Charlie Welch

Arkansas was ranked No. 1 for most of the year. The team was so talented that its backup catcher has a shot to be drafted. This is Welch’s third team in three years. He began his career at Pepperdine, transferred to St. John’s River (Fla.) JC and then came to Arkansas for the 2021 season. Welch didn’t get to play much because Arkansas had veteran Casey Opitz ahead of him on the depth chart. But when he did play, he played well. In 28 games (81 plate appearances) Welch hit .388/.494/.821 with eight home runs as a pinch-hitter extraordinaire. He also played briefly in the Florida Collegiate League this summer. At his best, Welch has shown an above-average arm that can fire off 1.95-second pop times, but he has rarely gotten to show what he can do defensively this year.