By PBR Staff

The inaugural PBR Fall Championships are taking place at Grand Park in Westfield, IN. More than two dozen travel teams from across the Midwest are competing in two divisions with more than 100 scouts and college recruiters in attendance. There will be notebooks each day covering the 18U and 17U/16U divisions.

The strength of any good team can be found up the middle on defense and Saturday at PBR Fall Championships brought some excellent young catching prospects to the forefront. Barely having started his freshman year, 2021 C Austin Bode (Columbus North HS, IN) has proven himself to be one of the top players in the class. The young backstop receives with soft hands while presenting a wide target and is nimble behind the plate. Bode’s presence in the box makes him seem larger than his 5-foot-10, 150-pound listed size. He crouches down in an athletic stance before squaring off with a reverse toe tap with his hands fluently loading down and back into a power position before exploding through the zone with a short stride. He laced a single up the middle and shows a flat barrel through the zone with gap-to-gap power. There was no questioning his threat each time he stepped to the plate. Opposing Bode for the Legends Sun Devils was 2020 C/RHP Grant Knipp (Male HS, KY). Knipp moves well from side to side behind the plate and his receiving skills are above average, but it is his strong arm that stood out above all else. Easily producing pop times of 2.0-2.1 between innings, Knipp’s throws show carry and accuracy. At the plate he is balanced and athletic from the right side. Interesting to note is that Knipp is scheduled to toe the rubber Sunday in what may be one of the more anticipated outings of the weekend based on his arm strength.

Here are more highlights from Saturday’s action…