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2/25/18

2018 Draft - Top 10 Catchers Available in the Draft



                        2018 Draft – Top 10 Catchers Available in the 2018 Draft –


   1.     Will Banfield                       Brookwood HS (GA)

PG Grade: 10 - Will Banfield is a 2018 C/RHP with a 6-0 200 lb. frame from Lawrenceville, GA who attends Brookwood HS. Strong athletic build, pretty mature physically. Highest level physical tools on defense, extremely flexible and athletic in his lower half, strong hands that frame mid-90's like a professional, high energy blocker, outstanding arm strength and release, 1.74 pop inn drills, regularly 1.8's in between innings. Right handed hitter, busy hand load, strong swing with some lift, strong hands, best power at present is to right centerfield, battles at the plate and will make adjustments and find the barrel, lots of power potential. Plays the game hard. Good student, verbal commitment to Vanderbilt. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



    2.     Mason Denaburg              Merritt Island HS (FL)

PG Grade: 10 - Mason Denaburg is a 2018 C/RHP with a 6-3 190 lb. frame from Merritt Island, FL who attends Merritt Island HS. Tall angular build, lots of physical projection. Highest level two-way prospect, future is likely on the mound. Very simple leg raise delivery, turn and throw mechanics, essentially working from the stretch. Arm is fast and smooth, fastball topped out at 97 mph with little effort, big nasty sinking and running life on his fastball at times, will occasionally drift out in his delivery but mostly together with his mechanics. Change up had similar sinking life to his fastball. Did not throw a curveball in this short outing but has shown a solid power curve in the past. Right handed hitter, high hand load with a balanced and strong swing, big power to both alley's, swings as easy as he throws. 6.84 runner, plenty athletic enough behind the plate and could probably play most other positions on the field. Good student, verbal commitment to Florida. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



    3.     Joey Bart                              Georgia Tech

CBD - This past spring as a freshman he hit .296 in 186 at-bats with 36 runs scored, 13 doubles, 43 RBI, 16 walks and 50 strikeouts. Bart jumped on a lot of scouts radars because he blasted 13 home runs after hitting just one as a freshman. That season led to him being named a 2017 Johnny Bench Award Semifinalist and to the 2017 All-ACC Second Team. This past summer he played eight games in the Cape Cod League but was also named to the 2017 USA Baseball CNT Training Camp roster. The 6-foot-3, 220 pound right-handed catcher has a really good arm and should be able to remain a backstop at the next level. With the power he showed as a sophomore he has the chance to be one of the best catchers in the country in 2018.



    4.     Noah Naylor                       St. Joan Of Arc HS (ONT)

PG Grade: 10 - Noah Naylor is a 2018 C/MIF with a 6-0 195 lb. frame from Mississauga, ON who attends St. Joan of Arc Catholic Secondary. Strong athletic build, good present strength with room for more. Very high level athleticism for a catcher, 6.62 in the sixty, low and flexible behind the plate, very quick shifting and blocked, high level arm strength with a loose and fast arm, 1.78 best pop time. Also played the middle infield with surprisingly good actions and tools, can develop this part of his game further. Left handed hitter, slightly open stance, clean shift into contact and swing, has lots of strength at contact and can drive the ball hard, tends to stay open but can go the other way effectively. Has always performed at high level events against top pitching. Verbal commitment to Texas A&M. Brother of former PG All-American Josh Naylor. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



    5.     Anthony Siegler                 Carterfield HS (GA)

PG Grade: 10 - Anthony Seigler is a 2018 C/BHP with a 5-11 200 lb. frame from Cartersville, GA who attends Cartersville HS. Solid athletic build with good present strength. Unique athlete,completely ambidextrous in all his baseball actions. Switch hitter with equal bat speed from both sides, lots of lift left handed, puts the ball in the air, more of a level swing from the right side but can still get the ball in the air and drive it, moves into contact well from both sides and uncoils well. Has good athleticism behind the plate with lots of quickness, big arm strength on his throws, 1.87 best pop time, receives the ball well in games. Throws with both hands on the mound, more polished from the left side, topped out at 88 mph with feel for his curveball and change up. All fastballs from the right side from a higher arm slot, worked down in the zone with an 88-90 mph fastball. Good student, verbal commitment to Auburn. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



