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2011 midseason positional rankings: top 15 catchers
Nick J. Faleris April 11, 2011 Presented below are the
DiamondScape Scouting midseason positional rankings for the 2011 draft class. We will be rolling out our top 15 catchers,
first basemen, second basemen third basemen and shortstops, our top 30 outfielders, and our top 50 pitchers as of mid-April
2011. This series will culminate with our overall midseason top 300 draft prospects, which will post April 25-27, 2011: Positional Rankings: c | 1b | 2b | 3b | ss | of | p
Midseason Top 300: 1 - 100 | 101 - 200 | 201 - 300
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Three studs and questions... As the college season
nears the midway point, and high school seasons begin to wind down, the 2011 crop of backstops starts to offer a clearer picture
of ceiling and probability, with three talents clearly separating themselves from the pack: Blake Swihart (Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M.), Andrew Susac (Oregon St. Univ.) and Austin Hedges (JSerra HS, San Jan Capistrano, Calif.). Outside of this trio, each of
whom possesses the skill set to stick behind the dish and provide solid value with the bat, the remainder of the class comes
with questions. Javier Baez (Arlington Country Day School, Jacksonville, Fla.) and
Sean Trent (Bishop Moore Catholic HS, Orlando, Fla.) have not been battle tested in
front of pro scouts, but possess the physical tools to convert to catcher as pro players. C.J.
Cron (Univ. of Utah), Nicky
Delmonico (Farragut HS, Knoxville, Tenn.) and Cameron Gallagher (Manheim Township HS, Lancaster, Penn.) are impressive bats that continue
to profile better defensively at the three-spot (perhaps at third or an outfield corner in Delmonico's case). The
April 12 DSS Draft Blog entry explores nine of the below catchers in more detail via a midseason stock up/stock down/stock hold piece. The rankings
below represent DiamondScape Scouting's midseason positional ranking for 2011 Rule 4 Draft-eligible amateurs only, with
their preseason rankings in parentheses (green indicating a rise, red a fall and blue a hold in position):
- Blake Swihart
| Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M. (1)
- Andrew Susac | Oregon St. Univ. (2)
- Austin Hedges | JSerra HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. (3)
- Javier Baez | Arlington Country Day School, Jacksonville,
Fla. (7)
- Peter O’Brien | Bethune-Cookman Univ. (4)
- C.J. Cron | Univ. of Utah (5)
- Nick Delmonico | Farragut HS, Knoxville, Tenn. (6)
- James McCann | Univ. of Arkansas (8)
- Elvin Soto | Xaverian HS, Brooklyn, N.Y. (13)
- Sean Trent | Bishop
Moore Catholic HS, Orlando, Fla. (NR)
- Eric Haase | Divine Child HS, Dearborn, Mich. (NR)
- Tyler Marlette | Hagerty HS, Oviedo, Fla. (9)
- John Hicks | Univ. of Virginia (15)
- Dylan Delso | Broken Arrow HS, Broken Arrow, Okla. (10)
- Brett Austin | Providence HS, Charlotte, N.C. (12)
Dropped Out: Cameron Gallagher | Manheim Township HS, Lancaster, Penn. (11); Jett Bandy | Univ. of
Arizona (14) | Top tools | | Hit: | Blake Swihart | Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M. | | Power: | C.J. Cron
| Univ. of Utah | | Speed: | Blake Swihart | Cleveland HS, Rio Rancho, N.M. | | Arm: | Austin
Hedges | JSerra HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif. | | Defense: | Austin Hedges | JSerra HS, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
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| Copyright DiamondScape Baseball LLC |
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| Blake Swihart (photo by Nick J. Faleris) |
Top Prospect: Blake Swihart
| Cleveland HS (N.M.)
Scouting Report Summary (full scouting report here): The Texas Longhorns commit is a rare switch-hitting
backstop with "now" skills and a fair amount of projection remaining. Additionally,
his athleticism provides for useful back-up plans at lf/rf/3b/2b should he run into any issues
at all as a catcher at the next level. There is little to dislike with Swihart, though
any situation requiring projection (and his future strength is what will ultimately turn his bat from solid to potentially
special) carries risk. He easily profiles as one of the top positional prep players in the
draft class and may have the most interesting blend of skills of any player not named "Bubba".
He should go early on Day 1 and could be the first high schooler off the board. Preseason Rankings
Positional Rankings: Top 300:
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