This should immediately tell you the prowess of Kent Denver (Englewood, Colo.) catcher Paul Donahue: he’ll likely choose from UNLV, San Diego State and San Francisco (with USC also on the periphery).
"I’m leaning towards UNLV," Donahue said.
Not too shabby for a Class 3A player, but his early-season numbers for the 7-1 Sun Devils provide a solid indication of what type of hitter he is. He has gone 19 for 28 (a .679 average) with three home runs and 15 RBI. He is a slugging a ridiculous 1.214.
"I rank him up at the top," said Bishop Machebeuf Catholic (Denver, Colo.) coach John Gechter after watching Paul Donahue go 3 for 4 with an opposite-field homer against his squad earlier this week. "He can hit with anybody."
It isn’t just Paul Donahue’s performance in varsity ball that has all the West Coast schools clamoring for his services. Last season, as he was attending a baseball camp in San Diego, Angels scout Buck Thomas noticed Paul Donahue and asked if he’d like to play on a Las Vegas summer team (coached by Thomas).
Paul Donahue took him up on the offer and stayed in north Las Vegas with the family of another player. The independent league team – it is dubbed The Angels Elite Scout Team – played against top-tier competition throughout the summer, including several college teams.
"It was a great experience," Donahue said. "We faced some of the best pitchers in college last year and we still stuck with them as just a high school team. It’s a good peek of what the next level’s like."
Paul Donahue will go back to the summer club team after graduation when it is slated to compete exclusively in the California Collegiate League.
"We’ll be playing outdoor games in Vegas and in California against all the college teams," Donahue said.
While his hitting clearly is what separates him – he batted .662 with seven homers and 50 RBI for coach Bill Boatman’s Sun Devils as a junior – many believe his receiving skills make him the complete package. While there still is room for improvement in his ability to gun down opposing base-stealers, his penchant for calling a game has been unquestioned.
"It’s really nice, because I can throw pitches in the dirt and be totally confident that he is going to block everything," said Kent Denver (Englewood, Colo.) pitcher Gus Lang, one of four left-handers Donahue catches regularly.
Gus Lang finds it difficult to determine whether he enjoys it more having Donahue as his catcher or watching him hit No. 3 in the batting lineup, one spot ahead of Gus Lang.
"He’s definitely one of the top three hitters in the classification," Lang said. "Top three, if not No. 1, I would say. He always puts the ball in play and he’s got a lot of power, obviously."
That power soon will be on display out West.
