Jake
Vrlak

Vrlak is widely considered the top catcher in the 2021 class. We first saw him at the 2019 BC Selects camp, where he was an underage catcher fearlessly directing traffic and taking control of the pitching staff in intersquad competition. This North Shore Twins product has noticeably committed himself to the weight room in the last calendar year and sees dividends in his swing. He is compact and quick to the ball, and last February, he topped at 96MPH in his exit velocity in batting practice rounds (90 MPH across front toss rounds). His swing is very repeatable and should project to be a line drive gap-to-gap hitter in the early stages of his collegiate career, potentially more as he develops and gains confidence. In the past, he has recorded a 7.06 60-yard time, the fastest catcher in the class to complement his athleticism. Defensively, he records a 2.00-2.1 on average in his throws to second, demonstrates easy movements and consistent actions in his receiving and blocks the ball well. There is a ton to look forward to with Vrlak in his collegiate career, and he will be able to slide into a lineup and take control of the game at any level. High baseball IQ, and high work ethic, significant upside.

Vrlak projects right now as the top Catcher in British Columbia for the 2021 grad class. The first thing that stuck around in our minds about Vrlak was his presence behind the plate as a leader and orchestrator of the team in front of him. As an underage player at the BC Selects Camp last year, he didn’t hesitate to lead and let his voice be heard from behind the plate with the pitching staff and the rest of the players. Offensively, he has a short, quick and repeatable swing. At IP last February, he topped out at 95.7 MPH EV, and averaged right around a 20° LA. He averaged about 90 mph for an EV across 62 front toss and live BP swings.

Jake Vrlak 2021 Young NorthShore Twins product standing 5-foot-9 150-pounds showed he had a number of tools to like on this day. As a catcher there's a lot to like as he shows a solid foundation fundamentals, shows good receiving and framing ability with soft hands and showed with some added arm strength his pop time will definitely improve from 2.13-seconds. Vrlak showed he had the speed to play the OF with a 7.02-second 60. Vrlak also had a good bp round hitting balls all over the field with his short compact swing hitting 82 mph on the exit velo which is impressive at his young age. Early projections have him behind the plate with the tools he shows but he is definitely a 2021 to keep an eye on moving into his grade 10 season.