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All the time we hear about size and projection, my question is there any drawbacks to larger kids? I guess I'm just curious if there are any personal experience or you have heard of kids that actually have been hindered in therecuiting process because they were too big; I would think not but you never know. My 2016 recently went to the doc for his baseball physical and was weighed at 232lbs. He is 6'1" and runs slower than a snail at 7.8, never was speedy. Behind the plate he has very good footwork, soft blocker, above average reciever and good footwork and transitions on throwdowns. Is there anything to worry about at that size and running that slow or would his quickness behind the trump that.

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There is always a negative perception rightly or wrongly for an overweight kid, especially if his weight is perceived as a reason for a slow foot speed.

I would hit the weight room and get as trim as possible.

Not saying that your guy is not doing that, just pointing out that you are correct about the perception of an overweight athlete.

If he is hitting the ball over the fence regularly, then that will weigh in his favor. If he hits ground balls and gets thrown out a lot, not so good...

There are always exceptions to the rule, like the ace 5'-10" RHP, but in general I don't think you will see many starting DI catchers at his weight. Check the rosters of teams at the level where you think he fits. The lower the level, the wider the range of ht/wt for the catchers (in both directions). Many rosters can be sorted by weight. The guys at your son's weight and higher are usually pitchers and firstbase/DH. (Speaking from experience.)

floridafan - I think the weights have contributed to his current weight. At the beginning of last season he was 210lbs and solid. In the off season he hit the weights pretty hard and packed on some muscle, appearantly 20lbs worth. I think the issue was that he hasn't run very much and needs to in order to drop some of that.

 

MidAtlanticdad - I agree that at some point he may be pushed over to 1B as long as he keeps hitting but I really hope that he continues to progress as a catcher and gets some opportunities behind the dish at the next level.

Agree with others and will add... we've had a few players in our HS program who were otherwise very capable of playing at the next level but, despite constant urging, refused to keep their weight in check to the point where it affected their mobility.  They, in turn, were viewed by colleges as players who were more of a liability than a weapon - didn't get college interest.  We've also had players in the program who hit the weights hard but didn't try to tailor some of those efforts toward baseball-specific strengthening and this hurt them more than helped. I don't know if any of this describes your son at all  but, even if not, he should be including a good dose of speed and agility work along with his lifting.  College teams want some big guys that can thump but they want them to be reasonably athletic and mobile.  They are not expected to move as well as the fast guys but there shouldn't be a huge gap.  And there are plenty who are both thumpers and reasonably mobile vying for those college roster spots.

 

A few visual references... if a big guy hits a shot to the wall in the gap but the typically good college OF's are getting the ball in rather quickly, holding him to a single, his power is negated if he can't leg out the double.  If every ground ball in the hole with R1 turns into a double play, this is a big negative.  Generally, every player in the lineup is expected to be able to beat out that second throw. 

 

Hope this helps.

Last edited by cabbagedad

It is all how you look to the HC/RC.  Bottom line is coaches want athletic looking kids.  My 2015 was 6’2” 225LB beginning of his junior year. Ran 7.8/60 and looked like he was laboring!   Worked all junior year and through the summer and now is 6’3” 225lb.  Same weight (225lb) still runs 7.7 but body fat has decreased tremendously with more muscle.  Now when running he looks athletic and doesn’t look slow although his 60 would indicate he is.   What opened up my 2015 eyes was a RC told him to “get in shape or you better hit a home run every time.” 

No drawback…on the contrary.  In baseball the “6’3” 225lb kid has to prove he can’t play where is the 5’10 185lb kid has to prove he can play!   

It all depends on the player.  Yes coaches seem to like Athletic catchers but I just looked at several MLB rosters and most of them are north of 210lbs.  My son is 6'1" 215 and is not fat at all.  He is built like a linebacker with tree trunks for thighs.  At the end of the day its all about how you can hit.  Bigger guys need to have more power so thats good.

Thanks for the replies. 2016 definitely carries the weight well and has very little fat. Like mentioned by daveccpa he has tree trunk thighs from years of hockey.. His 60 is slow but I think his 40 is somewhere around 5.1-5.2 so he has burst speed just labors after. Recently went to a PBR showcase and all the other kids were 5'9" 160-180 for the most part and his agility was on par or better than all of them. The pressure of the stopwatch and radar gun got to him and posted some slow pops 2.12 where as the weekend before he worked out with summer team and was consistently 1.95-1.97. Same with hitting, he was over swinging and it caused him to look upper cutty and had a 88 exit vel. Usually excels under pressure so he was very disappointed. We talked about it and he knows that this summer can erase all that. He now realizes he needs to get out and do some sprints to work on his times

Younger age group but we had the kid with the big body who could hit the snot out of it when he was 9 and couldn't run a lick.  Two Doubles and a single to score him from first kind of guy.

