Post #2 by Don » February 24th, 2011, 11:47 am
For being a Southren California kid, he was not a national scene guy on the radar and not a gym rat that was 100% dedicated to baseball. He was not a showcase player as a soph or junior because he was a scrawny bag of bones that was about 160 pounds on a over 6 foot frame. This is not questioning his passion, it simply is the look that he was extending his youth in muptiple areas simply being a kid.
He found a weight room and that wiry power started to turn into a big pop in his bat. He has alot of potential, but I think his long term plan is in the outfield. He lacks the arm strenght and usually when guys start to fill out the release time goes north of .45 seconds and it is tough to see him crack a 1.7 in pop to pop in order to be a professional catcher.
In this example provided, he does drive down on the ball and the degree is not overly concerning. His style is considered slight collapsing back sided and push through the ball. You combine with the the barrell and the hands drving down more than through the ball simply tell me this kid requires alot more growth and teaching. He can iron out these little things through teaching and massive repetitions.
He needs to fill out and re-fine his skills, but this is the reason why he is a high upside 8th round pick instead of a second round pick. They might as well try to keep him behind the plate to enhance his overall value to the club.
