NC State Wolfpack baseball prospectus: Catchers

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Published Jun 30, 2020

Wolfpack baseball prospectus: Catching

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

@TheWolfpacker

The NC State Wolfpack baseball season was cut short like the rest of collegiate athletics after an 8-7 win over North Carolina A&T on March 11. At that point, head coach Elliott Avent’s squad was 14-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC after dropping the conference-opening series at Virginia.

Here’s an early look at the prospectus going ahead to next season now that the five-round MLB Draft has been completed, continuing with catchers.

Catchers

NC State Wolfpack baseball has had a sneaky very good tradition with catchers. Eleven have been drafted by MLB since 2000, and none went higher than junior Patrick Bailey, who was picked by the San Francisco Giants with the 13th overall selection of the first round in June’s draft.

Replacing Bailey in 2021 will not be easy.

Bailey burst onto the scene as a rookie when he hit .321 with 13 homers for NC State and earned Freshman All-American. After hitting 10 home runs as a sophomore, he was well on his way to another double-digit year with six (including two grand slams) before the season was canceled after 17 games. He was a career .302 batter for the Wolfpack, and also well-known for being strong behind the plate defensively.

NC State only had two other catchers listed on the roster, and one was a senior in Brad Debo. Seniors technically have the option of getting their year back if they want and the school has them back. The other was sophomore Luca Tresh, a hard-hitter who may also projected as a starting left-fielder.

Six of Tresh’s 15 hits during his freshman season were homers and two more were doubles. His 2020 season was delayed due to injury, but he was 17 for 42 at the plate (.405 average) with three homer and three doubles while playing mainly outfield prior to the cancellation of the season.

Head coach Elliott Avent is set to welcome two catching prospects into the equation. Bryce Behmer recently announced that rather than attend Kentucky where he originally signed, the Lancaster, Pa., native will instead come to NC State. Behmer had a 9.5 rating on Perfect Game, which grades out to between “elite level college prospect” and “highest level college prospect.”

NC State also has added Danny Carnazzo, a prized junior college transfer from the College of San Mateo in California. Carnazzo hit .323 with a pair of homers and 28 RBI in 2018-19. He is a native of Salinas, Calif.