VA/DC PreSeason All-State II: Catcher Analysis

April 15, 2019
John Nolan
Virginia Scouting Director & Managing Editor

Follow @PBRVirginiaDC
Facebook + Periscope + Instagram

The Preseason All State Session II was held on February 10, 2019 at the Virginia Sports complex. over 70 players from around the Commonwealth attended our second session of what ended up being well over 150 total participants at our top event of the winter. We begin our player analysis from the event with the catcher position.

Preseason All State Session II

STATS
SUPERLATIVES
PODCAST REACTION
RAPID REACTION I
RAPID REACTION II

VIRGINIA/DC UPCOMING EVENTS

Top Performers

Peter Benavides C / OF / Battlefield, VA / 2020

Benavides is 5-11 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open athletic stance, short leg kick stride on line, loads back to a bar, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains good balance during his swing. Keeps hands in, short and quick to contact point, quick bat, slightly uphill path, line drive swing that generates some carry in the gaps, showed good approach working gap to gap, has chance to continue adding power, exit velocity was 88. Behind the plate, shows some sway and is quick into lateral blocks, good wide stance that he can get deep into. Quick, clean exchange. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 73 and pop times were 2.00-2.12, showed accuracy with his throws. Ran a 4.08 home to first.

Tyler Cotten C / 3B / Grafton , VA / 2020

Cotten is 5-11 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an athletic open stance, short stride on line, loads back with a slight wrap, hips rotate completely with violence, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Short path and very fast bat, explosive batspeed and good strength at contact with extension through the ball. Showed good approach working gap to gap, slightly uphill line drive swing has natural loft to it, doubles power to all fields present with potential for more, exit velocity was 89. Behind the plate, receives with a wide base and presents a good strike, shows sway behind the ball and works down to up well. Gains ground towards second during a quick, clean exchange. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 79 and pop times were 1.96-2.03.

Braeson Fulton C / 3B / Riverheads, VA / 2020

Fulton is a James Madison commit and is 5-11 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an upright slightly open stance, leg kick stride on line, loads back to an arm bar, hips rotate completely with violence, and he maintains very good balance during his swing. Fast bat is quick to the zone, good strength at contact with extension through the ball. Showed good approach working gap to gap, uphill swing generates a lot of loft, power to all fields present with potential for home run power to all fields, exit velocity was 96. Behind the plate, receives with a wide base and presents a good strike, very soft hands, shows sway behind the ball while staying low. Gains ground towards second during a clean exchange. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 78 and pop times were 1.96-2.08. Ran 4.08 home to first.

Dylan Hatfield C / 3B / William Byrd, VA / 2021

Hatfield is 5-11 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an athletic stance, short stride on line, smooth short load back, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Longer path but still a fast bat that is quick to the zone, good strength at contact with extension through the ball. Showed slight pull preference, slightly uphill swing generates some loft to his pull side, power present already with chance to add more, exit velocity was 90. Behind the plate, keeps body low and behind ball receiving, hands are soft receiving but holds strikes firmly. Gains ground towards second during a quick, clean exchange. Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 76 and pop times were 2.00-2.06 and throws were very accurate. Ran 4.15 home to first.

Jackson Severt C / 3B / Dinwiddie, VA / 2021

Severt is 6-1 with a lankier athletic frame that has plenty of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an athletic slightly open stance, strides on line, loads down and back to a slight arm bar, hips rotate completely, and he maintains good balance during his swing. Bat is quick to the ball, showed good approach working gap to gap, slightly uphill line drive swing with some natural loft, has some power gap to gap with a chance to add more as he fills out, exit velocity was 85. Behind the plate, places an emphasis on getting his taller body out of way of umpire, will drop to a knee to not block view, firm receiver. Gains some ground towards second during a quick clean exchange. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 78 and pop times were 1.97-2.05. Ran 4.33 home to first.

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Eddie Blake C / RHP / Staunton River, VA / 2020

Blake is 6-3 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an athletic stance, strides on line, short load back, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains good balance during his swing. Bat is quick to the ball, showed slight pull preference, but can work gap to gap, slightly uphill line drive swing with some natural loft, has some power to his pull side with a chance to add more, exit velocity was 89. Behind the plate, good low crouch for a tall guy, shows good sway behind ball, quiet firm hands receiving. Gains some ground towards second during a clean exchange. Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 77 and pop times were 2.08-2.18.

