Catfish athlete doing it all better than any one else at this point

The Prospect League is filled with behemoth athletes from some of the top collegiate baseball programs in the country, and some of those dudes will be selected in the 2023 Major League Baseball Draft later this summer. However, one of the great aspects of baseball, more so than, say, football or basketball, is that playing in the Southeastern Conference isn’t a requirement for greatness.

No player this summer has proven that to be true more so than Cape Catfish lead-off hitter Chris Hall.

“He is not trying to do way too much,” first-year Catfish manager Scott Little said of Hall. “This kid has some outstanding tools. He is a big base stealer when he gets on.”

Simply, Hall wreaks havoc, both at the plate and on base, and he can break the opposition’s heart from a defensive perspective in centerfield.

Hall is just 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds, and he plays his college baseball at NCAA Division II Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee, but at this point in time, no player is striking fear into the hearts of Prospect League pitchers like Hall is.

“He just tries to lay the bat (on the ball),” Little continued, “and hit it hard. He doesn’t try to hit the ball in the air for fly ball outs. He has just been a great guy, who has instigated the whole offense.

“He has just been a pleasure to watch.”

How good has Hall, who was named the initial Prospect League Hitter of the Week, recently, been?

Check out these numbers.

He is hitting at a .625 clip, which leads the Prospect League.

Hall also leads the league in runs (23), hits (25), and on-base percentage (.712).

He ranks second in the league in triples (three), total bases (34), stolen bases (12), and slugging percentage (.850). And he ranks third in plate appearances (52) and being hit by a pitch (four).

Catfish General Manager Mark Hogan, who signed Hall a year ago to play in Cape Girardeau, said “It was kind of easy” to ask Hall to come back for a second season this summer.

“Whenever I was looking at the (2022) roster and guys who, potentially, we might want to ask back,” Hogan explained, “I felt like (third baseman) Kolten Poorman and Chris, as far as our offensive guys, but I thought both of them proved themselves on this level last year.”

A year ago, Hall played in 53 games, which trailed only Poorman. He tallied 50 hits, with six of those being doubles.

The Georgia native also drove in 22 runs and scored a team-high 42 runs last summer.

On the basepaths, Hall stole 37 steals and was only caught four times.

As much as Hogan loves Hall’s baseball ability, he also likes what he brings to the Catfish dugout.

“Chris is an infectious personality,” Hogan said. “He is such a great guy. Everybody loves him. He’s funny. He’s smart.

“But he is just a lethal catalyst.”

Hogan continued to explain that once Hall reaches base, he is “a game-wrecker.”

“The rhythm of the pitcher,” Hogan said, “the attention of the defense, but then you also see him play in the outfield, anything in the air in centerfield or in the gaps, he is going to run it down.

“He is just an exciting player and a great individual.”

The Catfish, which have annihilated the rest of the Prospect League with an 11-0 start, will host Jackson (Tenn.) Rockabillys (4-6) today at 6:35 p.m.

Each Tuesday at Capaha Field is “Bark in the Park” day.

Fans can bring their dogs to the game and the pups will receive treats and a gift courtesy of Skyview Animal Clinic.