Patrick Bailey

Bailey was heralded as one of the best defensive catchers in the country coming out of high school in 2017, but scouts were concerned about the offensive impact he would provide. He wasted no time at North Carolina State showing he could hit, leading all Atlantic Coast Conference freshmen in batting (.321), total bases (113) and slugging percentage (.604) while also setting a new NC State freshman home run record (13). While Bailey showed he could hit with the Wolfpack, his strengths are still on the defensive side of the ball. He earns plus grades for his catching skills and his throwing arm, giving pitchers tremendous confidence they can rip off their best breaking ball without having to worry about it trickling to the backstop. Bailey is one of the rare college catchers who calls his own game, and he draws plenty of praise for his leadership behind the plate. Offensively, Bailey certainly has more thump than scouts expected back in high school and has shown above-average raw power from both sides of the plate as a switch-hitter. His swing is more fluid with better contact ability from the left side, and most scouts think he’s more of a power bat than a true hitter, with grades ranging from below-average to average on his future hit tool. Bailey has a solid eye at the plate, as evidenced by a 12.8-percent career walk rate, but there are concerns about the swing-and-miss tendencies that he showed last summer with USA’s Collegiate National Team (he led the team with 12 strikeouts) and early in the 2020 season. Still, catchers have a low bar to clear offensively. As the best defender in the class with average or better power potential, Bailey will be a coveted player in the first round.