Top Performer Spotlight: 2023 C Dalton Harper (Maryvale)

As one of the top 10 best catchers in the state, Harper is possibly the most fun BP to watch of all of them. Dalton Harper is known for his skills behind the dish, but where he stands out the most is in the box. Harper is a big framed, athletic backstop who possesses big time twitch in all of his actions. At the plate, Harper rarely gets cheated as most of his swings float in the 70-74 MPH bat speed range via Blast. The quick hands plus his upper body strength translates into gaudy exit velo numbers upwards of 104.1 MPH. Harper is not the type of high exit velo guy where he only strikes the ball flush once out of every 4-5 swings, Harper's barrel awareness is exceptional as his average exit velo is typically near 99 MPH. Not to be remiss, Harper's tools behind the plate aren't anything to turn your nose up at either. Harper receives smoothly with his glove constantly working from the ground up, giving him a good chance to steal the bottom of the zone. With soft hands and a fairly quick exchange time, Harper runs his pop time down into the 1.96-2.02 range with accurate throws to the bag. The upper body strength isn't only present during his BP rounds, the throws down are also checking in around 77 MPH without sacrificing accuracy. The '23 catcher profiles well behind the dish, but moving into the next level, he could also fill in nicely at 1B with soft hands, a big bat, and a good IQ for the game. Harper is poised to have a big junior year this spring without a doubt. Be on the lookout for coverage on Harper and many other amateur baseball players this spring as we get back to our unrivaled high school baseball scouting via our Twitter.