Prospect Snapshot: Little Shoes, Big Talent

August 24, 2018, 12:17:30 PM

Little Shoes, Big Talent
By Renton Brews

The first thing one notices when this year’s #3 pick steps onto the field is his size. That is, if you even notice him. Standing 5’7” tall and weighing just 165 pounds, Nick Madrigal does not fit the prototypical size of today’s major league player. For that matter, he didn’t even fit the prototypical size of today’s college player. But as opponents of Oregon State found out over the last three seasons, to underestimate Madrigal in any way is a blunder of Ruthian proportions.

Madrigal is old school in his approach to hitting. Unlike the focus today’s game gives to launch angle, power and swinging from your heels, Madrigal is all about contact and line drives. In a game in which strikeout numbers are skyrocketing, Madrigal shudders at the thought of seeing strike three. Through his three years at Oregon State he struck out just 37 times in 612 at bats, or a miniscule 6.0% K-rate. In professional ball he’s been even better, striking out just three times in 112 at bats, a 2.6% K-rate. Getting a strike three past Madrigal is harder than getting a fresh pork chop past a hungry lion. Put in another context, in professional ball Madrigal has been twice as likely to be hit by a pitch (seven times) as he is to strikeout.

Madrigal is a patient hitter with excellent pitch recognition, but it is not the type of patience some have in working walks. While he is not averse to walking (or getting hit apparently), he is not in the batters box looking for a free pass. He hunts base hits. As he should, seeing as most analysts and scouts rate his hit tool at an elite 70 (on the 20-80 scouting scale). While at Oregon State, Madrigal rapped 221 base hits in what amounted to a full major league season of at bats, compiling a three year .361 batting average. 221 hits in a season is the realm of Ichiro Suzuki, Tony Gwynn, and Rogers Hornsby. In others words . . . very rare air. Bums GM Brendt Crews underscored this point, “Madrigal is a hitting savant. But he is not the type to just get bat to ball. He has an uncanny knack for barreling up any type of pitch and spraying hard hit line drives from baseline to baseline.”

Hitting is not Madrigal’s only offensive skill; his speed is also graded as plus, rating as his second 70 score on the scouting scale. In his college career he stole 39 bases and was caught just 7 times for an 85% success rate. John Sickels wrote, Madrigal is “an excellent baserunner with an ideal combination of instincts, athleticism, and aggression.” Power is Madrigal’s one below average skill, but he is not simply a punchless singles hitter either. While he hit only seven home runs in his college career, he also collected 40 doubles and 11 triples leading to a .497 SLG%. He will not be in danger of having the bat knocked out of his hands.

Madrigal’s defense at second base is also rated as well above average. He has soft hands, smooth actions and a quick arm and does not shy away from turning the double play at the bag. He has the versatility to play shortstop as well, a position he has played both in high school and college, but his arm is just average for the left side of the infield. If he sticks at second base, he is a Gold Glove level defender.

It seems cliché, and even somewhat dismissive of talent, to say that an undersized player has all the intangibles to play the game, but even so the characteristic fits Madrigal. To go along with his elite level talent, he shows intelligence and instincts both in the batters box and on the field. His coach at Oregon State, Pat Casey, said, “This guy is going to be a big league player and a big league winner. He can do things in baseball, instinctively, that a lot of guys can’t dream of. Sometimes when you get high-ceiling guys or high-profile guys, you have to motivate them or look after them. Not this guy. Zero maintenance.”

After drafting Madrigal, Crews said, “A 70 grade hitter and runner; Gold Glove caliber defense; the drive, instincts and work ethic to be the best. What’s not to like. We are absolutely ecstatic to bring Nick Madrigal to Bako.”

For their first ever selection in the Minor League draft, Bako may have just hit . . . well, a double. And then a triple. And then a single. And another single. And . . .

Re: Prospect Snapshot: Little Shoes, Big Talent

Reply #1 – August 30, 2018, 04:28:50 PM

If he can just duplicate Altuve's contact rate, he'll be worth the pick.

Re: Prospect Snapshot: Little Shoes, Big Talent

Reply #2 – August 31, 2018, 10:18:50 AM

That's the ceiling. I believe he will develop a little more power as pro coaches get ahold of him too. He really looks like a complete player and the real deal. I was on him for my #3 pick from the word go. Honestly didn't even consider anyone else.