Brian Serven, C, Colorado Rockies

April 5-6, 2018 — List height and weight are about right; decently strong kid with average build, on the leaner side but ought to be durable enough to continue catching. Advanced defensive catcher with a couple bad habits, but a huge arm and great competitive intensity. Pretty athletic kid, especially for a catcher; good runner — 3.94 on a push bunt, 4.19 up the line from the RHH box, and 4.49 on the turn at first base in my April look. Reminds me of Chris Rabago in that regard; the Colorado Rockies have a thing for athletic catchers who are sneaky good runners … Well-balanced and pretty conventional at the plate; good enough of an athlete that bunting for a base hit is part of his game. Poor pitch recognition, though; really struggled to pick up spin and recognize breaking balls in my April look; waved harmlessly at off-speed well out of the zone multiple times. Free swinger with some strike zone discipline issues. Also proved to be well behind a couple good fastballs in those days, swinging very late; many emergency and inside-out swings; rarely got an ‘A’ swing off in my early look. Going to struggle offensively some, though Lancaster environment will help in short-term … Big time arm strength; pop times including 1.84 (out) and 1.90 (safe) to second base, 1.59 back pick to first base, and a 1.54 pop to third base (safe); loves to show off his arm strength to the point where he wasn’t fully committed to blocking the ball down on his knees with runners on base; opted instead to try to pick short hops off the dirt and come up throwing. Interesting choice; clearly wants to show off his arm strength; mechanically OK when he does go down to his knees to block, just didn’t go to it consistently with runners on. Bad habit there; let a few balls past that should’ve been killed at the plate; will get plenty of chances to show off his arm as the season wears on … Low sets, quiet framer; aside from blocking habits, pretty reliable, advanced guy behind the plate … Broadly similar to Rabago, Brian Serven makes for another solid catching prospect for the Colorado Rockies; big league platoon/backup potential at ceiling here, buoyed by great arm; doubtful he’ll hit enough at the ultimate level to flat-out earn an everyday job; advanced college product with high floor/low ceiling feel.

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