 

At 11 we were at a tournament and he smacks a line drive between short and third that the LF picks up on a hop and throws him out at first from 175' away... by two strides.  No exaggeration.  His dad and I watched the games together quite a bit and he turned to me and said....that's a problem.   I looked at him for a second and all I could say was ...yep. 

 

We talked more after the game and I said to him when the field get's to 90' he'll never be able to function if he doesn't get in better shape and move better.  He never did and became a guard on the football team.

 

So 6'1 230lb catcher with good receiving skills better be able to out hit a lot of other 6'1" 190lb catchers with good receiving skills that are more athletic. 

Good topic. My 2017 just made V as a sophomore and as a catcher. There is a junior "legacy" catcher (his brother and uncle all played catcher from the same high school) and the coach said to my son "I've got two good catchers but I cannot play both at the same time". I take this, I hope I'm correct, that he will see how they fare on the field. (If they ever get on the field, $%#@ snow!).

 

Physically they are very different. The older catcher is 5'9" and 200 lbs. Stocky and muscular but plenty of belly fat. SLOW on bases but hits with good power.

 

My son is 5'10" and 160. He's pretty ripped with huge shoulders, long arms, and huge hnads. But, he could definitely stand to put on 10-15 more pounds. For a catcher he is fast, 7.1 speed.

 

VERY different body types. My son has gotten some looks and comments for looking more like an outfielder (where he also plays but far less).

Last edited by Batty67

If my 2015 and I have learned one thing during HS and the recruiting process is never limit a player, especially a “big guy”, to certain positions.  My 2015 concentrated on getting bigger, stronger and faster because that is what he can control.  There are many dynamics that go into filling out a roster.  The more versatile a player is, they will create more opportunity for ABs other than just a DH. Don’t need to be a speedster but you can’t clog up the bases either.  

Just because of what we do, I have thousands of stories about young players. Some of those stories seem to pertain to certain discussions on this site. Here is one of them.

 

Back a long time ago I invented a new term that I still use today. It is called backward projection.

 

Always the tall, lean, athletic looking types were those that scouts would write up mentioning the player/pitcher's physical projection. I did it and still do it myself.

 

Back quite some time ago, I saw a young kid with a very strong arm pitching at one of our events. He was overweight and actually looked kind of soft and sloppy.  after watching him throw it amazed me how a kid looking like that could be so smooth and effortless throwing a baseball.  He also did some catching and did a good job with that also. I couldn't get it out of my mind that the kid might be extra special if he ever got rid of that baby fat and got in decent condition. So rather than the traditional way of projecting the lean athletic wiry kid, I labeled this kid as a backward projection. Just the opposite of traditional thinking.

 

Time past and he actually started throwing a lot harder. Easy 90 mph! Still he was a bit too big and most people didn't take him seriously because of that. We really pumped him up because he was that good.

 

In the end we ranked him #55 best prospect in the country and got a little negative feedback about that. Then he wasn't drafted out of HS, but signed with U of Miami and quickly got in good shape and became their closer. Went on to become a DI All American.

 

Then in 2006 he was selected in the 1st round by the Cardinals. A year and a half later he was pitching in the big leagues at age 22 and he has been there ever since. He is still big, but the baby fat days are gone.

 

His name is Chris Perez and since that day when he became my first "backwards projection" I've seen many others that remind me of him.

 

Looks are important, but no one should ever overlook talent. Talent and a bad body or great body with no talent? That one is very easy for me. Big can lose weight just like skinny can gain weight. Talent is talent!

Originally Posted by Batty67:

Good topic. My 2017 just made V as a sophomore and as a catcher. There is a junior "legacy" catcher (his brother and uncle all played catcher from the same high school) and the coach said to my son "I've got two good catchers but I cannot play both at the same time". I take this, I hope I'm correct, that he will see how they fare on the field. (If they ever get on the field, $%#@ snow!).

 

Physically they are very different. The older catcher is 5'9" and 200 lbs. Stocky and muscular but plenty of belly fat. SLOW on bases but hits with good power.

