Sam
Heslin

Heslin, a 2019 right-handed hitting catcher, stands at 6-foot-0 and weighs 185 pounds, ran a 7.73 60. Offensively- Starts with an open balanced lower half, slight bend with both knees, hands above the back shoulder and barrel of the bat parallel to the ground. Initiates the swing with a shift of weight to the back side while the lead foot elevates and strides moderately forward towards the pitcher while the hands are loaded slightly outside and even with the back shoulder. Stayed strong from the pull side line to the pull side gap with quality drive to the gap. Hands stayed compact and connected to the lower half during batting practice. Recorded an exit velocity of 80 MPH on the day. Defensively-  Sets up from a balanced square primary stance with the glove above and slightly in front of the left shin guard. Works around the ball at times when receiving, letting the glove elbow get above or parallel with the glove hand, which causes the glove to receive the top half of the baseball. On throws to second base, since the glove receives the top half of the ball, the glove works in a circular movement before getting to the chest area where the transfer takes place. Throws showed decent accuracy but could show much more carry with a quicker transfer which would shorten up the arm action and create more extension on the release. Recorded an arm velocity of 73 MPH to go along with a top pop time of 2.22.