SCOUT IT: Looking at the best Bay Area backstops

SCOUT IT OUT LOUD

Northern California is one of the most plentiful regions for producing professional baseball players. Take a look at the big league rosters and you will find all-star caliber players such as Dustin Pedroia (Woodland), Jimmy Rollins (Alameda), and CC Sabathia (Vallejo) and of course many players who are not stars but solid, well established big leaguers.  

However, one position that is not well represented is catcher. In fact, the only one that comes to mind is former Castro Valley High and Stanford catcher Jason Castro, who is expected to be the starter for the Astros.

Maybe the high school classes of 2013 and 2014 will change that, because at Bay Area World Series 2012 (BAWS) there are going to be quite a few catchers who will get strong attention from Division I colleges, and eventually develop into professional prospects.  

Among the seniors, the top catcher is Paddy O’Brien of Miramonte High. O’Brien signed with Santa Clara University last fall and participated at BAWS 2010 after his sophomore year. He has the arm strength, raw power and size that has earned him the attention of scouts. Collin Theroux of Serra is a talented senior catcher who signed with the University of Nevada. Theroux has the tools and size (and passion) for the pro game but college will give him time to polish his game.  

Daniel Comstock of Petaluma and Tyler Kiefer of Wilcox-Santa Clara both remain uncommitted after making the transition from third base to catcher for their senior years. Both are college caliber players who can hit. Comstock could follow in the footsteps of a former Petaluma catcher who was unsigned until late into the summer after his senior year yet still got his chance at the D1 level: Chadd Krist of Cal. Theroux, Comstock, Kiefer and Krist were all BAWS performers.

The consensus top junior catcher in the region, from a scouting perspective, is Francis Christy of Casa Grande-Petaluma. Christy is a prototypical prospect. He is big, strong, has a plus arm and good raw power. Even better: he’s a lefty.  

A few more top juniors to be aware of are Jacob Tonascia (San Benito-Hollister), Cody Snider (Dougherty Valley-San Ramon), and Dylan Isquirdo (Foothill-Pleasanton).  All three of these outstanding juniors will be at BAWS 2012. There are also a couple of sophomores in the area who are already standing out, both of whom play in the West Catholic Athletic League: Tim Susnara (St. Francis-Mountain View) and Jackson Thoreson (Bellarmine Prep-San Jose), both of whom will be at BAWS 2012.  

Blaine Clemmens is the founder and director for the Bay Area World Series showcase. He has been a Bay Area scout for several years, spending time as the recruiting coordinator for USF and the Northern Californa scouting supervisor for the Atlanta Braves. For more information on the Bay Area World Series, visit www.bayareaworldseries.com