Player Name: Kyle Strovink
School: Rocky Point
Position: C
Kyle is a 6’0″ 190 lb catcher from Rocky Point HS. He is regarded as the No. 2 catcher in the graduating class.
He hit 3 HR last year during his junior season. He had committed to Lamar University, but has since decided to attend Cochise Community College.
Offensively: He bats from a very balanced stance, which just looks like he’s ready to do some damage. His legs are slightly bent, his feet are a bit wider than shoulder width and he has a bat wag, with his back elbow up. He has a load similar to Bryce Harper–a big leg kick that he brings back towards his body. It almost resembles a pitcher’s slide step. He gets into a very good position to produce power–weight on his back side, strong Power L position, head right down on the ball.
In the March 31 game, he went 2-for-4 with two singles (one was an RBI), a strikeout and a pop up to right field (shown above).
In his first at bat, he fell behind 0-2 in the count after he swung through two very good change ups. He smacked a single to right field. It was struck very well–the type of ball that would’ve went a long distance had he lifted it. In his second at bat, he came up with a runner in scoring position and smacked a single to right field to drive in the run.
In his next two at bats, he was retired. He struck out on a high fastball out of the zone on his next at bat. It was the only strike out for the starting pitcher. In his final at bat, he popped out to right field on a ball he just missed. He hit two foul balls out of play on the previous two pitches. It showed he was not seeing the ball real well in that at bat.
The starting pitcher was throwing in the mid-to-upper 70s–not a flame thrower by any means. Strovink has the type of bat speed to get around on a fastball at least 10 MPH harder than that, so it’s normal for him to be well ahead of his change up. He did show a bit of a tendency to be over anxious at pitches out of the strike zone. He was able to work deep counts, which shows he can still grind out an at bat even if he’s not seeing the ball real well. He has good power, and at a premium position like catcher that is immensely valuable.
Defensively: Nobody tested his arm, and that’s no surprise considering his reputation around the league as an elite backstop. He has been timed in the 1.9 territory, which was enough to garner him looks from Div-I programs. He is very good at smothering the ball in the dirt. He did allow two wild pitches, but those were also breaking balls no where near the zone and not many catchers would’ve stopped them. Also, he did a very good job of framing the borderline low pitch–partially due to his ability to get in a very low stance. This is a tremendous weapon as a catcher. Recently, teams have become more cognizant of the value in a good pitcher framer. This can prevent several runs on an annual basis. When pitchers are taught to work down in the zone, they want a catcher that can receive it well and steal a couple of the borderline pitches that fool umpires. He did a good job at this.
Base Running: He did not attempt any steals. He is not a lumbering catcher by any means, but definitely more of a station-to-station guy.
