Of course the beauty of off-season instructs is that these issues are addressed during that time and Brentz may very well present as an improved hitter this spring.Ī good comparison in this case would be Diamondbacks Paul Goldschmidt who posted eerily similar peripherals at 22 in high-A leading to the same types of question marks surfacing during the off-season. Small sample size aside, another 6% increase in double-A would be a crushing blow to his prospect status and is in the realm of possibility. Those precious hundredths of a second will also negatively effect his ability to sit back on breaking pitches leaving Brentz little more than a guess hitter.Īfter a promotion to high-A, Brentz’ strikeout totals spiked to nearly 25% hinting at this coming to fruition considering he struck out as a sub-19% clip in Greenville. The sum total of swing parts raised red flags for me as more advanced pitching will exploit Brentz’ swing forcing him to cheat on better velocity to compensate. Brentz’ hips also appeared to open early which contributes to the perceived drag and swing length. Additional length was noticeable in the back of his swing leading to more drag than wrist snap through the strike zone. On a few occasions, he offered at fastballs up and displayed a hit tool with more swing-and-miss than I was expecting to see. Quite honestly, once the first pitch was thrown, teammate Brandon Jacobs stood out as a physical presence while Brentz faded into the background.Īt the plate, Brentz showed patience and did not chase fringe breaking balls out of the strike zone. As an athlete, the phrase “solid, but unspectacular” comes to mind as Brentz looks the part of future big leaguer, but nothing really struck me as exciting or worth mentioning in depth from a physical standpoint. Listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Brentz is well-proportioned and appears close to fully developed. Is Brentz a “guy”? Sure, but the next contact I speak to who views him as an impact bat will be the first. For the past few weeks, seeing Bryce Brentz listed on Red Sox top-10 lists was certainly not unexpected, but the number of overall top-100 rankings Brentz has achieved is borderline shocking. With this being keeper and dynasty league draft season, January/February of each year is really the only time I’ll binge on prospect lists to gain an edge come draft time. In Brentz’ case, the video game power numbers make it quite difficult to assess his true skill level and if/how his bat will play at the game’s highest level. In scouting Brentz, the concept of age-versus-level is an important consideration as 22-year old high round college picks are generally expected to devour that level of competition. His outburst has left prospect followers envisioning an answer to the Red Sox right field problem by as early as 2013. Boston Red Sox top prospect Bryce Brentz rebounded from a difficult short season debut in 2010 to explode for 30 home runs across two single-A levels during the 2011 season.
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