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Prospect Watch: Catchers and Corner Infielders

June 16, 2015

Western MD ID

By Jerry Shank
Maryland Director of Scouting

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The Maryland Insider covers a wide variety of information on players in the state. We will cover events, players to watch, rankings, best in class, and many more topics that will cover the many levels of high school baseball.

Prospect Watch is focused on player that can help college programs over the summer. The core focus is on the players that the PBR Maryland staff have been able to cover in depth. This edition of Prospect Watch is on catchers and corner infielders to keep an eye on along with the summer program they are with.

Catchers

+ Zach Adams Stephen Decatur 2016
Adams is a 5-foot-11 175 catcher with an athletic frame.  Hits from a slightly open stance with a short swing path to the ball. Has a level barrel that stays in the zone. Line drive type hitter that will stay in the middle of the field. Athletic from behind the plate and quick. Has a fluid exchange and ball comes out with average carry. Pop times were 2.02-2.10. Will be attending the Top Prospect Games this summer and plays summer ball with the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox 16u. 

+ Andrew Decker Towson 2018
Decker was a starter as a freshman for the Towson HS program this year. 5-foot-8 180-pounds with a solid frame. Behind the plate, Decker showed a good base and was slightly stiff in his crouch. He showed mobility on balls in the dirt. Has soft receiving ability potential 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. Pop times in February ranged from 2.17 – 2.25. Offensively, Decker had a balanced stance 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. This summer Decker is playing for the Diamond Pros 15u tournament team.

+ Dylan Nepert Colonel Richardson 2016
Solid frame at 6-foot-1 195-pounds. Nepert has good footwork and throws from an over-the-top arm angle with short arm action. His exchange is quick, could be more fluid, but gets rid of the ball with some carry. Evenly distributed stance from behind the plate and showed soft 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. A quick level swing that can get long at times. A gap-to-gap type hitter with some bat speed. His exit velocity was 80 mph and he ran a 7.44 60. This summer Nepert will be playing for the Maryland Monarchs.

+ Brady O’Neil St. Mary’s 2016
Has an athletic build and good frame to fill out at 6-foot-3 185-pounds.  Behind the plate, O’Neil is a mobile catcher with a good exchange and clean footwork. A very quiet receiver with minimal body movement when getting the baseball. Good hip control when getting to balls in dirt. He has a catcher velocity of 76 mph that translated into a pop time of 2.02. 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. In the 60 yard dash, O’Neil ran a 7.16.  Athletic enough to be able to play multiple positions.  This summer O’Neil will be playing for the Rawlings 17u.

+ Colton Repp St. James 2016
A sturdy frame at  6-foot-2 175-pounds. Repp has a lot of raw ability that could develop into being a strong overall player. He displays quick feet from a good base in his crouch. Has a solid exchange that could improve as he cleans it up. 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. This summer Repp will be playing with the Mid Atlantic Red Sox 16u team.

+ Zach Roberts Chopticon 2018
Roberts is an intriguing player to watch develop.  Has a solid frame at 5-foot-9, 185-pounds that he should fill out and strengthen as he gets older. Like his potential behind the plate with a short arm action and release.  Should continue to work on footwork to increase athleticism. His catcher velocity was 62 mph which translated in to a 2.35 pop.  Roberts is more advanced at this age as a hitter.  Has a short swing with quick bat speed.  Hits from a balanced set up and looks to have some power potential to the pull side.  Had an exit velocity of 80 mph with a 60 yard time of 7.75. Is further advanced currently as a hitter, right now is more projectable as a catcher but could move to a corner spot as he matures.  This summer will be playing with the Southern Maryland Sting 18u team.

+ Charles Tsintolas Heights 2016
Hit from a couched and balanced stance.  Short toe to heel stride.  Lower half exploded to the ball. Maintained good balance throughout swing. Displayed fast hands with an Exit Velocity of 84 mph. Swing path was short with good extension that worked uphill. Line drive stroke that should find the gaps. Showed signs of potential pull power. Behind the plate, threw from a high ¾ arm slot.  Quick release. Pop times were 1.89 - 2.02. Throws had carry and some accuracy. Footwork was quick and gained ground to second. Great setup that was athletic. Showed soft hands with good receiving skills.
*Tsintolas has recently committed to George Washington*
 
Corner infielders

+ Reese Crounse Patuxent 2018
Crounse has an athletic build that should continue to fill out at 5-foot-10 180-pounds.  Currently the starting shortstop at Patuxent but project more at the moment as a third baseman down the road.  Quick actions with a nice exchange.  Hits from a balanced set up with a short swing and average bat speed.  Had an impressive freshmen campaign and should continue to develop as his career progresses. Gap-to-gap type hitter with some future power potential. Will be attending the Top Prospect Games this summer and is also playing for the Maryland Monarchs travel team.