 

My son is 5'10" and 160. He's pretty ripped with huge shoulders, long arms, and huge hnads. But, he could definitely stand to put on 10-15 more pounds. For a catcher he is fast, 7.1 speed.

 

VERY different body types. My son has gotten some looks and comments for looking more like an outfielder (where he also plays but far less).

from what you describe i wouldn't be shocked to see your boy in the outfield in a couple of weeks.

I suppose it's possible for a kid to be 6'1", 232 lbs. and have it all be solid rock.  But I have to admit, I'm skeptical.

 

And yes, there are chubby guys in MLB.  What they tend to have in common is, they weren't chubby when they started, but they perform well enough that they get away with staying heavy -- as long as their production continues.  I know that there continues to be some concern about the long term durability of guys who carry a lot of weight, e.g., Prince Fielder, for fear it could shorten his productive career.  In fact many fear that he's there already.

 

Lots of HS players are overweight.  Many play and produce at the HS level. 

 

From a recruiting standpoint, I think it's a major hindrance. For one thing, it limits the positions the kid can compete for.  For another, that belly fat often comes across like a sign hanging around the kid's neck that says, "I don't work hard."  Because the serious athlete watches what goes in to his body and then does the work necessary to be in top condition.  Carrying excess belly weight may be OK for us middle aged coaches whose playing days are long gone, but candidly, for a kid seeking to get recruited, it just reduces the list of programs who might consider him substantially if not totally.

 

I have seen this derail a lot of guys' hopes.  For one thing, in my personal observation, the belly fat thing tends to coincide a lot with the kid who likes to sneak several beers every weekend.  So there can be a double whammy in terms of raising that question in people's minds. 

 

Instead of wondering whether it has an impact, I would suggest the player accept that it does and then ask himself how serious he is about competing for a college roster spot.  If he claims he is serious, then it's time to focus on nutrition and conditioning.  If he doesn't do those things, then no matter what he may say, he evidently was not so serious.

This comment is not aimed at OP son at all.... 

 

But combining PG and Midlo's stories immediately struck a chord with me...

 

When I first saw Chris Perez as a Cardinal, honestly, I thought "talented but sloppy-  looks like a pot-head".  Meanwhile, we had a kid join our HS program who hit the crap out of the ball and threw quite effectively from the same slot as Chris Perez.  He also had the same haircut (or lack thereof) and extra weight around the middle.  Resemblance was striking.  Well, a year later, Perez joined my Tribe and, of course, got in trouble for pot.  A year after that, our mini Perez left our program 'cuz he couldn't keep his grades up... due to... yup. 

We had made several efforts to get him on the right path.  More often than not, appearance is telling.

 

 

Originally Posted by old_school:
Originally Posted by Batty67:

Good topic. My 2017 just made V as a sophomore and as a catcher. There is a junior "legacy" catcher (his brother and uncle all played catcher from the same high school) and the coach said to my son "I've got two good catchers but I cannot play both at the same time". I take this, I hope I'm correct, that he will see how they fare on the field. (If they ever get on the field, $%#@ snow!).

 

Physically they are very different. The older catcher is 5'9" and 200 lbs. Stocky and muscular but plenty of belly fat. SLOW on bases but hits with good power.

 

My son is 5'10" and 160. He's pretty ripped with huge shoulders, long arms, and huge hnads. But, he could definitely stand to put on 10-15 more pounds. For a catcher he is fast, 7.1 speed.

 

VERY different body types. My son has gotten some looks and comments for looking more like an outfielder (where he also plays but far less).

from what you describe i wouldn't be shocked to see your boy in the outfield in a couple of weeks.

Fair point. And my son does play in the OF but he's been a primary catcher since he was 10 (just turned 16) and also hits with power as a lefty. He is, and I'm biased, very good defensively and worked hard all winter to outperform the other catcher in every way. The other catcher is GOOD but he also has a long-standing rep for not hustling except in games. And our mega power hitting 1Bman graduates this year... We'll see.

 

My son looked like the other catcher in terms of being stocky and slow but when puberty hit and he grew 6" he got into working out and never looked back, but he still has a passion for working behind the plate.

Last edited by Batty67

If your son hits, he'll probably be in the lineup somewhere.  The junior may start out ahead of him, but your son gives the coach the kind of leverage coaches love to have.

