Brady Afthim had the best combination of skills of any catcher in Maine: an elite pop time, a powerful bat and a strong right arm.

He also had a hard fastball, one that had the potential to get faster. As his college recruitment progressed and bigger schools became interested, he began to see which part of his game they were more interested in.

“I just asked them, straight up, if you were to guess right now, what would (my position) be? Pitching or catching?” Afthim said. “And, essentially, every school told me it looked like pitching would be their choice.”

Afthim eventually went to UConn as a pitcher, a move that paid dividends when he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball draft in June. It also was an example of a dynamic that has developed for baseball players in Maine: Most who make it to the higher levels of college baseball do so as pitchers.

“I don’t think either one is easy, by any means,” Afthim said. “If the question is if it’s easier to get interest or essentially throw your name in the hat, I would say it’s easier to get recognition or to be noticed pitching than it is (by) playing a position.”

The Edge Academy-based Maine Lightning, the state’s most successful program at putting players into Division I college baseball, lists 27 pitchers and 22 position players that have gone on to D-I schools since 2015, with a split of 19 pitchers and nine position players (as well as a pair of two-way players) since 2019. According to PerfectGame.com, nine Maine pitchers have committed out of high school to colleges in the five “power conferences” since 2010, compared to four position players.

There are exceptions, such as Jacob Humphrey, an outfielder who went from Bonny Eagle to UMass Lowell, and then to Vanderbilt, and then the Colorado Rockies organization in June. Brian Connolly, a former Cheverus standout, earned a scholarship as a shortstop to Wake Forest, one of the country’s top programs. Quinn McDaniel, out of Marshwood, starred as a second baseman at UMaine and became a fifth-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2023.

For most Maine players, though, pitching is more likely to provide a ticket. Pitching is a more straightforward evaluation, and development is hindered less by the lesser competition and fewer repetitions that come with playing in the Northeast.

“Overall, it is a little tougher, I think, for position players out of Maine to go make it than it is for pitchers,” said Mike D’Andrea, the Falmouth High coach and owner and director of Maine Lightning. “We’ve had a lot of pitchers out of Maine make it to the big leagues and get opportunities, I think more so than position players, for sure.”

Pitchers in more demand

Ryan Copp, the director of baseball at the Edge Academy, said pitchers have the inside track over position players because there are more openings. A team may need one shortstop, one catcher, or one center fielder. But it will always be looking for arms.

“Clemson’s going to take two shortstops and move one to third base. They’re going to bring in 10 pitchers,” he said. “You’re talking about almost a 3-to-1 ratio as far as spots that are available.”

Copp mentioned Wyatt Nadeau, the recent Gorham graduate with a 6-foot-6 frame and a fastball that has hit 97 miles per hour, and who is headed to college power Vanderbilt.

“If I’m trying to market a Wyatt Nadeau to Vanderbilt, I know they have 14 other spots they’re going to fill on that roster,” he said, “versus a shortstop, (I’m) knowing that they’re only bringing in one. And that one is probably one of the best in the country.”

With field players competing for fewer spots, getting a coach’s attention can be more difficult. Meanwhile, the secret doesn’t stay hidden for long when a golden-armed pitcher comes along.

“It’s hard to stand out amongst the crowd,” said Ryan Kolben, an All-State player at Greely who’s now catching at the University of Massachusetts. “It’s tough to get seen. Pitching, you hit that one number of 92, 93 (miles per hour) in your sophomore year of high school, it’s like, ‘OK, this kid can play.'”

There’s also more patience with pitching. Coaches look for potential and are willing to craft a raw talent into a college-ready hurler, provided the measurables are there. Hitters face more urgency to prove they can handle the step up.

“There are more positions for pitchers to play. If you can’t hit, then you’re not going to play at the next level,” said former Greely pitcher Zach Johnston, now a rising senior at Wake Forest. “Pitchers can be starters, they can be relievers, they can be leverage guys, they can be non-leverage guys, they can be situational.

“And pitchers don’t necessarily have to be great at pitching yet. But as long as they have the looks and the body to potentially be a good pitcher, you’ll get a pretty fair shot.”

Easier to evaluate pitchers

Cody Bowker did it all at Thornton Academy. In his senior year, he went 9-0 with a 0.47 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 60 innings on the mound, while also hitting .500 with four home runs and 17 extra-base hits.

He continued his two-way play at Georgetown, batting .250 in 88 at-bats while compiling a 2.80 ERA before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he pitched full-time before being drafted in the third round by the Philadelphia Phillies in June.

