By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Louisville Prospect ID Showcase, held on January 21 at Mockingbird Sports/Louisville Baseball Center, saw some solid catching prospects.  Today we take a look at the top catching performances, as well as all of the catchers in attendance at the showcase.  Stay tuned as we continue to analyze by position groups over the coming days.

The Top Catching Performances

Christopher Allen, C, Class of 2013, Male HS
Allen is a 6-foot, 170-pound prospect with an athletic frame. Shows good athleticism behind the plate, very good receiving skills, sticks pitches well, good lateral blocking skills, feet work, quick glove to hand transfer and release, arm strength 76 mph from the crouch, pop times consistent between 1.94-2.04 with his best at 1.86.  Offensively, hits from slightly open setup, gets lower half involved in swing to create moderate bat speed, tee exit velocity at 83 mph.  Allen is an unsigned senior and a solid, athletic catching prospect.

Chase Boling, C, Class of 2015, Lexington Catholic HS
Boling is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound prospect with a strong frame.  Has good setup behind the plate, shows solid receiving skills, sticks pitches well, pop times improved slightly over previous PBR event last month ranging from 2.06-2.22 and will continue to improve with continued advancement of footwork and throwing mechanics, needs to continue working on lateral blocking skills.  At the plate, Boling hits from a balanced setup with smooth load, short stride, explosive lower half creates good barrel whip through the zone, strong young hitter with power potential, registered top exit velocity of the event at 90 mph.

The Next Group

Ian Bach, C, Class of 2014, Covington Catholic HS
5-foot-9, 185-pound prospect with strong lower half, good setup behind the plate, stays low, good receiving skills, boxes and frames well, solid blocking skills, quick glove to hand transfer, feet work, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch.  At the plate, hits from crouch setup, short path to the ball, quick swing, registered 79 mph tee exit velocity.

Kyle Lewis, C, Class of 2014, Butler HS
6-foot, 180-pound, left-handed hitting prospect with athletic frame, sets up well behind the plate, stays low, displays good receiving skills, needs to improve blocking skills and lateral movement, shows quick glove to hand transfer, 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 1.97-2.14, room for improved pop times with more consistent footwork.  Offensively, hits from open stance, squares front side, line drive swing path, shows ability to hit the ball to all fields, needs better use of lower half in swing.  Ran 5.3 40 yard dash.

Jonathan Embry, C Class of 2015, Christian Academy of Louisville
5-foot-10, 160-pound, left-handed hitting prospect, shows good receiving skills, frames and boxes well, good blocking skills and lateral movement, decent glove to hand transfer, needs to work on quicker release and footwork, pop times registered 2.09-2.22, 76 mph arm strength from the crouch.  At the plate, hits from slightly open setup, squares front side, needs more lower half torque in swing, registered 79 mph tee exit velocity.

Hunter Schmittou, C, Class of 2013, Northwest HS (TN)
6-foot-1, 178-pound, left-handed hitting catcher with an athletic frame, shows solid receiving skills and blocking ability, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.05-2.22 and will improve with quicker glove to hand transfer and quicker footwork.  At the plate, hits from slightly closed setup, no load, no stride, shows good balance, slight uppercut in swing, needs more consistent use of lower half in swing, registered 80 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.14 40 yard dash.

Sam Coryell, C/OF, Class of 2014, DuPont Manual HS
5-foot-11, 172-pound prospect, good receiving skills, needs to continue to work on blocking, 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.06-2.22, room for more consistent footwork to improve pop times.  At the plate, hits from open stance, drops hands in load, long stride, chest level hand trigger and level swing path, registered tee exit velocity of 80 mph and ran 5.19 40 yard dash.

Best of the Rest (Alphabetical Order)

Nate Cissell, C/3B, Class of 2016, Henderson County HS
5-foot-8, 150-pound, young catching prospect with average build, good setup behind the plate, stays low, good lateral movement and blocking skills, 71 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times 2.19-2.30, room to improve with better footwork (drifts 3B side) and quicker glove to hand exchange.  Offensively, big load, small leg kick trigger, foot gets down late, opposite field approach.  Cissell is a young prospect with good potential with further physical development.

Chris Crotzer, C/2B, Class of 2015, Collins HS
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect with average build, needs lower setup behind the plate and work on lateral blocking skills, 73 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.13-2.25, pop times will improve with quicker footwork and glove to hand exchange.  At the plate, uses tall setup and short stride, drops hands in load, gets some lower half involved in swing, registered 79 mph tee exit velocity, young prospect with potential.

Chance Egnor, C, Class of 2015, North Bullitt HS
5-foot-10, 185-pound, left-handed hitting prospect with athletic build, shows solid receiving skills, needs to continue to work on blocking skills, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.25-2.45, quicker footwork and glove to hand exchange will lead to better pop times.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, no load, chest level hand trigger and flat swing path, lacks complete use of lower half in swing.

Daniel Rivera, C, Class of 2014, Trinity HS
5-foot-8, 180-pound, left-handed hitting prospect, tends to setup high behind the plate, needs work on receiving glove-side pitches and blocking skills, 70 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.16-2.35, room for improvement with better footwork and quicker glove to hand exchange.  Offensively, hits from open stance, squares front side, long stride, linedrive swing path, opposite field approach, shows potential offensively from the left side.

Brice Stockton, C, Class of 2015, Anderson County HS
5-foot-10, 170-pound catching prospect with athletic build and strong legs, setup behind the plate tends to be high, shows good blocking skills, 74 mph arm strength from the crouch, pop times registered 2.12-2.25, can improve pop times with quicker footwork and glove to hand exchange.  At the plate, short stride, no load, short path to the ball, quick swing.  Good potential with continued development.