2012 Northwest Talents: Clint Coulter And A Top-5

I’ve taken a bit of time to talk about a few different Washington State prospects, guys such as Dylan LaValle, Andrew Pullin and Taylor Jones who are all on my watch list. There is one specific guy that I haven’t mentioned much of just yet and that would Clint Coulter. While Dylan  LaValle is my personal #1, Coulter is a very close #2 and is considered #1 by many different organization and people I respect.

A catcher out of Union High School in Camas, Washington Baseball America named him their #30 best high school senior in all of the nation. He’s shown off his solid defensive prowess during the area code games and there is little question that he can play behind the plate with an above average arm, solid foot work and good receiving. But what has scouts even more enamored is the fact that he also projects to have above average power and is an all around above average hitter at the plate. His very exciting offense is what easily propels him to becoming one of the Top-5 Draft eligible catchers in the nation.

So why isn’t he my #1? Well it’s November for one. Number two, I currently still have Jeff Clement disorder. I am constantly waiting for someone to point out some mechanical problem with his defense or to discover he has a health problem that will eliminate him from the position. LaValle isn’t a shortstop, despite what Perfect Game and Oregon State think, but he does have +athletic ability that will help him at third and could lead to him becoming a good defense third basemen with great plate skills that play at the big league level.

While Coulter could move off to third base himself it’s much more likely that if things don’t work out he’ll move to first base. That’s not saying it would be the end of all his value, it would certainly hurt it, but with Coulter’s bat he could still be of value at this point as he projects to be an above average hitter regardless of where he ends up.

As it stands right now my Top 5 follow list is:

1. Dylan LaValle, 3B
2. Clint Coulter, C
3. Marty Luckenbach, RHP
4. Johnny Locher, OF
5. Taylor Jones, RHP

Plus one for luck–

6. Trek Stemp, SS

I have battled back and forth with Jones and Stemp. I don’t care if Stemp is on the smaller side, he has a solid stroke, makes consistent contact and drives the ball surprisingly well, has great range due to plus foot speed at short and may even stick there long term as he makes some dazzling plays. I’ll be talking more and more about prospects here in the coming weeks but I felt like I wanted to take time to talk about some really good northwest talents who I’m sure the Rays will be targeting in this coming years draft.