Max Gagnon, Ben Fish, Patrick Roy.....

...three senior catchers for their respective high school teams that just impress the heck out of me every time I see them.

I got to watch Gagnon last year when Raleigh Sanderson played Greenville Rose in a two game series and I came out of that series extremely impressed. He has excellent size, an excellent bat and a strong arm. I don't measure pop times and such, I just know we couldn't run on him, we couldn't even get a lead off first either because he was picking us off there too. Heck I think he was picking us off before we even got out of the dugout. From what I understand he is unsigned yet which just blows me away.

I got my first glimpse of Ben Fish Tuesday in Rocky Mount. We didn't try and run on him so I don't know how his throws are but he handled the pitchers extremely well, had excellent mechanics and he could hit, boy could he hit. He came up in the bottom of the 9th with the tying run on 3rd and two outs. My son was pitching and being the smart kid he is, he gave Fish nothing to hit and walked him on four pitches. I haven't asked Paul yet if that was an intentional unintentional walk or an unintentional intentional walk...lol!

I am biased of course towards Patrick Roy of Greenville Rose since I have watched him behind the plate for years. He is sound in his mechanics, is a good leader, an excellent hitter with good power (hit two 2 run homers in our last game against New Hanover), hard to run on and something you rarely see this day and age, the coaches allow him to call the pitches. My son has total trust in him and rarely shakes him off. On top of that he is just a good, respectful kid. He definitely will get an opportunity to play past high school. Patrick gives you 100% every time out.

If I was a college coach, I would love to have any of these three kids behind the plate for me.

 

ive heard nothin but good things about gagnon and fish, not sure about roy but im sure he is a player too.

gotta wish the best for these guys.

 

I have only seen Fish but he is a good player. I keep wondering where he will end up. Talented guy.

Speaking of unsigned seniors, a few weeks back I mentioned David Coffey (6"21/2" 180lbs.)from Ragsdale. In his two starts he now has a no-no and a 1 hitter against two top quality teams in Northern Nash and Southwest Guilford. 14K's and no walks. Before someone says it, he is not my son. My son is his catcher. My son says he just paints the black, has 3 quality pitches and never throws the same pitch in the same spot to the same batter. I realize he doesn't throw 90 but there has to be a need for a good pitcher with great grades, big frame and no bad social habits. I read on this website about how grades matter, character matters, worth ethic matters as well as talent. I hope that holds true.

 

If Roy had Gagnon's size, I wouldn't be wondering where he was going to catch in college (Louisburg I think) but how much pro money he would be getting as a signing bonus.

 

Ben Fish

Ben Fish is the one player you don't want to see come up to the plate with runners in scoring position if you are the opposing team. He has that "Eye of the Tiger", you frequently hear about.

 

Another thing that is not mentioned enough are the intangibles of recruiting a kid from a winning program. These players are not used to losing and the qualities and attitudes they developed from playing in a winning program are carried forward to the next level.

A kid that hates to lose with a passion can inject that attitude into others

 

Putt, all those things mean a great deal, but the bottom line is what the recruiter thinks how that player will produce at the next level. And the more he produces the less the other factors are relevant. I'm not referring to the student that is poor in those categories you mentioned, but if you ask a coach which he prefers: A pitcher that has high velocity and is an average student vs a pitcher that has average or below average velocity and is a great student...well, you can guess which one they will select.

Some programs place a high degree of emphasis on character, while some others use lip service. But you will find that most successful programs care about everything.

 

While I agree with you, the problem is that the kid behind Fish in the order may be just as good. Soph Thomas Berry- remember that name.

 

That creates a problem for opposing teams. I've seen Thomas Berry hit. He's got a smooth swing! Teams that are considering walking Ben Fish will have their hands full with Thomas. He can go deep with the best of them. I haven't seen Rocky Mount play yet, but if Pat Smith has Berry hitting behind Fish, that's a good move! I know that Berry may be the guy replacing Fish at catcher next year.

 

With Rocky Mt., they all are good.