Dan Cevette
Director, New York

Name: Austin O'Shei
High School: Hamburg
Class: 2016
Position: C/MF

Projection
I think from a tools standpoint he provides a lot to like as a catcher. At 5-foot-10, his 154-pound frame needs more size providing strength and durability - and that's the one question we can only guess on. His foot-work and quick release are some of the best in the 2016 class behind the plate, so with some improvements to the rest of his game he could be a special player.

Scouting Reports On O'Shei
O'Shei stands 5-foot-10, 154-pounds with a solid frame, athletic build. Behind the plate there was no one faster glove-to-hand-to-release than O'Shei. He showed consistently a 1.92 to second with one of our clocks getting him as low as an unreal 1.81. Regardless, his hands are lightning fast giving opposing runners almost no chance. He shows athletic blocking ability moving well side to side. At the plate he starts with his weight pushed back, hands back load up on the pitch. Barrel drops some on his path forward, plane is uphill with long extension out in front.

He shows a ton of upside at both positions.  Though slightly undersized right now, his arm plays like a next level catcher.  He had a 26” vertical leap and jumped over 8’ on the broad jump.  Behind the plate he’s still mechanically a little green with his receiving skills but his transfer, release, and arm strength is second to none in the state right now.  Being a dual position player we can tell he hasn’t gotten enough work behind the plate to really see his full potential.  As an infielder you can see he’s fundamentally sound with good footwork getting around the baseball and limiting the extra movement to show quick release.  He fields everything out in front and doesn’t let the ball spend much time in the glove.  At the plate he shows quick hands and good use of his lower body.  He generates good power with a frame that has not yet filled out.  He does get a little longer than we’d like to see with his bat path occasionally.  With added strength in the weight room and still early in his junior year, this 2016 is definitely one to keep an eye on this spring and summer.

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