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Tools of Intelligence: Talking with the Catchers of Long Island’s Recent Aces

by Pat Duryea

Pitchers are unique animals. No one pitcher is the same. Each pitcher has a unique mix of pitches, movement, and velocity. To find those wrangling the pitchers, you look no further than right behind home plate. The catcher. Nobody knows a pitcher better than their catcher. Catching is far from a passive profession, they must strategize just as much as any pitcher and do a whole lot of dirty work. But as we examine the top pitchers in Suffolk County across the past two seasons there is no better perspective to hear from, than that of their catchers. 

In 2023, Josh Knoth of Patchogue-Medford received his second consecutive Carl Yastrzemski Award as the top player in Suffolk County. Knoth would go on to be a first round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in that year’s draft.

His high school teammate who caught him all his life and called his pitches was Bryan Frascogna. In high school Knoth featured a fastball, slider, curveball, and the occasional changeup. “The slider was devastating” remarked Frascogna, we could venture to say the 75% of batters Knoth struck out his senior season would agree. Frascogna mentioned how “even keeled” Knoth often was despite the backstops consistently filled with scouts and how they were “calling games to impress scouts most of the time”. It was another level of dominance for Knoth to be able to play to the scouts and still be untouchable. 

Because Knoth was awarded the Yastrzemski, the Gibson Award for the top pitcher in Suffolk County was left up for grabs.

Ward Melville’s Charlie West did not leave it hanging around for long. West struck out just under 100 for the season as well as throwing a no-hitter in the regular season against Smithtown East. West’s catcher was Anthony Competello who when first prompted about West, remembered his first time catching him in middle school, recalling “from that point on I knew Charlie would dominate for years to come”. West relied heavily on his hard fastball and curveball. Competello said “the break on his curve compared to no other” and on his fastball that  “Most hitters could not keep up”. The southpaw brought energy and excitement wired through the whole dugout when he stepped on the mound. Competello mentioned how “you could tell how locked in he was from his first throws in the outfield”. The high praise continued saying “when Charlie was on the mound everybody knew he was the best player on the field”. West had a fervent passion for winning and a confidence like no other. Competello even mentioned that often he and Charlie would not talk about a specific plan of attack because the plan stayed consistent: “Hit your spots”. “As long as he hit his spot no hitter was touching him” Competello revered. 

2024 was another “Year of the Pitcher” if you will across the county. At the top of the heap for the duration of the season was Hunter Colagrande of Kings Park. Colagrande dominated a talented League VI to the tune of a 0.30 ERA and a 10-0 overall record. Colagrande’s catcher was Vincenzo Buffolino, a 2025 graduate at Kings Park. When speaking on his pitch mix Buffolino mentioned Colagrande’s hard fastball, changeup which they favored in matchups with lefties, a sharp curveball Buffolino noted was on an 11-5 track, and a cutter. Buffolino highlighted that he and Colagrande had a strong relationship and particularly trusted each other when it came to calling pitches. Buffolino noted “I called all of Hunter’s pitches and he trusted in what I called”. Like Competello with West, Buffolino stated he knew Hunter could dominate on any given day and was locked in from warmups. But on the mound it was always a different animal, “Hunter had a dominant mound presence. He wasn’t afraid to attack any hitter and was dominant in game.” Buffolino continued to talk on he and Colagrande’s strong relationship saying they talked constantly about their plans and stated “We were both frequently on the same page in the conversation we wanted to attack everyone until they proved something”. This confidence and trust led Colagrande and Buffolino to a Long Island Championship alongside their Kings Park teammates. Speaking to Buffolino it is clear why they were able to rise to the top of the Island last Spring. 

The final award winner of the past few seasons would be the 2024 Gibson Award. This was awarded to Evan Kay of Commack. Kay was a favorite for the award going into the season and a contender for it the year prior as well. Over that two year stretch Kay had two different catchers. In his Gibson winning season though, his catcher was eighth grader Robbie Mascia. Mascia is impressive in his own right, earning an All-League selection and batting leadoff for a Long Island winning team before reaching the high school building. Mascia highlighted Kay’s 2-seam fastball and changeup working off of each other at different speeds, as well as his slider. Stating, “he seems untouchable”. The presence Kay pitched with was something Mascia mentioned as a game changing factor in Kay’s game. He said on the mound he was “very intimidating and uncomfortable for the hitter”. What went into this was Kay’s tendency to work at a fast pace and pitching every game like it was his last. Evan carried a scoreless innings streak for up to 60 innings and across two seasons and in fact, two different catchers. Mascia was glad to be a part of that streak calling it a once in a lifetime experience. 

There’s a multitude of similarities and discrepancies between the top pitchers in any given year. This upper echelon is often even keeled and intense, consistently locked in from warmups and through their games. However, you’ll never find one pitcher with the same pitch mix, personality, and plan of attack. Their wranglers work hard behind the plate to help their pitchers through ups and downs. These players know their pitchers better than themselves when it comes to how they are on the mound. And there is no way better to get to know a pitcher than their catchers.  

 

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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