Cal State Northridge C Trevor Casanova Scouting Report, March 2018

Conventional stance from the left side of the plate with a small leg kick for timing and leverage. Will land slightly closed off to the pitcher, and orients himself to center/left-center field naturally; comfortable going the other way through that, particularly with line drive contact in the air. Good contact hitter; good strike zone discipline with maturity in approach; tracks pitches well with good pitch/spin recognition. Well-balanced and athletic at the plate; feel for the barrel with enough bat speed and sense of timing to pick his spots and turn on pitches on inner half, despite middle/oppo approach. Patient hitter; will take pitches and work deep counts. Comes to the plate with some idea of an actual approach. Could become a valuable professional hitter with some development, especially relative to role/expectation as a catcher.

Swing plane conducive to lifting the ball in the air well, particularly for hard line drive contact to the opposite field. Generally goes the other way easily, with decent potential for power that way considering ability to hit the ball hard in the air and really stay through it without pulling off. Good bat speed; big, naturally strong kid with some room to add more strength in time; strong hands and wrists, and already flashing some advanced barrel manipulation to drive the ball. Enough quick twitch in his hands to turn on pitches and drive the ball in the air when thrown on inner half; won’t be big-time power hitter, but will be able to pick his spots with over-the-fence pop and should produce a good amount of gap-to-gap doubles power with mature approach and line drive swing plane.

Works hard to frame and receive; bounces around well behind the plate and stays engaged/locked in well through long at-bats and innings; advanced, mature focus in trying to squeeze strikes off borderline pitches. Fairly quiet pitch framer, but some work to be done all around to clean it up for the pro game, particularly on framing high strikes/borderline pitches. Blocks pretty well; moves extremely well behind the plate; light on his feet with great base of athleticism and ability to bounce around that really manifests itself in his blocking. Generally fundamentally sound blocking the ball, though he can be late to read it down; quick to his knees, though, and comes up throwing. Some work to do, but foundation here to become an solid, consistent pro defender.

1.75 pop time to third base; collected five pop times to second base, all ranging from 2.00 to 2.04. Good raw arm strength with great arm speed; throws hard with great velocity and consistent carry to second base. Particularly good explosiveness with quick-twitch action coming up out of his crouch, though he will come through high and can cut down his pop time with efficiencies through there. Strong, powerful legs and athletic ability help quite a bit; good thrower who could become average/above-average as a pro with some refinement.

Timed 4.30 up the line out of the LHH box; 4.54 on the turn at first base. Shrewd base runner; situationally aware with some sneaky speed and understanding of running the bases beyond what you’d expect of a catcher. Speed will never be a part of his game, but encouraging to see he’s a pretty decent runner for a catcher, all the same. Good testament to his overall athletic ability; very light on his feet with bounce in his step, particularly coming up out of his crouch behind the plate; strong lower half and good athletic foundation to add more physical strength towards his prime; won’t be a lumbering or unathletic backstop, at least not early in his career.

Stands out on the field; best player on a mature, older Cal State Northridge team; carries himself like a professional. Good, vocal leader; very competitive. Listed at 6’0″, 205 lbs., and looks it; strong kid with physical frame, and maybe a little bit of room left to add some muscle in the next couple years. Very strong lower half and core in particular; should be physically durable enough to hold up well in professional catching role.

Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of El Camino College, where he was a superstar last season; chose not to sign with the Mariners, and came to Cal State Northridge for his junior season. High-follow for the 2018 MLB Draft thanks to strong skill set behind the plate and promising offensive tools; needs a big prove-it year in Division I to help that, and has started off extremely hot for Cal State Northridge, slashing .405/.444/.676/1.120 through his first 19 games; has also thrown out four of twelve would-be base stealers through his first 19 games.

Tools and athletic foundation here for an everyday catcher role at his ceiling. Glove and arm are good, and will get better, but still wouldn’t surprise me if he realistically falls back into a platoon role in pro ball, though. His left-handed bat and potential for some offensive firepower could be a nice complement to a lineup and, depending on how well he hits in transition to pro game, Trevor Casanova might even sneak in a few games at first base or left field or something to take advantage of his bat in a lineup. He’s a natural catcher first, though, with enough strength, durability, and athleticism to stay at the position in his pro career; some defensive refinements/improvements are necessary, but they’ll come. Should hear his name called in the 2018 MLB Draft; could be a nice selection for an organization in need of an athletic catcher with offensive upside. MLB ETA: 2021.