By John Cackowski
State Director

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Prep Baseball Report Colorado's 3rd Annual Underclass Invitational took place January 29th at the Slammers South facility. 80 prospects showed up and strutted their stuff in a pro-style workout. Over the next several days the PBR Scouting staff will roll out position-by-position rankings of the event.  

Click Here to view complete statistics from the event in PDF format.

We also broke down the Top Tools of the event. Click Here to view the Top Tools based on various commonly used scouting criteria for analyzing prospects.

We started our break down of the Underclass Invitational by looking at the corners position. Today we look at the catchers. 

CATCHERS ANALYSIS: BEST OF THE BEST

Owen Best, C/1B, Regis Jesuit, 2020
5-foot-10, 185 pounds. Bats left throws right. The PBR Colorado staff came away really impressed with Best's offensive potential. Showed off quick, powerful hands from the left side. Frame is still developing, but he is already a strong big swing that doesn’t get cheated. Open stance with a big dive, but hands are quick enough to make up for the dive. 82 mph exit velocity but bat speed played faster in live round. Behind the plate, everything looked the part and he was consistently 2.15 with every throw on the bag. Footwork and transfer were smooth, and he will be under a 2.0 in the next couple of years. He also received very well with a wide base and soft hands. 

Grant Magill, C, Mountain Vista HS, CO, 2019
6-foot, 175 pounds. Bats and throws right. Quick transfer and footwork combined with a strong throwing arm allowed him to produce 1.85-1.95 pop times. Arm velo was 76 mph. Was consistently on the bag, and looked the part behind the plate. Wide frame, and looks bigger than he measures. At the plate, got around balls but had bat speed. Short, compact swing with line drive power. Another player to watch progress. 91 mph exit velocity. Ran a 4.84 home to first. 

Raul Villarreal, C/SS, Arvada West, 2019
5-foot-11, 160 pounds. Bats and throws right. Came away impressed with skill set. At the plate has a slight crouch in stance with wide base. Nice level swing through zone with good extension and lower half rotation.  Line drive power gap to gap. 86 mph exit velo off tee. Solid round hitting. Behind plate has good actions. Frame very well, and works hard for the pitcher. Steals strikes. Pop-times were 2.10 down to 2nd with 71 mph arm velo. Ran a 4.4 home to first.  

Declan Wiesner, C/1B, Valor Christian HS, CO, 2020
5-foot-11, 190 pounds. Bats and throws right. Physical kid with strong forearms and bat speed. Has leg kick stride, down in time, and has gap to gap power. Bat stays in hitting zone with good extension through the ball. Produced exit velocity of 91 mph and ran 4.03 home to first. Bat speed has a chance to continue developing and is already advanced for his age. Ball jumps off his bat. Behind the dish show same athletic abilities. Arm velocity was 71 mph. Has slight hesitation on throw downs that is easily corrected causing 2.4 pop time. 


CATCHERS ANALYSIS: BEST OF THE REST LISTED ALPHABETICALLY 

Craig Kenny, C/3B, Regis Jesuit, 2020
5-foot-10, 170 pounds. Bats and throws right. Open balanced stance at the plate. Timing hitter. Long stride towards ball. Hands don't drop as much in load since last time we saw him. Attacks the ball. Had a good live round.  Lower half works well. Improved to an 82 mph exit velo off of tee. Solid foundation as a catcher behind the plate. Has slight hesitation on throw downs to 2B. For this event Kenny was 2.2 on throw downs but we have had at 2.10 in live action off a pitcher. Arm velo was 70 mph. 

Andrew Naha, C/OF, Denver East, 2020
6-foot-1, 155 pounds. Bat and throws right. Athletic player. Versatile. Tall balanced stance. Short Stride. Swing slightly uphill but has good extension through the ball. Exit velocity was 79 mph off the tee.  Behind the dish has quick actions. Improved throw downs and got rid of slight pause he has in summer.  Arm velo behind dish was 68 mph but we had him at 71 mph in summer. Ran a 4.53 home to first. 

JJ Carrington, C/1B, Rampart, 2019
5-Foot-10, 180 pounds. Bats and throws right. Tall narrow opened stance. Strides into ball and level swing through the zone. Centers live drives up the middle. 78 mph exit velocity off a tee. Good receiving skills. Accurate throw downs to 2B. Long release. Pop-times 2.2. 

Anthony Castonguay, C/3B, Grandview, 2020
5-foot-10, 180 pounds. Bats and throws right. Wide stance in a croutch. Slight uphill swing with good extension. Gets his moneys worth in swing. 83 mph exit velocity off tee but played better in live round. Good actions at 3B. Fields ball out in front, ranges well to both sides. Accurate throws to 1B. Behind the dish has quick feet and quick release. 2.08-2.10 pop times. Strong receiving skills. Solid young catcher. Ran a 4.6 home to first. 

Collin Cushenbery, C, Regis Jesuit HS, CO, 2019
5-foot-10, 165 pounds. Bats and throws right. Bat speed with an uphill path. 90 mph exit velocity, and ball came off bat well. No stride. Short path to the ball and long through it. Hands work in sync, and he gets great extension. Behind the plate showcased quick transfer and throws that were right around 2.0. Had a 70 arm velo and rand a 4.64 home to first. 

Jack Roode, C/1B, Kent Denver, 2020
5-foot-10, 150 pounds. Bats left, throws right. Athletic looking frame. At the plate swing works real well. Tall balanced stance. Quiet load, slight in and out swing through zone. Very good extension through ball. Sometimes over rotates on lower half. 75 mph exit velocity off a tee. On throw downs has a slight hesitation which can be easily corrected. As he gets stronger arm velo will increase. Soft hands receiving. 

Grant Stanwood, C/1B, Denver East, 2019
5-foot-11, 200 pounds. Bats and throws right. Big strong player. Has balanced stance at the plate. Slight uphill swing through zone with power potential. 80 mph exit velo off the tee. Could increase power if lower half utilized more. Behind the dish has an over the top arm slot down to 2B. Good mechanics framing pitches. Hard working player.