By Drew Locascio
Illinois Scouting Director

The Unsigned Senior Showcase took place on Sunday January 22^nd at the Max in McCook, IL. The event was open to unsigned seniors in Illinois and Wisconsin and featured over 40 schools in attendance. We began the analysis of the event a few weeks ago with a Quick Hits and Stat Story breaking down the top performers from the event. Today we continue the analysis with a look at the catchers in attendance.

Anthony Velazquez (Roberto Clemente) stood out with his athleticism behind the plate. Velazquez has soft hands, quick feet and comes out of the crouch quick. His throws were consistently on the bag and pop times ranged between 2.01-2.10. At the plate, he has a contact, barrel-control approach.

CATCHERS (Listed Alphabetically)

Brian Croke, C/INF, Lake Zurich, 2017
5-foot-10, 145-pound, lean, left-handed hitting multi-positional prospect. Offensively, balanced, slightly open setup, short stride and maintains balance through contact. Short bat path and line-drive approach. Registered a 74 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, caught and played the infield. On the infield, clean transfer, long arm action from a ¾ slot and clocked at 70 mph across the diamond. Behind the plate, open, tall setup, long arm action, high ¾ slot and throws clocked at 69 mph from a crouch. Pop times ranged between 2.32-2.41. Ran an 8.08 60.

Sam Lepper, C, Reed-Custer, 2017
5-foot-10, 155-pound, right-handed hitting catcher. Defensively, wide, slightly open setup and clean transfer from behind the plate. Arm works short, accurate and was clocked at 75 mph from the crouch. Pop times ranged between 2.08-2.19. Offensively, open, tall setup and long stride. Path works level with a line-drive approach. 74 mph exit velocity from a tee. 7.61 runner in the 60, laser-timed.

Rudy Rodriguez, C/INF, Greenfield (WI), 2017
5-foot-11, 195-pound, solidly built lower half, multi-positional prospect. Offensively, right-handed hitter, tall slightly open setup, long stride. Path stays level through the hitting zone and opposite-field approach. Registered an 84 mph exit velocity. Defensively, on the infield, soft hands and fields out in front of his body. Throws from a low ¾ slot and clocked at 74 mph across the diamond. From behind the plate, low, crouched, slightly open setup, clean exchange, short arm action, high ¾ slot and clocked at 72 mph from the crouch. Pop times ranged between 2.23-2.33. 7.84 runner in the 60.

Anthony Velazquez, C/INF, Roberto Clemente, 2017
5-foot-9, 155-pound multi-positional prospect. Looks natural behind the plate; quick, athletic feet and fast transfer. Flexible lower half, soft hands, quiet receiver, ability to stick pitches. Arm is short and over the top, throws were on the bag and clocked at 75 mph from the crouch. On the infield, feet work quick, covers ground and maintains body control. Soft hands, fields deep into the body at times. Throws clocked at 76 mph across the diamond.  Pop times ranged between 2.01-2.10.  Right-handed hitter, open, balanced setup, smooth pre-pitch load and leg-lift timing trigger. Fluid rhythm in swing, chokes up off the knob and controls the barrel. Registered a 69 mph exit velocity from a tee. 7.36 runner in the 60, laser-timed.

Jacob Wylie, C, Mount Vernon, 2017
6-foot-1, 205-pound, strong build, right-handed hitting catcher. Offensively, balanced setup and quick leg-kick timing trigger. Path is short to the zone and flashed strength through contact; 82 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, behind the plate, quiet, soft blocker. Comes out of the chute slightly open, arm works from a high ¾ slot and throws clocked at 74 mph from the crouch. Pop times ranged between 2.11-2.25. Ran a 7.39 laser-timed 60.

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