Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | CHW | OF | 9 | 45 |
Grades Update: Dec 2020
| OFP | Role | Hit | Power | Field | Arm | Run |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 50 |
Dec 2020 Report
Evaluator: Robert James
Age: 24 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/R
Acquired: 2016 Round 1
RuleV: On 40-Man Roster
Physical Description: Tall, average frame. Still a little room left on his frame but is almost in his "man" body. Prototypical OF body.
Hit: Upright, open stance. Pre-load has his hands just below eye level. Moderate leg kick but actually does a good job staying on breaking stuff and hanging in vs. LHP. Utilizes his lower half. Good bat path. Approach-wise, Rutherford tries to slice line drive contact all over the field. However, Rutherford will pick his spots and try to turn pitches low in the zone and pull them out. There was a tale of two halves in 2019, Rutherford looked terrible in the first and great in the second. I'll split the difference Grade: 45
Power: Rutherford hit only 7HR in over 430AB in 2019 but he does have at least average raw power. I saw him hit a couple of towering balls to the pull field (one out, and one just foul) at the end of the year. So the raw power is there, it's just a question of whether he taps into it. I think he will somewhat since his swing path is decent and the only thing really holding him up is his approach Grade: 50
Field: Rutherford was drafted as a CF but it was presumed he would move to RF once his body filled out. I was actually pretty impressed with his defense, he reads the ball well and gets good jumps. He split time in both corners last year and should be more than proficient in either as well as serving as an emergency option in CF. Grade: 55
Arm: Rutherford's arm is strong enough for RF if not a particular strength. He helps the arm play up by getting into great position to throw. Grade: 50
Run: Although he's not a threat to steal bases he runs the bases well and should be average even as he ages. Grade: 50
Overall: Rutherford was well-known in prospect circles and was in consideration for the top overall pick in '16 (he went 18th overall to NYY). Now with CHW, he's been somewhat of a disappointment, I had watched him a bunch last year and in my memory he was not much of a prospect. However, a funny thing happened on the re-watch, Rutherford was a much better hitter than I remembered. He still slices the ball but was making much better contact as the year progressed and was able to turn on pitches on the inner half. The power doesn't play nearly enough to be an everyday guy in a corner but he should be able to make MLB as a 4th OF platoon type.
OFP: 45
Role: 40 - Below-Average Player: Bench or Platoon
Risk: Moderate
