By Jerry Shank
Maryland Director of Scouting

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The 2015 Prep Baseball Report Maryland Preseason ID took place Saturday, February 22^nd at Diamond Pro’s baseball facility in Glen Arm, MD.  Close to 60 of the top 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 prospects came and put their ability on display in front of the PBR scouting staff.

CLICK HERE to view the results article along with the top statistical performers for the event in multiple categories. 

Over the course of this week we will be releasing position-by-position analysis articles with scouting reports on each player and identifying the top prospects.  Two-way prospects will appear in a position analysis as well as pitching analysis.  We shall identify top prospects in each area, and will also identify a younger talent (2017 or 2018) as a Future Watch to follow if applicable. 

Today we look at the catchers that participated in the event.  Although small in numbers, there was a good pool of talent that came from this event, with many to be included into the MD state rankings that will come out the beginning of the summer. 

TOP CATCHING PROSPECTS

1.  Brady O’Neil - St. Mary’s (2016)
   O’Neil is a 6-foot-3 185-pound catcher with an athletic build and good frame to fill out.  Behind the plate, O’Neil is an athletic catcher with a good exchange and clean footwork.  He has a catcher velocity of 76 mph that translated into a pop time of 2.02. In the 60 yard dash, O’Neil ran a 7.16. Offensively, O’Neil hits from a balanced setup and short stride.  He has good rhythm in his swing and is a gap-to-gap type hitter. Is short to the ball with a level path.  Has some tendency to drift slightly in swing.  His exit velocity was 85 mph showing some power potential. 
2. Dylan Nepert - Col. Richardson (2016)
   Nepert is a 6-foot-1 195-pound catcher with a solid frame. Nepert has good footwork and throws from an over-the-top arm angle with short arm action.  His exchange is quick, and could be more fluid.  He has a good stance from behind the plate and showed good hands while receiving. His catcher velocity was 73 mph which translated to a 2.09 pop time.  He hits from a balanced setup with a smooth load.  He has a level swing that gets long at times.  He shows good bat speed and is a gap-to-gap type hitter.  His exit velocity was 80 mph and he ran a 7.44 60.
3. Tyler Shockley - James M. Bennet (2018)
   Shockley is a 5-foot-8 135-pound pitcher, catcher, and infielder.  He was athletic behind the plate with quick feet and short arm action with a catcher velocity of 75 mph that translated to a 2.09 pop time.  Defensively he had a loose arm action from the ¾ arm slot with carry on his throws at 73 mph velocity.  Offensively he hit from a balanced and athletic setup with a slight arm-bar in his load, but showed good hand speed and was quick to the baseball with good extension. His exit velocity was at 83 mph and he ran a 7.44 60 yard dash.

 

FUTURE WATCH

Andrew Decker – Towson (2018)
Andrew Decker is a 5-foot-8 180-pound catcher and right-handed pitcher.  Behind the plate, Decker showed a good base and was slightly stiff in his crouch.  He showed good mobility on balls in the dirt.  He displayed soft receiving ability and should develop that more consistently as he matures.  He had a quick and clean exchange with a short arm action and a catcher velocity of 71 mph with slight carry.  Offensively, Decker had a balanced stance and with a smooth load.  Is slightly long in swing with average bat speed and potentially some pull side pop.  His exit velocity was 81 mph and he ran a 7.65 60 yard dash.

Best of the rest (listed alphabetically)

Jeffrey Johnson – Northern (2017)
Johnson is a lanky 5-foot-11 135 pound catcher and infielder.  He displayed a short, quick arm action from a high ¾ arm slot and a velocity of 63 mph.  Behind the plate he showed a quick release with a 63 mph catcher velocity which translated into a 2.38 pop time.  At the plate, Johnson hit from a balanced position and had 66 mph exit velocity off the tee.

Bradley Moore – Westminster (2016)
Moore is a 5-foot-8 165-pound catcher.  He showed quick feet and a quick exchange while throwing over-the-top with a short arm action.  He displayed average hands while receiving from an athletic crouch. His velocity from behind the plate was 65 mph which translated to a 2.22 pop time.  Offensively, Moore hits from a crouched setup with a gradual load.  He has a level swing with an exit velocity of 64 mph and ran a 7.4 60 yard dash.

Colton Repp – St. James (2016)
Repp is a 6-foot-2 175-pound catcher.  He displays quick feet from a good base in his crouch.  The well-framed catcher has a good exchange, but could clean it up to make it better. He has a short arm action and throws from an over-the-top arm slot with a catcher velocity of 71 mph. That velocity translated into a 2.21-2.35 pop time.  He is a gap-to-gap style hitter with a sweeping swing and average bat speed.  His exit velocity was 82 mph and he ran a 7.72 60 yard dash.

Zachary Roberts – Chopticon (2018)
Roberts is a 5-foot-9 185-pound catcher and third basemen. Roberts has a short arm action with quick release from behind the plate and in the field.  His velocity as a catcher was 65 mph.  From the infield his velocity was 62 mph.  Offensively, Roberts showed a short quick swing from a balanced setup with power potential to the pull side.  His exit velocity was 80 mph and he ran a 7.75 60 yard dash