+ Ian Heffley Avalon 2016
Has a lanky frame with space to fill out at 6-foot 150-pounds. He showed raw ability with a clean exchange and played through the ball defensively. Infield velocity was 68 mph across the infield from a three-quarters arm slot. He ran a 7.50 60 yard dash.  Offensively, Heffley showed live hands from a balanced set up. Gap-to-gap ability with a short swing and an exit velocity of 78 mph.  Heffley has a strong foundation and will increase his stock as his foot speed and agility increase.

+ David Larson McDonough 2016
The 1B/RHP combo has an athletic frame at 6-foot-2 205-pounds.  Hits from a squared and balanced setup.  Has quick hands to the baseball with slight uphill path to the ball. Gap-to-gap type hitter right now with power potential.  Athletic at the bag and comfortable at first base.  On the mound has rhythm in delivery.  Slight pause after separation and pitches at 84 mph.  Will throw harder as matures and fills out frame.  Larson will be attending the Top Prospect Games this summer and plays for the Maryland Monarchs.

+ Kody Milton Severna Park 2018
A good foundation to build upon at 6-foot-2 190-pounds.  Defensively shows fluid footwork with a quick and clean exchange.  Throws from a high three-quarter arm slot with a long arm action.  His velocity at first was 67 mph on double play turns with accurate throws. At the plate, Milton showed fast bat speed while being short to the ball and hitting from a balanced, slightly upright setup.  He had good balance throughout his swing with a level bat path and fluid rhythm.  He shows gap-to-gap hitting ability with power potential. His exit velocity was 82 mph and he ran a 7.80 60 yard dash. An intriguing 2018 that should continue to improve.  This summer Milton is playing for the Severna Park Spikes 17u program.

+ John Palin Riverdale Baptist
He has a solid frame at 5-foot-11 205-pounds. He has a longer arm action and throws from a high three-quarters arm angle. He shows fluid footwork and a clean exchange with some carry on his throws at 82 mph across the infield. He hits from an athletic setup and has good rhythm in his swing.  He is a gap-to-gap type hitter with fast bat speed and has power potential. Strong hands that can handle tough pitching.  His exit velocity was 88 mph and he ran a 7.44 60 yard dash. This summer Palin will be playing with the Evoshield Seminoles 17u squad.

+ Jacob Paulishak Middletown 2017
A long and athletic frame at 6-foot-2 175-pounds, Paulishak projects well in the future. Defensively he looks like he could end up as a corner infielder. He shows soft hands with fluid footwork and a clean exchange. He has a short arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot with some carry on his accurate throws. His infield velocity was 74 mph and he ran a 7.30 60 yard dash.  Offensively, he hit from an athletic setup with a short stride.  Beginning to use his lower half in swing with some bat speed.  He is a line drive type hitter with a slightly uphill bat path and shows potential pop with an exit speed of 82 mph.  On the mound Paulishak has a slightly rushed delivery with good, late sink on his fastball at 82 mph. He slowed up slightly on his breaking ball and changeup.  Interesting prospect to follow with his great frame and raw ability as a two way prospect.  Paulishak will be attending the Top Prospect Games this summer and will be playing for the Mid-Atlantic Rookies along with Brunswick 22u local league.

+ Connor Shockley Parkside 2017
An athletic frame at 5-foot-10 170-pounds, Shockley shows fluid footwork and plays through the baseball well. His hands are soft and he has a quick, clean exchange. His throws are accurate and had good carry on them with a short arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot.  His infield velocity was consistently 78 mph. Hitting from an athletic setup, Shockley gets a little long in his swing but makes up for that with a fast bat. He is a line drive type hitter and has an exit velocity of 78 mph. He ran a 7.09 60 yard dash. Shockley will be attending the Top Prospect Games this summer and is also a representative on Team MD/VA/DC for the PBR Future Games. He plays with the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox 16u.

+ Tyler Shockley James M Bennett 2018
A frame that will continue to grow is currently 5-foot-8 135-pounds.  Shockley shows plenty of athleticism and it is still undecided about where his future will be on the diamond. He showed best behind the plate but handles his own in the infield and on the mound.  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 had a loose arm action from the three-quarter arm slot with carry on his throws at 73 mph. 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. On the mound, Shockly threw a heavy ball from a loose, ¾ arm slot. He hid the ball well with good arm speed and pitched at 81 mph.  He showed a good slider with late action that shows potential to be a power slider.  His changeup had fastball arm action and good sink to the pitch. Shockley plays this summer with the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox 15u.

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