Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Bubba Starling Born: 08/03/1992 (Age: 22)
	Bats: Right	Throws: Right
	Height: 6' 4"	Weight: 220
	Primary Position: CF

strong, physical build; broad shoulders with good lower half; could even fill out a bit more but not needed; great body setup; plus athlete.

Evaluator	CJ Wittmann
Report Date	08/20/2014
Dates Seen	20 G July-August
Affiliate	Wilmington Blue Rocks (High A, Royals)

MLB ETA	Risk Factor	OFP	Video
2017	High	50	No

Tool	Future Grade	Report
Hit	30	wide base open stance setup to start; hands start quiet but has a bad wrist hitch in load; when starting to swing, back elbow pinches to his hip and back shoulder dips; swing path is on upward path through the hitting zone; has very little barrel control and feel for the barrel; has serious pitch recognition issues and little plate discipline; will expand the zone often; do not believe he has the neurological aspect to recognize spin on a consistent basis; has plus bat speed; has trouble with anything down in the zone; big swing and miss; at times, will show good approach then look lost; will use the right side often; will get tied up with velo on the inner half; often makes weak contact in BP and in game; mistake hitter only; will get picked apart by quality major league arms.
Power	40	plus raw power; big lift in swing with at speed; can get extended on balls on the outer third; limited barrel skills and hit tool utility will make power play down.
Baserunning/Speed	55	clocked in 4.3 range now; was faster earlier in season; instinctive base runner; reads balls in play well.
Glove	60	reactions and routes to ball off the bat are ideal; tracks ball well to gaps and steals hits from batters; range is plus; has the athleticism to make up for mistakes.
Arm	60	shows off double-plus arm strength; ball is thrown on a line with carry; has natural tailing action; gathers himself well and uses whole body effecting when throwing; accuracy can vary, making game utility play down.

Bubba Starling was once a heralded prospect. I just don't see it anymore. I don't Bubba has the ideal barrel skills or pitch recognition to hit enough to reach the major league level and all of the rest of his tools have downgraded. Over the course of the season, I've seen his average dig time to 1st base from home go down by .2 and at least a full grade and a half. Starling's arm is quiet strong but his accuracy has diminished and ultimately makes it play down a full grade. He has shown plus raw power but it has yet to transfer to the game and I don't think it ever will frankly. His ultimate hit tool utility will always limit the power and his overall potential. Starling looks lost often and there would need to be a lot of refinements and adjustments made for him to become a replacement level player.