and short stride, maintains balance through finish, line drive type hitter with a gap to gap approach, ran well for the catcher position with 7.20 60-yard dash, 82 mph exit velocity. Defensively, has a balanced and strong stance behind the plate, good overall receiver with soft receiving hand, sound blocking skills with good anticipation, good direction with footwork, shorter ¾ release with 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, 2.21-2.28 pop times with room for improvement with quicker feet and transfer (2.10-2.19 at previous event with quicker release).

Adam Stone, C, R/R, University Heights Academy, 2016
6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, can incorporate more consistent use of strong lower half, tendency to wrap some in load, strength is present in swing, gap to gap approach, 78 mph exit velocity (75 previous event), ran a 8.10 60-yard dash. Defensively, has a balanced/strong stance behind the plate, solid receiver with soft hands, good blocking form but tends to be a little slow getting to blocking position, showed a slight improvement in arm strength from previous event at 71 mph, 2.22-2.33 pop times.

Colton Cobb, C, R/R, Model Laboratory, 2016
5-foot-9, 185-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, bars arm in load creating some length in swing, uphill swing path, creates occasional lift, shows some gap to gap power, showed an increase in exit velocity at 84 mph, ran an improved 7.52 60-yard dash. Defensively, feet have shown an improvement in quickness, quick glove to hand transfer, longer high-3/4 release, showed improved arm strength at 69 mph from the crouch, improved pop times of 2.23-2.33 with some accurate throws to the bag, continues to improve overall game.

Kelsey Holland, C, R/R, Montgomery County HS, 2016
5-foot-8, 180-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good use of strong lower half, shows strength in swing, loads up on back side, line drive type hitter with flashes of gap and pull-side power, 78 mph exit velocity, ran a 7.71 60-yard dash. Defensively, showed 66 mph arm strength from the crouch (68 at January event) with short over the top release, 2.22-2.33 pop times (2.16-2.25 at previous event).

Noah Hughes, C, R/R, Scott County HS, 2016
5-foot-7, 180-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, wraps some in load creating some length in swing, line drive type hitter with gap to gap approach, ran a 7.40 60-yard dash, 82 mph exit velocity. Defensively, shows a strong and athletic setup behind the plate, arm tends to get locked out at times receiving but has a good feel for the zone, solid blocking ability with good anticipation, 65 mph arm strength with short high-3/4 release that will need to improve, has a quick transfer with pop times of 2.18-2.26.