It’s Pop Time

Pop time is one of the few tangible ways to measure a catcher's potential.

Measured by a stopwatch, it's the time between the pop of the catcher's mitt (when the pitch reaches the catcher) and the pop of the infielder's glove (when the catcher's throw reaches second base).

Two seconds or lower marks a catching prospect according to baseball scouts. Anything around 2.2 seconds will get the job done in most high school games.

For Eaglecrest junior Jeremy Lawhon he is well on his way to being a top catcher in the state this year.

"He has a pop time of 2.1 right now," according to his father, Glen.
Lawhon, who has been getting playing time since his freshman season, played most of the positions in the infield the past two seasons but say's he is primarily a catcher.

It's always a good thing when you can give yourself that type of reputation as someone who can throw runners out, because a lot of times that eliminates the threat right there. If you can throw runners out and block pitches in the dirt, you can help your team and take off a lot of pressure.

Lawhon got minimal at bats last season due to the fact that the team played 10 seniors and did not make it to the regional playoffs. Yet he’s expecting things to be a lot better this year.

"I think attitude has a lot to do with it and last year our team did not have the right attitude to win. And this year I think our team will really have the right attitude and mesh a little better, and honestly I think we will be a lot better," he said.
"I did get a couple at bats against Mullen last year and got a few hits in one of the games I did get to hit, but hope to get more this year.

Lawhon is also expecting to be in the pitching rotation this next season after throwing some innings over the summer with the Eaglecrest summer team.
"I throw a curveball, a split finger and a two-seam and four-seam fastball with an 82 MPH fastball.”

Lawhon, who stand 6'3”, is sure to get more velocity on his fastball stemming from a nine-inch growth in the last year and a regular weight lifting schedule. Much of the praise for his skills goes to his former little league coach Jay Hoffman, who has passed away, for teaching him the fundamentals of the game.

With a GPA of 3.6 and the promising future of this up and coming star, Lawhon hopes to fulfill a childhood dream of playing baseball for the University of Texas.

CBaseI will keep you posted on this kid’s pop time.