 

I'm going to guess that any lack of hustle in the past was met with some lecturing from the coach.  Next time, he doesn't have to say anything.  He just puts your kid behind the plate, yanks the slacker, and the point is made without anyone saying anything.

 

After that, it can be your son's job unless and until the other kid gets his head on straight.

 

But I would still caution patience.  On a lot of teams, you don't have the luxury of sitting a kid who can swing it.  So even if your son is objectively the better catcher, it may be that the team as a whole functions better with the junior behind the plate and your guy in the outfield -- because your kid CAN play the OF, the other kid can't, and this way both bats are in the lineup.

 

FWIW, I don't think that will hurt your son in the least.  I can't recall any recruiters complaining that their catchers showed overall athleticism and offered flexibility to play other positions.  The recruiters' greater worry is with the kid who can only be fit into a lineup in one spot.  That player raises the risk of scholarship money being tied up on someone who ends up never helping the team.

Originally Posted by Midlo Dad:

If your son hits, he'll probably be in the lineup somewhere.  The junior may start out ahead of him, but your son gives the coach the kind of leverage coaches love to have.

 

I

 

because your kid CAN play the OF, the other kid can't, and this way both bats are in the lineup.

 

FWIW, I don't think that will hurt your son in the least.  I can't recall any recruiters complaining that their catchers showed overall athleticism and offered flexibility to play other positions.  The recruiters' greater worry is with the kid who can only be fit into a lineup in one spot.  

Midlo: Totally agree with your comments and from experience in my 2015's recruiting journey.

Batty:My son often worried that his versatility wouldn't be seen as an asset, because people he played with or went to tournaments with had "set positions." For 2 yrs in HS and 2 yrs of travel my 2015 (6.4 60yd/3.90 HTF right side) played third base, because "no one else could".He did play his usual MI position if certain players couldn't make games.He grew accustomed to it because he knew he would play ever inning and hit.  Last summer he played CF full time because the expected CF broke his wrist last AB of HS season. He would often go to showcases/camps/tourneys that he could do both IF/OF. After his last showcase he would attend (last July) he receives a call from a scout, (who saw him play in HS)10 minutes after we are driving home. In a nutshell, the scout says, "You know I timed you 3.65 from home to first on your bunt during your game.. oh, and nice to see you in the outfield" Stay versatile, you never know what coach's see. The school my 2015 signed with plans for him to take reps MI, but go in OF during batting practice, so he doesn't "lose his skills."

My daughter had some problems because it was hard for collegiate programs to figure out where they would play her.  In HS and TB, she played center field.  She is not fast and so, the coaches of these teams put fast girls in left and right.  She did have decent range and an above average throwing arm.  So, colleges wanted to know if she could play 3B or 1B.  In the end, was recruited as an OF but was quickly moved to 1B.  That was our experience. 

Thanks for the input! My son has played catcher untold numbers of innings since LL, jungle heat and humidity to near freezing. Taken lessons on advanced catching with some almost brutal taskmasters in terms of catcher-specific conditioning drills and goes until he cannot. He has tried to grow as a VOCAL leader on the field and in the dugout and get the best out of his pitchers. He absolutely DIGS being the catcher and embraces all the work that goes into it. That said, he has the speed and glove but not reps to really shine anywhere but behind the plate. Mostly because he spent 80% of his time playing or practicing as catcher.

Originally Posted by PA2016Backstopdad:

All the time we hear about size and projection, my question is there any drawbacks to larger kids? I guess I'm just curious if there are any personal experience or you have heard of kids that actually have been hindered in therecuiting process because they were too big; I would think not but you never know. My 2016 recently went to the doc for his baseball physical and was weighed at 232lbs. He is 6'1" and runs slower than a snail at 7.8, never was speedy. Behind the plate he has very good footwork, soft blocker, above average reciever and good footwork and transitions on throwdowns. Is there anything to worry about at that size and running that slow or would his quickness behind the trump that.

I know of a catcher who was an absolute beast in HS, made all-everything as a frosh including Team USA.  He continued to dominate throughout his HS career and always seemed to be in the discussion for top player at his position nationally, first-rounder, etc.  He was so advanced and had so much exposure that it almost seemed like the scouting community started looking for flaws.  They pointed to his size and thickness of his legs, and this became a negative because they projected him to get bigger/slower.  He didn't go as early as projected in the draft and chose to go to a PAC-12 school and is killing it.

 

I don't think this issue is common, perhaps because not many 17 year olds are built like that.

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