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Speaker 1: Hello Marlins fans, and welcome to another edition of Big

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Speaker 1: Fish Small Pod. As always, Big Fish Small Pod is

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Speaker 1: presented by MPT College Consulting. You can check us check

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Speaker 1: it out at MPT College Consulting dot com. And Marlins fans,

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Speaker 1: we have another brand new episode of my series where

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Speaker 1: I'll be conducting interviews with those people in the media,

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Speaker 1: in the media media outlets to discuss about new Marlin's draftees,

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Speaker 1: and today from Purdue Baseball, the voice of Purdue Baseball,

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Speaker 1: mister Kyle Charters. Kyle, it is great to have you

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Speaker 1: on here today.

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Speaker 2: Hey, appreciate it. Glad to take a couple of minutes

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Speaker 2: to talk to you about about a former Boilermaker.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, let's get to it. Starting catcher Connor Cascanett, drafted

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Speaker 1: by the Marlins, recently just signed his contract for one

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Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars signing bonus. Talk to us a little

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Speaker 1: bit about Connor for maybe those Marlon fans who may

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Speaker 1: not have watched boiler A Big ten baseball last year.

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Speaker 2: Well, a Canadian who came to Purdue a couple of

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Speaker 2: years ago and and you know, really, I think has

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Speaker 2: been an extremely consistent player, especially at the plate. I mean,

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Speaker 2: he's had a good bat, good power, hits for good average,

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Speaker 2: you know, a doubles guy who you know hits home

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Speaker 2: runs as well. I mean, he's sort of been an

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Speaker 2: excellent middle of the order player for Purdue. And I

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Speaker 2: think the thing that really stands out to me is

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Speaker 2: is just that consistency. I mean there was never really

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Speaker 2: a moment in his two years in West Lafayette where

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Speaker 2: it even seemed like he was in a mild slump, right,

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Speaker 2: I mean he there was just a certain level that

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Speaker 2: you expected from him every day. And you know, I

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Speaker 2: think that's what really really stands out to me, that

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Speaker 2: just a consistent, consistent performer and you know, really helped Purdue.

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Speaker 2: I think these last couple of years, especially this last year,

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Speaker 2: really make a big jump forward.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. And you know, for Connor as a catcher, one

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Speaker 1: of those premium positions, one of those positions where it

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Speaker 1: seems like you're doing multiple things at once. And for

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Speaker 1: him defensively, how would you mention maybe some of his

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Speaker 1: book behind the plate, because maybe helping out with the

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Speaker 1: pitching staff that report he has, just how was he

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Speaker 1: more on the defensive or maybe even the pitching side

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Speaker 1: of the catching position.

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Speaker 2: Good, and I think that's an area where he made

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Speaker 2: a lot of improvements from the beginning of his first

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Speaker 2: season last year through this year. Now. He got off

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Speaker 2: to a little bit of slow star last year because

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Speaker 2: he had a little bit of an injury, got injured

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Speaker 2: in the first practice in Texas before the season opening

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Speaker 2: series down there in Sugarland, Texas, and so it slowed

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Speaker 2: up a little bit at the beginning of the season.

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Speaker 2: I think that hurt him a little bit behind the

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Speaker 2: plate early last year. But once he started feeling good,

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Speaker 2: and I think once he got a little bit of

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Speaker 2: an experience at the D one level, man he really

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Speaker 2: settled in and was great defensively. I've said before that

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Speaker 2: I thought he was one of the more improved Purdue

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Speaker 2: players for a two year player that I've seen in

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Speaker 2: the last twenty years, because it just seemed like he

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Speaker 2: skyrocketed defensively and even one I think defensive player of

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Speaker 2: the Year for Purdue in his first season. So it

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Speaker 2: just shows you, how, you know, some of maybe those

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Speaker 2: hiccups early in the season last year, he really once

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Speaker 2: he got settled in, was really solid behind the plate,

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Speaker 2: a good arm. I don't know if it's like the

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Speaker 2: best arm ever. But a good arm covers the territory

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Speaker 2: behind the plate well, seems to work well with pictures.

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Speaker 2: The one thing that was super interesting that he had

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Speaker 2: to tell us, I've never heard anyone say this before

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Speaker 2: on our podcast, was that he had trouble catching lefty pitchers.

