On Jan. 25, the PBR Wisconsin team held its first showcase of 2020, the Kenosha Preseason I.D., at Fielder’s Choice Training Academy, in Kenosha, Wis. For the past two years now, this event has revealed to us some of the most talented prospects in the Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois areas, and this year’s event was no exception.

In the days following the showcase, we published our Quick Hits story, as well as our Statistical Analysis from the Kenosha event. Today marks the start of our position-by-position analysis, beginning with the event’s catchers.

Of the names to note below, sophomore A.J. Finco (Home School) and junior Anthony Vivian (Dodgeville) are two uncommitted, physical, offense-first backstops who took a couple of the louder rounds of batting practice in Kenosha. In fact, the two were right near the top of the exit velocity leaderboard for the entire event. Finco and Vivian were also back-to-back at the top of the average pop time board. 

Continue on below for a look at each of the backstops who attended the Kenosha-area event. Keep a lookout tomorrow, Tuesday, when we’ll bring to you the notes on each of the event’s outfielders.

CATCHERS (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY)

Brady Davidson, St Joseph Catholic Academy (WI), 2023
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-foot-8, 165-pounds. Strong lower half in a compact build.
Hit: LHH. Quiet balanced setup, slightly open stance, short leg lift stride, sturdy balance through contact. Slight uphill path, with some pull side tendency, repeatable swing with some projection. Showed low effort hard contact.
Power: 86 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. INF - 71 mph. Short arm action, works out of over the top slot.
Defense: 2.33-2.44 pop times. Showed best at catcher, deliberate actions, directional out of the crouch.
Run: 4.78 home to first. 

AJ Finco, A Beka Academy (WI), 2022
Positional Profile: C
Body: 5-foot-10, 193-pounds. Compact frame, strong throughout, sturdy lower half.
Hit: RHH. Balanced stance, short stride, on time and balanced. Simple approach, quiet compact swing, paht is level with slight uphill attack angle,
Power: 91 mph exit velocity from the tee. Ball jumps off the bat at times.
Arm: RH. C - 69 mph. Over the top slot, short path to release, showed general accuracy.
Defense: 2.10-2.21 pop times. Pop time action are directional, feet are fluid with clean exchange. Athletic and vocal out of the crouch.
Run: 4.89 home to first. 

Riken Frost, Omro (WI), 2021
Positional Profile: C
Body: 6-foot-3, 190-pounds. Large frame, long lower half.
Hit: RHH. Balanced stance, slight leg kick stride, solid balance. Long path on slight uphill plane.
Power: 84 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 69 mph. Over the top slot, works uphill, showed some accuracy.
Defense: 2.26-2.41 pop times. Hands work receiving the baseball, deliberate actions out of the crouch, gets tall.
Run: 4.83 home to first. 

Grant Garrett, Grayslake North (IL), 2022
Positional Profile: C
Body: 6-foot-1, 160-pounds. Lean frame, some projection.
Hit: RHH. Tall setup, slightly open, low lifted long stride, average balance. Level path, got line drive contact.
Power: 86 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Long to release, over the top slot.
Defense: 2.27-2.34 pop times. Short footwork, stays behind the plate, showed ability to be efficient out of the crouch.
Run: 4.38 home to first. Easy run, long stride.

Ethan Goll, Marquette University (WI), 2022
Positional Profile: C
Body: 5-foot-10, 155-pounds. Average frame, lean build.
Hit: RHH. Open stance, long stride with reverse tap load. Path has length, slight uphill plane, varied timing, long high finish through contact.
Power: 81 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Short over the top slot, moderately accurate.
Defense: 2.13-2.27 pop times. Quick actions, showed the ability to get rid of the baseball, agile out of the crouch.
Run: 4.51 home to first. 

Konnor Hill, Shoreland Lutheran (WI), 2021
Positional Profile: C
Body: 5-foot-10, 150-pounds. Trim build.
Hit: LHH. Balanced stance, slightly open and tall setup, leg kick trigger. Short uphill path, gets below the baseball and works uphill.
Power: 75 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 71 mph. Short arm action, high 3/4 slot.
Defense: 2.22-2.40 pop times. Gets tall out of the crouch with short footwork that trade places.
Run: 4.27 home to first. Quick out of the box, gets to top speed quickly. 

Michael Maloney, Pulaski (WI), 2021
Positional Profile: C/3B
Body: 5-foot-8, 188-pounds. Compact build. Strong lower half.
Hit: RHH. Open stance, leg kick stride gets to even, slight hand load back.  Path has length, works around the baseball with pull side contact.
Power: 88 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 74 mph. INF - 77 mph. Arm played short out of the crouch, showed more length when working on the infield, over the top slot.
Defense: 2.16-2.34 pop times. Showed direction out of the chute, tall at times.Hands funnel the baseball on the infield, rolls glove into fielding position, best on routine baseballs.
Run: 4.39 home to first. 

Anthony Vivian, Dodgeville (WI), 2021
Positional Profile: C/OF
Body: 5-foot-11, 195-pounds. Physically advanced build, strong all around, muscle bound build.
Hit: RHH. Open stance, short on time stride gets squared up, good balance through contact. Short uphill path with gap to gap contact, bat strength swing.
Power: 92 mph exit velocity from the tee. Above average strength leads to hard gap contact.
Arm: RH. C - 75 mph. OF - 80 mph. Short over the top slot, showed accuracy, and occasional carry out of the crouch.
Defense: 2.13-2.25 pop times. Showed most natural defensive actions at catcher, works directional, solid block. Outfield actions play with crowhop, works through the baseball.
Run: 4.71 home to first. 

Tanner White, Tremper (WI), 2023
Positional Profile: C/RHP
Body: 5-foot-10, 167-pounds.
Hit: RHH. Balanced stance, tall setup, short stride, hands load down and back. Path plays uphill with length.
Power: 75 mph exit velocity from the tee.
Arm: RH. C - 69 mph. Short over the top slot, some effort. Showed ability to play accurate.
Defense: 2.32-2.45 pop times. Feet stay behind the plate and directional to target, tall out of the crouch.
Run: 4.97 home to first.

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