The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, featuring NC State catcher Patrick Bailey, went 4-1 against Cuba in the USA vs Cuba International Friendship Series this week.
Bailey was a key part of the talented team, both at the plate and behind it, in the first week of competition. The top-tier college catcher bats third for the Pack, but in a lineup with the nations best talent, he hits ninth for Team USA.
However, he has excelled in his role, increasing the value of his draft stock heading into his draft season and further proving he can play with the best. As one of two catchers on the roster, Bailey caught every other game against Cuba, getting the start in games one, three and five, and played the first five innings against the Coastal Plain Select Team.
Through the team’s six official games, not including the intrasquad scrimmages, Bailey went 4 for 11 with four RBIs, three runs scored and two walks. Three of those RBIs came in the July 6 win where he went 3 for 5 with two runs.
He’s also an elite defensive catcher and is tasked with the difficult requirement of learning every single USA Baseball pitcher in a short amount of time.
The Collegiate National Team has outscored Cuba 32-11 in the five games around the state, with games in Durham, Cary, Charlotte and Hickory. The only loss, a 6-5 loss on July 5 when Bailey was not in the lineup, developed because of a two-run blown lead in the bottom of the ninth allowing Cuba to walk it off in Cary.
Next for Team USA is a trip across the globe to Taichung City Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan for five games against Chinese Taipei in the 19th USA vs. Chinese Taipei International Friendship Series.
Last season, Chinese Taipei traveled to the United States and the USABCNT won all five games, despite all of them being close.
The series starts in Taiwan on July 9 at 6:30 a.m. ET with the expectation that Bailey will continue to catch every other game. There is a lot of publicity and exposure around this team from professional baseball scouts, proving it pivotal for the Pack catcher to continue to produce.
A switch-hitting, power-hitting catcher with speed plus defensive skills certainly give MLB teams a lot to look at, and what he has done so far with Team USA certainly helps his case.