Bowker said he disagrees that being from Maine makes it tougher to become a college-caliber hitter than a pitcher. He does, however, feel that pitchers have an easier time in the evaluation process.

“Even in professional baseball, you draft a pitcher based on his stuff. … How hard does he throw, how do his pitches move, all that stuff,” he said. “I feel like hitters need more results. Their batting average is going to matter a lot more than the pitcher’s ERA.”

For that reason, pitching prospects can be more easily summed up. A single metric can tell a coach what he needs to know about a pitcher and how he’ll be able to translate to the college game. He can see the frame of the pitcher, the velocity of the fastball and the break on the secondary pitches, and come away with a complete evaluation for whether he has the skills for the next level. A 90 mile-per-hour fastball in Georgia, California or Class D baseball in Maine is going to be equally as hard to hit.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Maine, it doesn’t matter if it’s Florida. Pitching evaluations are much easier than hitters, just for the sheer fact that there’s no real metric (for hitting),” University of Maine coach Nick Derba said. “(Pitchers are) going to have velocity, and they’re going to have a defined strike zone. … That’s a little more concrete, whereas if you watch offensive players, that’s more of an art.”

And therefore, subjective. A Maine hitter can hit double-digit home runs or carry a high batting average, but there are question marks. What kind of pitching did it come against? How deep were the fences he cleared? Can he hit fastballs, breaking balls, inside pitches, outside?

“You can go out and get 10 video clips from a pitcher, and basically get the majority of the information you need from the 10,” Derba said. “Hitting, you have to know what the opposing pitcher is doing. If a guy is hitting .380 but he’s seeing 87 miles an hour every day, he’s the best player of all time. But if he’s seeing 85 once in a while and he’s seeing 76 the next day, he needs to hit like .600 to be worth it. It’s that other variable that pitchers don’t necessarily have.”

Travel ball can ease some of those concerns, as position players play against better competition and can get in front of an interested coach. Even then, pitchers often get a full game to prove themselves, while a hitter’s shot could be fleeting.

“A college coach is going to be able to see a pitcher throw 100 pitches in a game,” Mt. Ararat baseball coach Brett Chase said. “A college coach shows up and you go 0 for 3. … Hitting’s so hard, and it’s unfair. It’s unforgiving.”

Competition and climate factors

Greg Creek is a success story going the other way, a shortstop who came out of local baseball at Maranacook Community High School in Readfield, slugged his way through the University of Maine, and made it all the way to Double-A with the Atlanta Braves organization.

But Creek, now a high school coach in Florida, said pitchers from Maine have an easier time getting to and then succeeding in high-level college baseball than position players, who face stiffer competition for scholarships and playing time from southerners who play baseball all four seasons.

“Seeing the amount of repetitions hitters get against good arms at young ages, they’re a more polished product coming out of high school than a kid from Maine,” he said. “Pitchers have the ability, especially up north, to do all the same work indoors that guys in the south can do, where hitters don’t necessarily see live arms up north that they do down here, year-round.”

The warmer weather players play more, and they play against other year-round players. Those repetitions broaden and sharpen their skills, increase their baseball IQ, and make them more prepared for the higher caliber of pitching that awaits them in college.

“If your dream, like most kids, is to play at high-level Division I schools, competing against those kids that play year-round, kids in Florida, Texas, California, the guys that work out with college scouts, that’s who you’re going up against,” said Kolben, the UMass catcher. “If you don’t throw 95, and you’re a position guy that’s just kind of your average Joe who just wants to make it, it’s tough. It really is.”

Pitchers in Maine also play less, but can more effectively work on their craft indoors during the winter months. Hitters can work on their swings, take grounders and work out, but are hindered more by the lack of live repetitions.

“In high school, when you’re not outside, I think the defense is what actually hurts the most,” Derba said. “You don’t see a fly ball, you don’t get the ball off the bat. The gameplay aspect is the bigger issue.”

The lack of live innings can also benefit northern pitchers. Pitchers down south are tested against better hitters, but their arms are more taxed. Northern pitchers have less wear and tear on their arms, which for a college coach means more reliability and more potential.

“Arms are more fresh in Maine and up north,” Creek said. “Compared to some of the arms down here, they get overused at young ages, which is probably another draw.”

It’s another factor that tilts the scales in the favor of pitchers, and leads to high school coaches constantly being asked for help to keep up with demand.

“Every time (college coaches) call, they’ll be asking, ‘What do you have for arms?'” D’Andrea said. “It’s (the case) everywhere. Teams need pitching.”