NWA Prospects Fite 14U Major

Branson 2023

This is worse than getting out because of a pitch clock violation 😭 via: Prep Baseball Report - MS

We got off to a rough start in the mud for our first game of the Spring, but battled back, improved each game and had a respectable 2-2 finish against some of the best Major teams in Arkansas. Only losses were to 1st & 2nd. That’s not where we want to be, but we’re in the hunt and keep getting better. Thank you for supporting these boys! Go Prospects!

Current 14U Major Standings

State Power/Pts. Rank Class Record

AR Elite #1/ #5 8-4
DOC 2027 #2/ #4 4-1
Fieldhouse Thunder #3/ #7 3-1
MBA-White #4/ #8 5-4
Sticks Midwest #5/ #3 6-6
Prospects Fite #6/ #10 4-3
Prospects Black #10/ #11 3-4-1
Prospects Thunder #12/ #12 1-3-1

HUSTLE & GRIND

Want to double your Ks, reduce your walks and increase wins? Focus more on framing.

In The Diamond Appraised, sabermetrician Craig R. Wright wrote that “the mark of the master is the illusion whereby balls become called strikes,” arguing that “learning to catch the ball so it looks like a strike may do more toward preventing runs than throwing out the extra base runner once a week that is the difference between the best- and worst-throwing catchers.”

To illustrate, each MLB team plays 162 regular season games a year. Pitchers average around 146 pitches per game or 23,652 pitches per season.

Looking at opportunities for throw downs, the league average for steals is only 1.1 per game or 178.2 per season. Therefore, the opportunity to even try to throw out a runner is only .75% or less than 1% of all pitches thrown in an entire season. On top of that, the average “caught stealing” percentage or success rate for throwing out a runner in the MLB is less than 30%.

Longtime catching instructor and current Rockies scouting and player development assistant Jerry Weinstein agrees with Wright’s assessment. “It used to be ‘block and throw,’ and basically catch the ball instead of picking it up after it stops rolling, so how you caught it didn’t seem to be a priority,” Weinstein says. “Now we’re understanding [that] how you catch it is really critical.” The difference is today’s technology and the detailed data it yields. “It’s the old deal, you can’t improve it unless you measure it,” Weinstein continues. “And nobody was interested in improving it because they didn’t realize the importance until people started measuring it and they started showing them how important it was.”

What exercises can you do to improve your moves and presentation when receiving? Watch til the end for some ideas. Yes you can do the standard bench press, shoulder press, wrist curls, etc. but, performing a specific skill against resistance and making it catcher/skill specific has many benefits. We perform all these exercises and more during all of our camps. My next camp with space available is in San Antonio, TX next month. Let me know if you have any questions… #thelifeofacatcher #catchertraining #catcherscamp