Prospect Scouting & Stats — Hitter Raw Power – Future

Today I finish our look at the hitter power grade leaderboards, ending with raw power in the future (RPF). Let’s identify and discuss the 26 hitters with an RPF grade of at least 70. As usual, I will only discuss those missing from previous leaderboards.

A whopping five hitters earned an RPF grade of 80, but only Oneil Cruz earned an FV that suggests any real chance to make an impact. That said, there’s one new name here that needs to be highlighted, Albert Feliz, even though he did appear on yesterday’s RPP board. He was skipped because of his lowly 35+ FV, but is worth discussing as one of just five hitters with an 80 RPF.

Amazingly, Feliz just completed his first minor league season…as a 17-year-old in the Rookie league. He posted a very respectable .178 ISO and 16.1% HR/FB rate, which is made all the more impressive considering his age. Given that performance and age, I was curious why he was slapped with just a 35+ FV. According to our prospect duo, he owns “relatively raw pitch recognition” skills, and will likely be limited to left field or first base, both of which make him risky and would cap his value. But hey, the kid is only 18 now and we know possesses mammoth power. I’d keep an eye on him in keeper and dynasty leagues.

Kameron Misner showed literally no power in his short 2019 debut, despite earning 65/70 Raw Power grades. What he did show, though, were excellent plate discipline skills, with a mid-teen walk rate and average strikeout and SwStk%. In fact, everything from his debut looks pretty good, except for the lack of power. That he also has speed and swiped 11 bases (a 34 steal pace over 600 plate appearances) make him an intriguing future fantasy contributor.

Joshua Mears is another youngin’ on this list, having just completed his age 18 season. Like many teenagers, he had trouble making contact, essentially doubling the league average SwStk%. He was willing to take a walk though, and showed decent enough power to give us up that good things can be in his future if he could cut down on the whiffs. We could say that about a lot of prospects though.

In his second go in the Rookie league, Yankees prospect Ryder Green massively cut down on his swings and misses and reduced his strikeout rate. Unfortunately, his home run power (HR/FB) plummeted and overall power (ISO) slipped. Of course, he was just 19, and he still managed to post a .357 wOBA. Oh yeah, he has speed as well and could call Yankee Stadium, a favorable hitter park, home if the team doesn’t trade him away.

Niko Hulsizer is old for his level (A+), but has shown excellent power. He’s yet another who will need to cut down on the strikeouts, as that will be the key to a callup. In his 2019 professional debut, Bryce Ball showed excellent power and posted very respectable strikeout and SwStk% rates. Only graded a 35+ FV, I think he’s one to watch, as I’m always a fan of hitters who own big power, but don’t strike out too often.

So I don’t normally look at a hitter’s height and weight, but because there were a bunch of Carlos De La Cruz‘ when I searched his name, I was curious if I got the right one and oddly looked there first. I literally did a double take when I stared at that height…6’ 8″?!??! Wowzers, talk about a large strike zone! It’s no wonder he has struck out in the mid-30% range during each of his two minor league stints. He has barely walked and hasn’t shown a lot of power either, so he seems to be a reeeeaalllll longshot.