Trevor Bush C / 3B / Colonial Forge, VA / 2021

Bush is 5-10 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a slightly open athletic stance, strides on line, smooth load back, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Quick to ball, strong contact point and gets good extension through the ball. Slightly uphill line drive swing path, showed good approach working primarily gap to gap, exit velocity was 80. Behind the plate, quiet receiver, good getting into lateral blocks. Clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 67 and pop times were 2.18-2.27, showed accuracy on his throws.

Matthew Ford C / 2B / Oakton, VA / 2020

Ford is 5-9 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from a leaned back upright stance, strides on line, load backs, hips rotate completely, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Short to ball, stays inside well, level to slightly uphill swing, showed good approach working gap to gap, line drive hitter with some doubles power potential, exit velocity was 87. Quick, clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 74 and pop times were 2.07-2.12 and throws showed some accuracy. Showed versatility taking balls in the outfield where his arm played up to 81. Ran 4.50 home to first.

Trey Lyons C / 3B / Fluvanna County, VA / 2020

Lyons is 5-8 with an athletic frame with a strong lower half. He hits from the right side from an athletic stance, short leg kick strides on line, loads back to a wrap, hips rotate completely with violence, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Longer to ball but quick to contact point, slightly uphill swing, strength at contact with extension through it, showed good approach working gap to gap, line drive hitter with doubles power in the alleys, exit velocity was 88. Behind the plate, shows good sway, gettig body behind ball, receives ball well. Clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 69 and pop times were 2.14-2.25 and throws showed some accuracy.

Colby Neal C / 3B / Liberty (Bealton), VA / 2020

Neal is 5-10 with an athletic frame and a strong lower half. He hits from the right side from an athletic stance, strides on line, loads down and back, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Stayed inside the ball well, keeps hands short to contact with some extension through, slightly uphill path, line drive swing, showed good approach working gap to gap, exit velocity was 77. Behind the plate, gains some ground towards second during a clean exchange. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 76 and pop times were 2.10-2.22.

Ryan Peterson C / 1B / First Colonial, VA / 2021

Peterson is 6-0 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the left side from a leaned back slightly open stance, low leg kick stride on line, loads back to wrap, has some rhythm, hips rotate completely and violently, and he maintains some balance during his swing. Short to ball with some batspeed, gets good extension through the ball and has some strength at contact. Uphill swing path with pull preference, has power with potential for more, swing has loft built in and will generate carry, exit velocity was 94. Behind the plate, wide stance receiving keeps body low to present strikes, shows some sway to get behind ball. Clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 74 and pop times were 2.09-2.20.

Bennett Shealor C / OF / Blacksburg, VA / 2022

Shealor is 6-0 with an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open athletic stance, short leg kick stride on line, loads back to a wrap, hips rotate completely with violence, and he maintains good balance during his swing. Keeps hands in, quick to contact point and strong when there, slightly uphill path with uphill extension through the ball, line drive swing that will generate some carry in the gaps as he gets stronger, showed good approach working gap to gap, exit velocity was 82. Behind the plate, shows some sway and gets deep into his squat. Reaches for ball with broken hands, clean exchange otherwise. Throws from a three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 71 and pop times were 2.22-2.28, showed some accuracy with his throws. Ran a 4.53 home to first.

Braidon Ulisse C / 2B / New Kent, VA / 2022

Ulisse is 5-8 with an athletic frame that has plenty of projection left to it. He hits from the right side from an open athletic stance, leg kick stride on line, smooth load back, hips rotate completely with some violence, and he maintains good balance during his swing. Quick to ball with a quick bat, keeps hands inside, has strength at contact and gets good extension through the ball. Slightly uphill line drive swing path, showed good approach working gap to gap, has potential to grow into easy doubles power in the gaps, exit velocity was 75. Clean exchange, throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, short arm action, position velocity was 68 and pop times were 2.17-2.28.