2025 Pre-Draft Evaluation: Catcher Charlie Muniz, University of the Cumberlands

Player Name: Charlie Muniz

Position: Catcher 

School: University of the Cumberlands (NAIA)

Class: Senior

Height/Weight: 6’2”, 220 lbs

Hometown: Naranjito, Puerto Rico

DOB: October 25, 2001

Evaluator: Nick Prasad (RINGSZN Baseball Development & Scouting - 1st Overall Sports Media)

Background on Charlie Muniz

Charlie Muniz is the first string catcher for the University of the Cumberlands, in Williamsburgh, Kentucky. Muniz is in his senior year at the school, completing three seasons. He was previously at Southwestern Community College. 

Physical Maturity

Muniz is 6’2” in height and 220 lbs in weight, holding a strong frame with athleticism, and consistent body make-up. His frame displays durability as defensive catcher, with good use of his lower half with movement in and behind the plate. 

Upper-half strength is also apparent  in conjunction with his legs and hips, allowing for effective movement on offense and catcher-pop. 

Statistics 

Synopsis 

Charlie Muniz is a physical presence on the field, both on the offensive and defensive end. His bat is live from the right-handed side of the box, covering a fair portion of the strike zone, giving little room on the inside part of the plate. 

A key physical note with Muniz’s bat is his ability to protect when down in the count and his ability to control the barrel. He does a good job with staying inside of the ball and controlling the bat head. 

He’s able to barrel up more than just a fastball on the middle-middle or middle-in; Muniz can sit back on breaking pitches with an eye for off-speed and junk. His contact ability is very apparent, and shows his style of hitting for average as well as power. 

Muniz uses the entire field as a playground, showcasing his ability to spray the ball, going opposite-field and working extra-base hits into his statistics. His power is raw and real, shown by opposite field home runs, with the mass majority being pull-side. 

His raw power is non-questionable. Muniz has a career 115 home runs to this date, all in a University of Cumberlands uniform. When the long-ball isn’t in play, Muniz can get one through for a base hit or more, increasing his on-base percentage. He leads the team with on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases.

Defensively, Muniz is a wall with a strong body behind the dish. His ability to receive, block, and conduct pitchers and defense is impeccable. He has a 1.000 fielding percentage with no errors in 2025. 

Accolades 

2022

NAIA First Team All-American

MSC First Team All-Conference 

MSC Player of the Week (2/14)

NAIA Ball Player of the Week

2023 

NAIA First Team All- American

Second-Team All NAIA Ball

MSC First-Team All-Conference

NAIA Player of the Week

2024 

NAIA First Team All-American

Perfect Game Player of the Year

MSC Player of the Year

NAIA Ball Player of the Year

NAIA World Series All-Tournament Team

MSC First Team All-Conference

3x MSC Player of the Week

Professional Comparison

Mike Napoli (Los Angeles Angels, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians)

Muniz compares well to Napoli with regards to playing style, both at the plate and behind the plate. Their defensive capabilities are similar with the same tools and presence. 

Both catchers are home run hitters, seeing above 19 home runs per season with 80 or more hits. Raw power is found with both of these players, as well as the opposite-field affect and leadership qualities.