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Speaker 2: And I've never heard that before. I don't know if

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Speaker 2: it was just an experienced thing it is JC or

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Speaker 2: back home that he just didn't have a lot of

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Speaker 2: it with him, or or what the situation was, but he, uh,

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Speaker 2: it took him a while to sort of get used

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Speaker 2: to lefty pitching. And I've never thought about that before.

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Speaker 2: I've never played the position before either, but I've never

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Speaker 2: heard a catcher say that that they struggled with just

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Speaker 2: you know what arm the guy's throwing with, and you

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Speaker 2: know a little bit of the arm slot, the pitch angle.

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Speaker 2: It just was coming from a different spot. Uh. I

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Speaker 2: never noticed that, like you know, calling games like you know,

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Speaker 2: But he told us that, and you know, it must

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Speaker 2: have improved a lot over his two years with that.

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Speaker 2: But it was just interesting to hear him say that

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Speaker 2: because it's such an unusual thing. But really, I thought

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Speaker 2: by the time he left Purdue was just just really

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Speaker 2: solid another area where he was just super consistent in

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Speaker 2: everything that he did.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know when he came into Burdue, you

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Speaker 1: mentioned I was doing a little research, came in from

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Speaker 1: from a JC, came in already veteran of the game.

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Speaker 1: How did he help out maybe some of the younger guys,

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Speaker 1: you know, coming in to Purdue at twenty one, How

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Speaker 1: well did he instantly go in become a leader and

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Speaker 1: maybe if so, he help out some of the maybe

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Speaker 1: the freshmen, the sophomores on the team.

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Speaker 2: What's a little bit wild is he he came into

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Speaker 2: a position where Purdue had two veterans catchers last year,

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Speaker 2: so you know, while he was a little bit nicked

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Speaker 2: up at the beginning of the season, those other guys

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Speaker 2: filled in and you had sort of wondered whether they

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Speaker 2: weren't just gonna stick there, you know, for that season.

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Speaker 2: But I think his bat was so good that Greg

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Speaker 2: Goff had to find a way that once he was

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Speaker 2: healthy again, and it didn't take him long to get

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Speaker 2: him back in the lineup. So yeah, I you know,

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Speaker 2: he especially this year, I think, you know, really grew

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Speaker 2: into that leadership spot because he was the guy. You know,

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Speaker 2: the the other two had departed want a graduate and

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Speaker 2: won a trance for so you know, by the second

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Speaker 2: half of last year he was the everyday guy and

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Speaker 2: then this year really carried the load behind the plate.

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Speaker 2: Played through injury, had a little bit of I think

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Speaker 2: I think it was a hamstring, might have been a quad.

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Speaker 2: He was not for maybe a weekend in a critical series,

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Speaker 2: he was not one hundred percent and played through it.

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Speaker 2: You could tell just watching him, you know, run the

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Speaker 2: bases that he was probably what seventy maybe percent, but

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Speaker 2: stuck it out in what was a big series. Actually

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Speaker 2: had a pretty good series, and that can't be easy

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Speaker 2: to play when your lower half is a little bit

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Speaker 2: nicked up when you're a catcher. But you know, he

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Speaker 2: was able to fight through, and I you know, I

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Speaker 2: think that that just shows what kind of leader he

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Speaker 2: was for Perdue.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know at Purdue, how do you believe

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Speaker 1: maybe he was or maybe how the results came in

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Speaker 1: when he maybe faced off against maybe those bigger teams,

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Speaker 1: those higher quality teams. Because now going into pro ball,

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Speaker 1: he's in the face guys who or maybe there were

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Speaker 1: the Saturday guys at you know, maybe a wake Forest

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Speaker 1: or something like that. Just how was he in terms

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Speaker 1: of maybe offensively against maybe that stiffer competition.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't have the stats in front of me,

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Speaker 2: but I feel is again just that consistency that it

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Speaker 2: didn't really seem to phase him. You know, the level

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Speaker 2: of competition that he was that he was facing. It's

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Speaker 2: not like, you know, some guys you sort of feel like,

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Speaker 2: you know, they're feasting off the midweek pitching or or

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Speaker 2: in the preseason there you know they've hit you know,

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Speaker 2: ten of their twelve home runs came in the first

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Speaker 2: three weekends when you're playing against seemingly lesser teams. It

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Speaker 2: didn't feel that way with him. I don't have the

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Speaker 2: numbers in front of me, but pretty consistent guy. You know.

