Most little leaguers gravitate to the mound, or to shortstop, or to center field, but Kevin Parada began playing catcher at a young age, and could not have his mind changed. “My mom was like, ‘You know what, he’s probably going to block his first ball and realize he doesn’t want to be a catcher. I was the total opposite of that’ ” Parada said.
The youngster stayed at the position and eventually developed into one of the top catchers in the 2020 high school class. He lettered four years at Loyola High School in Los Angeles and hit a cumulative .