July 17 Game Notes: Academy Barons (California Collegiate League)

Notes & Comments

Very speedy top of the order kid; 3.99 bunt attempt tonight (out), 4.10 up the line with ability to turn it on really quickly; 4.51 on the turn. A little limited to slap-and-run game offensively (no power) but pretty good barrel control, OK understanding of the strike zone, what works for him, etc.; want to see him put the ball in play a little bit more. Love him in center field; great defender, runs well both in on shallow line drives and back on fly balls to fence, tracks the ball extremely well; made great diving play in on a ball tonight, nearly also robbed a home run that he tracked perfectly, timed the jump, ball just was hit a little too far over the fence. Great feel for center field; real athlete out there; defense may prove to be carrying tool.

Switch hitter. 3.89 bunt hit from the right side; 4.08 up the line from the left side, 4.50 on the turn at first base there too. Like with Gates, really speedy up the line, on the bases; speed manifests itself a bit differently for him defensively though being on the infield. Great instincts on the bases; made a very smart decision to run in from third and score on a wild pitch despite the ball only getting a few feet away from the catcher at one point; quick read, read it perfectly, got a great jump and took the chance; difference-maker potential, aggressive with speed. Decent infield defender; fundamentally pretty sound, consistently makes the plays he should, good feel for the position.

Muscular, strong kid; wiry, somewhat lean frame, but great musculature through shoulders, chest, torso; real chance to build out some serious strength. Great athlete; pops up and down behind the plate, moves extremely well for a catcher, able to field his position very well with above-average/exceptional range on bunts, pop-ups, etc. … Big-time arm behind the plate, too; 1.96 pop time to second base (on target, out), 1.69 back pick to first base (on target, safe), 1.63 pop time to third base (off target, safe). Tendency to overthrow a little bit; knows he has a great arm and wants to show it off, goad runners into taking extra bases so he can try to gun them down. Real weapon there, though; cannon with very quick release; needs experience in picking his spots, slightly more consistency with accuracy and he’ll be a real force. Pro-quality arm right now, though … Wide-set, open stance at the plate, extremely pull-happy in approach, trying to really do damage to his pull side; looking middle in for everything. Huge swings; great bat speed, ability to lift the ball, really trying to hit for power and do damage to left field. Struggles for full plate coverage, though; have yet to see him really hit with authority to opposite field on purpose this summer.

4.24 up the line from the LHH box, 4.69 on the turn at first base; pretty good foot speed there and quick first step/reaction times at third base; quick-twitch, good athlete with some muscle/strength, moves well. Good sense of spatial awareness/body awareness in the field; moves well back, to the side, and in on pop-ups; takes charge, will call and catch and go get the ball, some leadership feel to get it done there; not timid.

Really limited offensively, and really going through it at the plate right now, but I really like some of his tools and I think he’s going to be a lot better as he ages and develops through his college career. Reds draft pick late out of high school in 2017; phenomenal athlete who can fly on the bases, shows promising arm strength and accuracy throwing in right field, just having a very tough go of it at the plate recognizing pitches and making contact. Susceptible to breaking balls, wipeout stuff, over-aggressive and swinging a lot. That’ll correct itself with more ABs; tough kid to write up like this, but I have a hunch there’s a lot more here that we haven’t seen yet, and he’s going to be a good player in a couple years.

Notes & Comments

Fastball 80-83; also showed curveball, slider, changeup; 1.20 slide step to the plate, more consistently 1.36 – 1.41 to the plate with conventional move. Overhand/very high three-quarters look, susceptible to leaving pitches up if/when he couldn’t get on time and extended out front, but decent plane with life down through the bottom of the zone when he could get there. Arm-side run back to fastball; young arm, ball came out pretty well, potential here to maybe throw harder with age; plenty of time to turn into a decent arm as he enters his second JuCo year in 2019; will be one for me to watch this spring.

Fastball 82-85; Curveball 70-71; Changeup 75-76; Slider 73-75; 1.44 – 1.49 to the plate. Tough outing, but came on a bit late, started hitting 85 consistently in final inning of work. Life on stuff across the board is OK, particularly with good command feel for breaking balls, just needs reps to fully execute on a consistent basis; command, mechanics gave inconsistent look and took to long to make adjustments, but to his credit, kept challenging hitters through outing. Arm strength with easy, whip-like action; like the way the ball comes out. Another guy to let lay low for a year or two and check up on later to see development path.