Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | CIN | OF | 30 | 35 |
Grades Update: Nov 2020
| OFP | Role | Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 30 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 50 | 60 |
Nov 2020 Report
Evaluator: James Chipman
Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-3
Weight: 194 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2014 IFA
RuleV: Eligible
Physical Description: Long and lean. Wiry but strong build. Square shoulders; long limbs; high waist; flat chest; average strength with room to add muscle to the upper-body. Quick-twitch athlete. Impressive athleticism and hand eye coordination. Minor shoulder injury in 2019.
Hit: Open stance; hands high above the letters; upright with a slight bend at the knees from a wide base. Odd pigeon-toed foot alignment in the box. Toe tap trigger on load. Quick, strong hands generate plus bat speed. Nice but inconsistent swing. Quick to and through the ball with a fluid stroke when he's locked in; swing significantly lengthens with inconsistent plane on the outer third. Linear bat path with modest loft. Aggressive approach. Occasionally caught lunging and collapsing his back side yielding awkward off-balance swings; especially against above-average or better off-speed. Handles velocity well but is exposed by chase pitches off the outer third and off-speed in the lower third of the zone. Overmatched and noticeably frustrated in 2019. Large gap between present and potential future hit tool grade. Currently a well below-average tool, Bautista has the core ingredients of a potential average hitter. Without changes to his swing, he's likely just a below-average hitter. Grade: 40
Power: Quick strong hands and plus bat speed yield impressive plus raw and loud BP. In-game power significantly plays down due to hit tool deficiencies. Shows the ability to drive the ball to all fields and pepper the gaps. Over-the- fence pop is primarily dead-pull. Another large gap between what is and what could be: currently plays well below-average; if the hit tool reaches 45 or better, there's legitimate 55 power potential. I'm not sure that comes to fruition though without a major swing overhaul. Grade: 45
Field: Capable defender. Enough instincts and attributes to play all three outfield positions, but best in CF. Athleticism and plus speed help him recover and mitigate mistakes. Adequate reads and route running. Tracks well to both sides and is solid coming in on the ball. Can get tested on occasion with balls hit over his head. Grade: 50
Arm: Average arm strength, gets enough velocity and carry; hits cutoff man with consistency. Not an asset but won't be exposed anywhere on the outfield grass. Grade: 50
Run: Home to first between 4.18-4.22. Quick first gear; long strides; reaches top speed quickly; glides when underway; impressive closing speed in CF. Wheels help take the occasional extra hustle bag and recover from missteps in the outfield. Aggressive runner: big leads; will run into outs but an overall asset on basepaths. Grade: 60
Overall: Already passed over once in the Rule V Draft, Bautista will play all of next season as a 23-year-old that hasn't logged an inning above Low-A. His impressive bat to ball and track record of on-base production failed to show in his first taste of full season ball in 2019. The window is starting to close but there's still plenty of upside. Bautista features a solid average defensive profile with plus speed, he just needs to find consistency at the plate so he can tap into his impressive plus raw power. Currently well below-average, the development of his bat will undoubtedly be the determining factor in his big league future. Should the bat evolve, there's solid role 40 potential; with a more likely role 30 depth future.
OFP: 35
Role: 30 - Up / Down Emergency Depth
Risk: High