   6.     Grant Koch                          Arkansas

Razorback website - As a Sophomore (2017)- >>> All-SEC First Team - Appeared in 63 games, all starts, and hit .264 with a career-best 13 home runs and 42 RBIs His home run total was seventh-most in the conference, most among catchers and most by a Razorback catcher in the Dave Van Horn era … Also hit 14 doubles and one triple with a .498 slugging percentage … Totaled a .358 on-base percentage coupled with 33 walks, two hit by pitches and one stolen base … Caught 16 base stealers in 24 attempts (.600), good for third in the SEC … Hit .270 in conference play with seven home runs and 15 RBIs … His seven home runs were also a top-10 total in the league … Finished the season with 15 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games … His 11 multi-RBI games were good for third on the team … Had a great 12-game stretch to begin the season as he racked up a .358 average with 18 hits, 18 RBIs, and five home runs, which was the best offensive start to a season by a Razorback catcher since Brady Toops in 2004 … Had two four-RBI games during run (vs. Bryant – Feb. 24; vs. Nebraska – March 4), both career-highs … Had a career-high four hits on Feb. 26 against Bryant, his only four-hit game of the season … Against Nebraska, he went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and his first career grand slam … Hit a home run in back-to-back games against Vanderbilt (May 13-14), one of five Razorbacks to achieve the feat during the season … Had two hits in the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, both coming in elimination games (vs. Oral Roberts – June 4; vs. Missouri State – June 4) … Named to 2017 SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll.



    7.     Cal Raleigh                          Florida State

Seminoles website - SOPHOMORE (2017):  Was the only Florida State player to start all 69 games of the season…ended the year with 51 runs scored, 16 doubles, and nine home runs…picked up his first of 14 multi-hit games on the season with a 2-for-3 performance against Samford on February 25, including an RBI double that opened a five-run inning that brought FSU to a 8-0 win…smacked his first home run of the season with a first-pitch shot to open the top of the fourth on February 28 in Jacksonville, helping the Seminoles escape a 3-0 deficit and pull off a comeback to win 6-5…went 3-for-4 in the first game of the doubleheader against Boston College on March 11 while notching two doubles and scoring two runs in Florida State’s 11-1 victory…had his second three-hit game of the season on March 21 against Jacksonville, which included a solo home run to open the ninth inning to bring the FSU deficit to 9-8 before the Seminoles ultimately scored two more runs and earned the first walk-off win of the season…hit his first triple of the season in the fourth inning against FGCU on April 5 before scoring the winning run on Dylan Busby’s RBI single…drew three walks on April 25 against Stetson, tying a career-high that was set in the 2016 Super Regional game at Florida…knocked in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning of the ACC Championship game against North Carolina on May 28, helping Florida State claim its seventh ACC Championship victory…singled in the tying run in the seventh inning against Sam Houston State on June 10 in the first Super Regional game before the Seminoles walked off in the ninth to win 7-6…partnered with Quincy Nieporte to hit back-to-back home runs to open the bottom of the ninth in the final College World Series game against LSU before Florida State ultimately fell 7-4.



    8.     Christopher Willis             Rustin HS (LA)

PG Grade: 10 - Christopher Willis is a 2018 C/1B with a 6-4 185 lb. frame from Ruston, LA who attends Ruston HS. Large athletic frame, loose and physically projectable, has the potential to outgrow the catching position but has the athleticism to play multiple positions. Left handed hitter, hits from a wide base, loose hands and an easy tension free swing, creates bat speed, very good extension, lots of power there, big carry to the middle of the field. Plus arm strength on defense, throws downhill and is very accurate, 1.84 best pop time, has the athleticism to stay behind the plate at present. Good student. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



    9.     Austin Wells                       Bishop Gorman HS (NV)

PG Grade: 10 - Austin Wells is a 2018 C/1B with a 6-2 195 lb. frame from Henderson, NV who attends Bishop Gorman HS. Strong athletic build, pretty mature physically. Left handed hitter, nice load and shift into contact from a spread start, loose extended swing, has bat speed, hits to all fields, polished hitter who sees the ball well at the plate, has been a high performance hitter in the past. 6.97 runner, good athlete behind the plate with quickness in his actions, has a quick release and makes accurate throws, 1.91 best pop time. Good student, verbal commitment to Arizona. Selected for the 2017 Perfect Game All-American Classic.



   10. Kameron Ojeda                 St. John Bosco HS (CA)

PG Grade: 10 - Kameron Ojeda is a 2018 C/OF with a 6-1 185 lb. frame from La Mirada, CA who attends St. John Bosco HS. Medium athletic build, some present strength with room for more. Very solid defensive tools and actions, very quick laterally and in getting rid of the ball, plenty of arm strength with carry and accuracy, game actions in drills, 1.82 best pop, 1.97 in games, very polished mechanics and some explosive athleticism. Left handed hitter, has spread out his stance over the last year, long swing with a pull oriented approach, tends to pull off with his front side and leave the outer half open. Good student, verbal commitment to Cal State Fullerton.


5 comments:

  1. My Rule (XVII): If there's an ambidextrous catcher avail Rd 3, grab him.

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  2. You have two arms to burn out.

    I expect the Mets to take a long look at Naylor once they get past the first round.

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  3. Naylor, Banfield, Denaburg all look very good

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  4. Not knowing anything about these players other than these snippets, the description of Christopher Willis caught my eye. While I know what a player does in high school or college doesn't necessarily translate to the way up the ladder, but I'm surprised the reports are revealing the stat lines for each one.

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