Joey
Kinker

01/27/18- Florida Gulf Coast recruit. Big, strong 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. Moves well, especially for his size. Light on his feet, works with rhythm and the hands work. Quality funnel and trusts his hands. Topped out at 80 mph across the infield. Offensively, the big right hander uses a big leg kick trigger. While it can get him out of sync occasionally, when everything is on time, the swing is compact and generates above average bat speed with present pull power. As he continues to learn to get on time the power should become more and more consistent, especially with the present exit velocity of 98 mph.

12/12/17- Committed to Florida Gulf Coast University.

05/20/17- At 6-foot-2, 215-pounds Kinker appears to have thinned out and leaned up since January. Defensively, he showed off athletic footwork around the bag at first. His glove is above average and has the ability to make quick throws from all angles. Behind the plate he is solid. Hands works and he blocks well with pop times ranging from 2.1-2.15. At the plate, the right handed hitter has a slightly more than shoulder width setup with a medium leg kick trigger. He could get a little more separation, but shows a quality path through the zone with a short  quick swing. He has some pull side power, but is currently better gap-to-gap. This translated to the game where he had hard contact and a base hit. Overall, he will hit at the next level and the bat will play and be one to watch this summer.

02/25/17 - Uncommitted. Currently stands at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds. Physical, solid build with a good lower half and strength in his hands and forearms. Higher hand set with a small step for his load at the plate. Swing is direct and to the ball, keeps his hands inside and can drive it with authority. Ball comes off the bat hard. During the game he took an outside pitch the other way when he crushed a ball over the right field wall for a solo home run. Played sound defense at first, made a couple of picks in the dirt.

01/21/17- The 6-foot-2, 220-pound 1B/C has a big frame that is “country strong,” and he is more athletic than he looks, running a 7.2 60-yard dash. His swing produces an exit velocity of 91 mph, and while his hands can get away from his body, they are quick and produce line drives with some gap to gap power. Behind the plate, Kinker produced pop times of 1.9-2.01 from a higher stance with solid footwork and transfer. In the game, Kinker received well, and presented a large frame for pitchers to throw to. Kinker’s best days are ahead of him, and with some more seasoning at the plate and behind the dish, he will be a solid catcher at the next level.

9/17/16- The big, strong, physical right handed hitting 1B/3B showed a strong bat and solid defense on the day. During batting practice, the first round he showed his strength but was a little long at times. The second round he settled in, got much more use out of his lower half and stayed more direct to the ball resulting in the ball noticeably jumping off of the bat. At first base he showed an average arm, topping out at 81 mph with solid footwork around the bag. The bat is what will take him to the next level as the strong lower half and quick bat will create above average power if he can continue to stay short to the ball.