Ike Irish

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #21 prospect in 2025 draft
  School: Auburn Committed: Never Drafted
  Age At Draft: 21.6
  Similar to Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine, Irish is a bat-first catcher with an incredibly advanced offensive skill set. In 2023, he hit .361/.429/.546 with 24 doubles, six home runs, and 50 RBIs. Irish was named to the SEC’s all-freshman team and proceeded to enjoy an all-star summer on the Cape where he hit .283/.383/.348 with five extra-base hits. Irish has a wide base with an open front side and medium-high handset. With two strikes, he gets deeper into his base and eliminates his stride. Irish is a plus hitter with a short, direct swing with plus bat speed. He sprays the baseball all over the yard with a gap-to-gap approach and has present power to the pull side. He has double-plus bat-to-ball skills and a great feel for the barrel and showed the ability to handle velocity as a freshman. Defensively, Irish caught some last spring but was mainly used as a designated hitter. He split time between first base and catcher over the summer. Irish’s defensive skills are a work in progress and his catching needs polish. However, he is on track to be Auburn’s every day backstop this spring and getting consistent reps will go a long way in maximizing his defensive ability. Although there is a chance he moves to first base, Irish’s bat and offensive profile are enough to warrant an eventual first-round selection.
• Ranked #9 prospect in 2025 draft
  School: Auburn
  Similar to Coastal Carolina’s Caden Bodine, Irish is a bat-first catcher with an incredibly advanced offensive skill set. In 2023, he hit .361/.429/.546 with 24 doubles, six home runs, and 50 RBIs. Irish was named to the SEC’s all-freshman team and proceeded to enjoy an all-star summer on the Cape where he hit .283/.383/.348 with five extra-base hits. Irish has a wide base with an open front side and medium-high handset. With two strikes, he gets deeper into his base and eliminates his stride. Irish is a plus hitter with a short, direct swing with plus bat speed. He sprays the baseball all over the yard with a gap-to-gap approach and has present power to the pull side. He has double-plus bat-to-ball skills and a great feel for the barrel and showed the ability to handle velocity as a freshman. Defensively, Irish caught some last spring but was mainly used as a designated hitter. He split time between first base and catcher over the summer. Irish’s defensive skills are a work in progress and his catching needs polish. However, he is on track to be Auburn’s every day backstop this spring and getting consistent reps will go a long way in maximizing his defensive ability. Although there is a chance he moves to first base, Irish’s bat and offensive profile are enough to warrant an eventual first-round selection.
• Ranked #173 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: St. Mary’s Prep, Orchard Lake, Mich. Committed/Drafted: Auburn
  Age At Draft: 18.7
  BA Grade: 40/Extreme
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 40 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Field: 50 | Arm: 60
  Irish formed one of the best batteries in the country this spring at St. Mary’s Prep with righthander Brock Porter. Because of that he had plenty of scouting attention but is a strong draft prospect in his own right. A 6-foot-1, 193-pound catcher and lefthanded hitter, Irish can really throw and has shown raw power from the left side. Currently, he is more of a power-over-hit bat, despite showing an ability to use the opposite field naturally at times. What holds scouts back from putting a more aggressive hit tool on Irish is a bat path that gets a bit lengthy and a bit too steep at times. He showed solid discipline at times over the summer showcase circuit, so even if he never gets to an average bat he could provide on-base ability and power. Defensively, he has plus arm strength and a chance to stick behind the plate and control a running game. He will need to improve the finer details of catching, like receiving and blocking, but there’s nothing about his game that should prevent him from catching at the next level and he has proven his ability to handle premium stuff regularly. Irish is committed to Auburn.