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Speaker 2: It seemed like he was good for you know, a

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Speaker 2: hit a game, a double, a home run a weekend,

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Speaker 2: you know that that kind of thing, and just a

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Speaker 2: really really consistent guy, no matter no matter who he's playing,

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Speaker 2: and just you know, fundamentally good in terms of being

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Speaker 2: able to hit the ball the other way advance runners.

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Speaker 2: He didn't strike out a whole lot, so you know,

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Speaker 2: having productive outs and uh, you know, just giving his

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Speaker 2: team an opportunity, even if you know he wasn't able

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Speaker 2: to get a hit himself.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and a little bit off the field, maybe how

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Speaker 1: was Connor? Maybe your time around with him, or maybe

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Speaker 1: when you talk to some of his teammates or the

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Speaker 1: coaching staff, what are some ways that they would describe Connor,

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Speaker 1: maybe a little bit off the field and how he

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Speaker 1: was as a teammate or as a person.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I can't claim to be super close to any

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Speaker 2: of the guys as I get a little bit older

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Speaker 2: having done this for a long time, but I know

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Speaker 2: that he's a good natured guy. I think that he's

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Speaker 2: a somewhat humorous guy. I think his name came up

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Speaker 2: we quiz some guys occasionally on on who you know.

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Speaker 2: Maybe he's got the best sense of humor on the team. Uh.

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Speaker 2: He and produced third baseman Joe Stevens seemed to really

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Speaker 2: connect at times and and and be buddies and sort

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Speaker 2: of humorous and lead the team in a way that

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Speaker 2: kept everybody relaxed. So that's my impression of him as well.

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Speaker 2: Just a guy who enjoys the game, takes it very

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Speaker 2: seriously when he when he needs to, but does a

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Speaker 2: good job of keeping his teammates relaxed, keeping the pitching

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Speaker 2: staff relaxed. You know, I think all those things that

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Speaker 2: that position or are are pretty important.

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Speaker 1: And me the last question I have about Connor is

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Speaker 1: just overall, how well do you see him fitting in

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Speaker 1: the pro ball system and professional baseball. You mentioned how

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Speaker 1: great he was offensively, and it's always great when you

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Speaker 1: have someone going to proballs the reigning and defensive player

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Speaker 1: of the Year at the catching position.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I you know, he I think he'll

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Speaker 2: a just well. I mean, he's a guy that loves

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Speaker 2: the sport. I think that you know, when you do

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Speaker 2: advance up levels, it becomes a job and you have

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Speaker 2: to put in all the work that's necessary. You know,

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Speaker 2: we've seen plenty of guys from the Big ten and

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Speaker 2: things who you sort of know are very talented players,

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Speaker 2: but maybe you're not putting in the kind of work

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Speaker 2: you need to make it as a professional. And my

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Speaker 2: impression of Cascanet is that he's going to do all

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Speaker 2: those things that are necessary to make it. You know,

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Speaker 2: it's very hard obviously getting all the way up to

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Speaker 2: the big leagues, but I don't think if he does

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Speaker 2: not make it, it's not going to be for lack

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Speaker 2: of an effort. I don't think which is a you know,

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Speaker 2: it's a good thing. You can't sort of train that,

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Speaker 2: right you Guys either want it or don't. And so

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Speaker 2: he seems like a guy who not only has some

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Speaker 2: talent but also has some want and that's pretty good combination.

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Speaker 1: Well that's a perfect way to end it. Kyle here

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Speaker 1: on Big Fist Small Pod, I want to thank you

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Speaker 1: for coming on, and maybe where can some of these

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Speaker 1: people find you? On Twitter or podcast if there's maybe

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Speaker 1: any connection between Marlins and the boiler Makers.

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Speaker 2: Kyle Charter seventy nine On Twitter, you can find me

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Speaker 2: there a lot of Purdue baseball talk, a lot of

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Speaker 2: Big Ten baseball as well. There are a lot of

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Speaker 2: produce sports in general. I do some other random stuff,

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Speaker 2: including today filling in on an afternoon radio show. But

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Speaker 2: do appreciate the time and thanks for having me and

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Speaker 2: do fish