Scouting Report: Kris Bryant (3B/OF)

Posted on 16 May 2013 by

BLUF: Best college position player in the draft with middle-of-the-order potential and good polish.

The Player: Kris Bryant (3B/OF, San Diego) – Turned down the Blue Jays as an 18th round pick in 2010, attending San Diego and posting a .365/.482/.599 line with nine home runs as a freshman. Showed well again as a sophomore with a .366/.483/.671 line with 17 doubles and 14 home runs. Mechanical changes and general polish have led to an explosive junior season that currently stands with a .338/.496/.876 line, 12 doubles, 30 home runs, and more walks than strikeouts.

Basis of Report: Compilation – Industry Contacts

Scouting Report
Body (6-5, 220): Muscular, strong frame. Physically imposing. Looks the part of a slugger when he walks off the bus. Physically mature and not much left to do here. Could see some additional strength with a pro workout/conditioning routine, but wouldn’t expect significant changes.
Hit: Hit utility has improved dramatically with altered stance/mechanics. Wider base allows for improved balance and reduced movement with his head. Quick trigger gets the bat started in a hurry and he has the hand-eye coordination to get the barrel of the bat to the ball on time and with the proper plane. Shows good lift in swing without stretching to uppercut. Generates hard line drives to all fields. Swing can get a little long, leading to some miss in the offensive game, but nothing that will prevent him from tapping power and hitting enough to be a high-end player. Approach is solid and shows aptitude for adjusting to improved pitching. Should make adjustments at pro level and continue to hit at an average level with a chance for more than that if it all clicks. Grade – 40/50+
Power: Enormous raw. Can drive the ball out to all fields. Legit plus-plus power to pull side and easy plus power to opposite field. Oppo power continues to grow with more experience and trust of hands/swing mechanics. Good approach at the plate and is willing to wait for pitches. Can light up FB, even high velocity. Struggles at times with driving spin but is making strides. Plus-plus raw should translate to games at highest level. Potential 35+ homer middle-of-the-order masher. Grade (raw power) – 70/70 Continue reading →

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Scouting Report: Kohl Stewart (RHP)

Posted on 30 April 2013 by

BLUF: Crude pitcher with very nice raw tools and a huge risk profile.

The Player: Kohl Stewart (RHP, St. Pius X High School) – One of the elite quarterback recruits in the country, Stewart has committed to play baseball and football at Texas A&M. Through April 22, Stewart had not allowed a run in 22 innings, allowing just seven hits and striking out 28 batters. He is also hitting .380 with ten home runs and 30 RBI.

Basis of Report: Compilation – Industry Contacts

Scouting Report
Body (6-3, 195): Long and lean. Highly athletic. Good strength with room for more. Very projectable. Plus-plus body that is mature but still offers physical projection. Ideal pitcher’s frame.
Delivery/Mechanics: Lacks consistency. Landing foot location varies with every pitch, often coming up a little short and varying from side to side. Lower half gets a little quick when descending from the balance point, forcing arm to catch up. Has electric arm speed and can catch up but would be well served to get things in sync. Needs repetition. Very raw mechanically but athletic enough to improve and gain consistency.
Fastball (FB) Velocity (Wind-up): High – 88, Low – 97, Average 92-93, Grade – 60/60
Fastball (FB) Velocity (Stretch): High – 88, Low 96, Average 92-93, Grade – 60/60
Fastball (FB) Movement: Doesn’t blow you away with movement. Jumps out of his hand and appears to get on hitters quickly. Has some arm-side life at times. No visible sink/cut at this time. Doesn’t get squared up against amateur competition. Average movement. Grade – 50/50
Overall Fastball: Good present velo and can reach plus-plus registers when he needs to or in short bursts. Despite remaining physical projection, not a ton of FB projection in the tank. May get more consistent at 92-93 mph and eliminate 88-89 readings from his arsenal. Not great movement but enough to keep him off the barrel. Some potential for velo spike with baseball focus but I’m not willing to project that at this time. Good quality pitch that should flash a half-tick better than plus at his peak. Grade – 60/60 Continue reading →

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Scouting Report: Clint Frazier (OF)

Posted on 26 April 2013 by

BLUF: Top player in the draft has elite raw power and plenty of other tools.

The Player: Clint Frazier (OF, Loganville High School) – Hit .424 with 24 home runs, 55 runs scored, 58 RBI, 14 steals and 31 walks as a junior in 2012. Broke Brandon Moss’ single season school record for RBI and home runs and also set the school mark for runs scored. Already owns the career home run mark at Loganville and has almost doubled Moss’ previous school best. As of April 8th, Frazier was hitting .561 with 11 home runs so far this season.

