Austin Athmann

Until this year Athmann's talent had been slowed by his injury issues. Athman needed two hip labrum surgeries and a nerve relocation in his elbow that cost him time in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Because of the injuries, Athmann had caught only 16 games in his first two seasons at Minnesota, but once the Cold Spring, Minn., native, was able to stay healthy for an entire season, his talent emerged. Athmann was a unanimous first-team all-Big 10 pick as he led the league with a .642 slugging percentage. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Athmann has a prototypical catcher's body with a strong trunk. Athmann has long been considered a better backstop than hitter, but this year's he's tapped into his average power and hit for average thanks to excellent timing that begins with an open stance and a significant timing step. Defensively Athmann handles pitchers well and has an accurate, average arm. If he can stay healthy he has solid upside as a catcher, but his long list of injuries causes some pause.