Nationals early camp prospect capsule: Catchers

The Nationals have another good group of backstops on the early camp roster: 26-year-old Cole Leonida, 19-year-old Jakson Reetz, 21-year-old Jorge Tillero and 21-year-old Raudy Read.

Read played for short-season Single-A Auburn manager Gary Cathcart last season. Cathcart is also the coordinator for Instruction for the Nationals and is with these prospects in Florida during spring training. The early camp roster first game is March 12 at Houston.

C Raudy Read
6-foot 170 lbs.
Bats: Right Throws: Right
21 years old

Birthplace: San Jose de Ocoa, Dominican Republic

Read had a tremendous offensive campaign in 2014, hitting .281 with a career-high 20 doubles, six homers and 35 RBIs in 57 games. Usually with young players, especially catchers, the defense is advanced and the offense takes longer to come around.

Cathcart says that is not the case with Read, whose strength is his bat. The Nationals are looking for Read to improve his defense, calling games for his pitchers and not allowing a bad at-bat to affect his focus behind the plate.

"The big thing with Raudy is, and its something that a lot of our instructors have spent a lot time with him on the last couple of years, it's really time for him to take the next step to really prioritize his defense," Cathcart said. "He's a natural hitter - a big, strong, kid. He's always been a good offensive player.

"We're really putting the onus on him to step up his defense, to really start to put catching ahead of offense. When he does that and is really to be able to become a leader behind the plate, he physically has as many tools as any catcher that we have. It's one of those kind of crossroads, not that he he's old or anything, but it's a crossroads year for him to take ownership of everything that he's been taught and really prioritize defense and be a leader of the staff."

A lot of times the young players want so badly to contribute with their bats, they have been told that since they were kids. When they get to the professional level and they have a bad at-bat, a strikeout or a missed opportunity with men on base, some guys can still think about it when they get on the field on defense.

An outfielder might be able to get away with thinking of that last at-bat while on the field, but as Cathcart notes, a catcher cannot. He must be all-in when he puts his mask back on behind the plate.

You see this happen in college basketball. A player will give up a basket on defense and think about it too much on offense the next possession down the floor. That player won't set a critical screen or run the offensive play the way it should be run in the front court. Basketball is a quick game with changes of possession almost every 30 seconds. In baseball, a change of possession can happen in just three quick outs. You have to be able to switch your mindset from hitter to catcher on a dime.

That is what Cathcart says Read will need to focus on in 2015 because a young catcher's defense is actually more important than his offense. The catcher has the ability to prevent the other team from scoring by the pitch calls he makes.

"The ability to put your at-bats away and put your gear on and go catch instead of taking your at-bats out on the field with you," Cathcart said. "Just learning to mature that way and realize that I have the most important job on the field other than the pitcher. I have got to put those offensive results, good or bad, behind me and I have to put that gear on. Because all that pitcher cares about is me helping him get through that next inning. I have to make sure that's my No. 1 priority."

"If he's able to do that, he could move pretty quick with the physical tools that he has."