Basis of Report: Compilation – Industry Contacts

Scouting Report
Body (6-1, 190): Nearly physically mature but still has some physical projection remaining. Lean and strong. Well built; ripped. Very athletic. Fast twitch guy. Tremendous body and athleticism.
Hit: Elite bat speed. Exaggerated weight shift onto the back leg as part of trigger. High hands that shift back during load. Exceptional bat speed overcomes quirks in setup and attack. Makes up for minor mistakes early in process. Bat speed allows for late decisions but mind is often made up. Likes to swing early and often. Attacking approach. Needs to develop better concept of the strike zone to find pitches he can attack. Plate coverage is not ideal but crushes what he can get to. Lack of coverage and aggressive approach will lead to plenty of swing and miss but ultimately it won’t hinder his game. Raw hitter that needs to use the opposite field better. Very pull conscious now. Would be exploited by advanced pitchers and better breaking balls right now and may need multi-grade jump to reach average hit projection. I’m light on present ability to hit but optimistic about future potential. Grade – 30/50
Power: Best raw power in the draft. Elite bat speed and impressive natural strength lead to mammoth shots. Shows off in BP and can already translate to games against inferior pitching. 80 raw to pull side. Has strength and bat speed to show similar raw to opposite field but doesn’t trust hands and tries to pull stuff he should drive the other way. Raw plays down slightly as a result right now. Extremely consistent getting to the zone and can barrel pitches in the upper 2/3 of the strike zone. Lacks ability to go down and get it and drive it. Has good leverage at contact, hitting off a staunch front leg. Lift in the second half of the swing helps him drive it out of the park. Huge raw power that could translate to 40+ home runs at peak. Hit tool should be good enough for 80-raw to come out in games down the line. Grade (raw power) – 70/80 Continue reading →

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Scouting Report: Jonathan Gray (RHP)

Posted on 23 April 2013 by

BLUF: Raw power right-handed starter with dominating frontline potential.

The Player: Jonathan Gray (RHP, University of Oklahoma) – Started his college career at Eastern Oklahoma State College before transferring to Oklahoma as a sophomore. Posted a 3.16 ERA in 18 starts for the Sooners in 2012, including 104 strikeouts in 102.2 innings pitched. Through ten starts this year has posted a spectacular 1.09 ERA and 7-1 record. In 74.1 innings so far, he has allowed only 40 hits and 13 walks while strikeout out 91 batters.

Basis of Report: Compilation – Industry Contacts

Scouting Report
Body (6-4, 240): Big, physical guy. Not well-conditioned but has good strength and plenty of mass to use for momentum. Fringy athlete. Always likely to be a burly guy more than a chiseled physical specimen.
Delivery/Mechanics: Pretty smooth with good arm action and an easy release. Ball jumps out of his hand. Stabs a bit on the back side but it doesn’t hinder the arm stroke or the timing of the rest of the delivery. Gets to his balance point consistently and explodes to the plate from there. Very quick arm. Some effort toward the finish with a hard fall to first base. Won’t field.
Fastball (FB) Velocity (Wind-up): High – 99, Low – 93, Average 94-95, Grade – 70/70
Fastball (FB) Velocity (Stretch): High – 98, Low 94, Average 94-95, Grade – 70/70
Fastball (FB) Movement: Late life. Ball jumps out of the hand and explodes on hitters. Has more movement in lower velo registers. Flattens out at elite velocity. Very difficult to square. Can bore in on RHH consistently. Easy plus movement when he doesn’t overthrow. Grade – 60/60
Overall Fastball: Outstanding pitch. True dominator. Velo sits in plus-plus range every time out, can touch elite range when he needs a little more and could sit in elite range in shorter bursts. Holds velo well thanks to strength. Overwhelming combination of velo and movement at its best. Grade – 70/70 Continue reading →

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Scouting Report: Austin Meadows (OF)

Posted on 16 April 2013 by

BLUF: Easy first round pick and potential middle of the order batting average and power threat.

The Player: Austin Meadows (OF, Grayson High School) – One of the country’s elite high school players. Hit .390 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 19 steals as a junior. Heading into the National High School Invitational, Meadows was hitting .571 with three home runs this spring. He is committed to Clemson.

