By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

Today we take a look at the catchers from the July 9 Underclass Showcase at Bellarmine University.

Brayden Blair (2015, Bullitt East HS) established himself as a high-level prospect showing good athleticism, the top catcher velocity of the event at 76 mph, and the top pop time of the event at 1.88.

Addison Coffey (2015, Boyle County HS) continues to show well defensively with 75 mph arm and top pop time of 1.90, improved in all areas since Top Prospect Games last month.

Brandon Lord (2015, Henry Clay HS) registered the top tee exit velocity of the group at 83 mph.

Marshall Rich (2015, Ryle HS) ran the top 60 of the group at 7.06.

The following s an in depth look at all of the catchers from the event.

2014 prospect

Alex Jones, C, Ballard HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect, lanky build, shows relaxed setup behind the plate, stays low, blocks well, reaches some on corner pitches, feet work, gains ground on throws, 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.04-2.18.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, toe tap trigger, smooth load, short stride, good balance throughout, shows the ability to hit line drives to all fields, had solid round barreling up several pitches, ran 7.47 60 yard, 76 mph tee exit velocity.

2015 prospects

Brayden Blair, C, Bullitt East HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 155-pound prospect, athletic build, shows good receiving and blocking skills, very athletic behind the plate, good lateral movement, shows quick feet and glove to hand exchange, 76 mph arm strength from the crouch, very accurate arm, pop times ranged from 1.88-1.97.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, explodes with lower half to create barrel whip though the zone, good hand quickness, squared up the baseball consistently with a gap to gap approach, ran 7.10 60, 81 mph tee exit velocity, high-level 2015 prospect.

Addison Coffey, C/RHP, Boyle County HS, 2015
5-foot-9, 150-pound prospect, good setup behind the plate, showed improved receiving skills since Top Prospect Games sticking pitches on the corners, good blocking skills, athletic with good lateral movement, flashes quick glove to hand exchange, quick feet, 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 1.90-1.98. At the plate, hits from open stance, short stride, shows ability to hit the ball the other way, needs to continue working on staying inside the ball on inner half, shows some bat speed with 80 mph tee exit velocity, also pitches (featured in pitcher write-ups), solid defensive catcher.

Brice Stockton, C/3B, Anderson County HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 175-pound prospect with strong lower half, showed good setup behind the plate, solid blocking skills. Improved footwork over January event, pop times improved to 2.04-2.20, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch, also plays third base, shows good lateral movement, solid corner actions, hands work, arm strength at 75 mph across the infield.  At the plate, hits from slightly open stance, short stride, quick hands and explosive lower half generate barrel whip through the zone, ability to drive the baseball with some pull pop, took one of the best rounds of the day, ran 7.69 60, 82 mph tee exit velocity, solid 2015 prospect.

Britton Elmore, C, Central Hardin HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 195-ound prospect with solid build, sets up well behind the plate, sticks pitches well middle-out, room for improvement on glove side pitches, showed 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.05-2.19, room for quicker footwork and glove to hand exchange to improve pop times.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, short stride, good hand quickness, good lower half torque in swing, good balance throughout, squared up several pitches in round, solid hitter, ran 7.47 60.

Brandon Lord, C/RHP, Henry Clay HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 160-pound prospect with lanky build, sets up well behind the plate, stays low, shows solid receiving and blocking skills, feet work, gains ground on throws, good glove to hand exchange, 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times range from 2.00–2.10, also pitches (featured in pitcher write-ups).  At the plate, hits from open stance, uses a leg kick trigger, arm bar load, long swing path, middle of the field approach, ran 7.63 60 yard, showed bat speed with 83 mph tee exit velocity.

Chris Crotzer, C, Collins HS, 2015
5-foot-11, 170-pound prospect, good setup behind the plate, solid receiving skills and lateral movement, good blocking skills, quick glove to hand exchange, 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, accurate arm with all throws on the bag, pop times ranged from 2.12-2.22 (slight improvement over January event).  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, smooth load, shows good rhythm, gets some lower half involved in swing, line drive hitter with ability to make solid contact to all fields, ran 7.93 60, 78 mph tee exit velocity.

Marshall Rich, C, Ryle HS, 2015
5-foot-9, 160-pound prospect, shows solid receiving skills, sticks pitches well, shows good blocking skills and lateral movement, feet show some quickness, arm strength at 68 mph from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.16-2.30.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, good lower half torque in swing, short path to the ball, middle of the field approach, squared up several pitches in his round showing hard line drive contact, ran 7.06 60 yard dash.

Joey Hollingsworth, C, DeSales HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 155-pound prospect, shows good setup behind the plate, stays low, needs to continue working on lateral blocking skills, 64 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.31-2.59, room for improved pop times with quicker footwork and glove to hand exchange.  At the plate, starts from slightly open setup, slight load, short stride, line drive type hitter, shows middle of the field approach, ran 7.78 60, 68 mph tee exit velocity.

2016 prospects

Chris Gambert, C, DuPont Manual HS, 2016
6-foot-1, 160-pound, young prospect with lanky build, shows good receiving skills, good side-to-side movement, solid blocking skills, room for quicker footwork, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.15-2.32.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, slight load, no stride, hands show quickness, good use of lower half generates bat speed, line drive hitter, solid round squaring up several pitches, ran 7.81 60 yard, 77 mph tee exit velocity, solid young prospect will continue to get better.

Dalton Dedas, C, St. Xavier HS, 2016
5-foot-9, 170-pound prospect with strong lower half, shows good receiving skills, boxes and frames well, solid blocking skills, feet work well, 68 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times ranged from 2.19-2.34, will continue to improve pop times with quicker glove to hand exchange and increased arm strength.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, smooth load, good rhythm, toe tap with no stride, shows good balance in swing, triggers hands from chest level, flat bat path, shows some hand quickness, gap to gap approach, ran 7.63 60, 81 mph tee exit velocity, solid young prospect.