Class: Junior
Hometown: Carmel, Indiana
Height/Weight: 6-1/215
Born: February 26, 1991
Aside from Mike Zunino, there isn’t much to get excited about when looking at the crop of college catchers. The second tier (Zunino is the sole member of the first) is comprised of a group that is spearheaded by Purdue backstop Kevin Plawecki, arguably the top performer this season after the Gators highly regarded catcher.
Whereas Plawecki doesn’t have any one trait that paints him as a future superstar, few have doubts that he has the polish to go along with the offensive ability and defensive chops to be an everyday catcher in the big-leagues. For starters, he guided the Boilermakers to their first-ever Big Ten Championship, and along with it, their first No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Plawecki was the team’s top offensive playmaker, hitting .365/.454/.567, racking up a team-leading 20 doubles and six homers along the way.
Once again, he showed his incredible ability to make contact. With a mere eight strikeouts this season (compared to 24 walks), Plawecki now has just 29 career punchouts. That alone would be enough to get him drafted, but Plawecki also offers impressive defensive ability. Unlike most college catchers, he calls his own games, and despite having less than impressive arm strength, he has been consistently posted some of the best caught stealing ratios in the Big Ten during his career.
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