Basis of Report: Compilation – Industry Contacts

Scouting Report
Body (6-3, 215): Very well built. Physically mature at a young age. Added muscle mass in the last year. Has potential to continue growing and adding muscle. Questions about where the body goes from here and whether his build takes on that of a classic slugger rather than a fast-twitch athlete.
Hit: Very balanced from setup through swing completion. Rarely finds himself out front of pitches thanks to good pitch recognition and plate discipline for his age/level. Has potential to continue developing pitch rec and discipline at higher levels. Hands work well. Plus bat speed. Can go the other way but rarely does so at this time. Swing can get a little long but has bat speed to make up for it. Good present leverage with some lift to the swing, allowing for over-the-fence projection. Quality overall hitter with potential for plus grades at peak but will need multiple grade jumps to get there. Grade – 40/60 Continue reading →

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The Way Ahead at BPN

Posted on 14 April 2013 by

The Way Ahead at BPN

As I am sure you have all noticed, my writing has been a bit sparse over the last few weeks. With a newborn baby girl in the house, everything has been a little crazy and writing about baseball has fallen down the priority list.

We are starting to come up for water in the Anderson household and that should allow my writing at BPN (and other outlets) to pick back up a bit. That said, I have a lot on my plate right now and as I want to give plenty of time to my efforts at TigsTown and Baseball Prospectus, I am going to be cutting back slightly here. I still plan to publish about three pieces a week at BPN and much of the content over the next few months will be scouting reports. I will again be publish scouting reports on the potential top draft picks and that should start this week. Continue reading →

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2013 BPN Top 150 Prospects

Posted on 1 April 2013 by

It has been a long off-season but Opening Day is finally here and with it comes the release of the BPN Top 150 Prospects for 2013!

As you peruse the rankings you may notice differences between the Top 150 and the individual team Top 15 lists. I did not remain bound by my Top 15 rankings during this process. If I learned new information since the release of a team Top 15, that information was incorporated in the Top 150 rankings. You will see some players higher, lower, etc., in this list than in previous off-season lists. Also, I have linked to all of the scouting reports I have on file for players in the Top 150 (117 of 150 players have full reports). As you click through to the scouting reports, please note the date of publication. Scouting reports are not static; they change over time as players develop, and that is important to remember if you click through to a scouting report from April of last year.

As always, I hope you enjoy the rankings! I’ll try to pop in and answer as many questions as I can in the comments section!

1. Oscar Taveras, OF (60) – St. Louis Cardinals – Scouting Report
2. Jurickson Profar, SS (6) – Texas Rangers – Scouting Report
3. Gerrit Cole, RHP (8) – Pittsburgh Pirates – Scouting Report
4. Will Myers, OF (13) – Tampa Bay Rays – Scouting Report
5. Dylan Bundy, RHP (14) – Baltimore Orioles – Scouting Report
6. Kevin Gausman, RHP (NR) – Baltimore Orioles – Scouting Report
7. Jameson Taillon, RHP (28) – Pittsburgh Pirates – Scouting Report
8. Zack Wheeler, RHP (15) – New York Mets – Scouting Report
9. Jose Fernandez, RHP (95) – Miami Marlins – Scouting Report
10. Xander Bogaerts, SS (86) – Boston Red Sox – Scouting Report
11. Shelby Miller, RHP (7) – St. Louis Cardinals – Scouting Report
12. Christian Yelich, OF (39) – Miami Marlins – Scouting Report
13. Taijuan Walker, RHP (11) – Seattle Mariners – Scouting Report
14. Lucas Giolito, RHP (NR) – Washington Nationals – Scouting Report
15. Anthony Rendon, 3B (12) – Washington Nationals – Scouting Report
16. Archie Bradley, RHP (33) – Arizona Diamondbacks – Scouting Report
17. Carlos Correa, SS (NR) – Houston Astros – Scouting Report
18. Miguel Sano, 3B (19) – Minnesota Twins – Scouting Report
19. Tyler Skaggs, LHP (37) – Arizona Diamondbacks – Scouting Report
20. Byron Buxton, OF (NR) – Minnesota Twins – Scouting Report
21. Francisco Lindor, SS (40) – Cleveland Indians – Scouting Report
22. Javier Baez, SS (91) – Chicago Cubs – Scouting Report
23. Matt Barnes, RHP (84) – Boston Red Sox – Scouting Report
24. Austin Hedges, C (NR) – San Diego Padres – Scouting Report
25. Max Fried, LHP (NR) – San Diego Padres – Scouting Report Continue reading →

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