LATEST PG SHOWCASE REPORT
2006 National Showcase
Nicholas Natale is a 2007 right hand hitting outfielder from Seton Hall Prep, residing in Hoboken, NJ. Natale has a lean, athletic build on a sinewy 6'1" 170 lb. frame. He just looks like someone that can really run, and he can certainly do so. Natale has a very interesting set of tools and it is fascinating that he is yet another talented player from Seton Hall Prep. Some of his high school teammates are among the most highly regarded prospects in the nation and as time goes by, Natale has a chance to develop quite nicely in his own regard. At the plate Natale appears to be a spray, line drive type hitter when at his best. He has good bat speed and is aggressive at the plate, taking a number of big swings. At times it looked like he wanted to get behind the ball and hit for some power rather than just letting that part of the game come to him, which it eventually just might do. There are some very good raw tools to work with on the offensive side, one of them being plus speed. If he is dedicated to being a line drive/ground ball hitter, Natale would be very hard to get out. If he commits to that approach, in the coming years his mistakes will leave the yard. In the outfield Natale has centerfielder tools, though he may not play center on his high school team. His raw arm strength rates as solid average, enough for centerfield. Natale's range is good and he showed that he can go and get the ball, with an explosive first burst. His 4.59 home/1st time is indicative of a big swing, but his laser timed 6.51 60 time is indicative of his plus speed and quick twitch athleticism. Natale is going to get a chance to impress the pro baseball community because crosscheckers are going to spend an awful lot of time watching Seton Hall Prep this spring. There actually may not be a more highly scouted high school program in the nation. Natale is a projectable player with tools that will have to be developed further, whether that is at the D1 level or in pro ball, but he does have good tools.