Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Lewis Brinson Born: 05/08/1994 (Age: 19)
	Bats: Right	Throws: Right
	Height: 6' 5"	Weight: 212
	Primary Position: CF
	Secondary Position: RF

Lean, athletic build; wiry, explosive muscle; fluid with actions and movements; plenty of room on both upper and lower body to fill out; potential for huge physical gains; gifted athlete; physically reminiscent to B.J Upton.

Evaluator	Chris Mellen
Report Date	06/20/2013
Dates Seen	6/7/2013
Affiliate	Hickory Crawdads (Low A, Rangers)

MLB ETA	Risk Factor	OFP	Video
2017	Extreme	70	No

Tool	Future Grade	Report
Hit	50	Plenty of life in the hands; quick wrists; generates plus bat speed; can barrel up velocity with ease; ball explodes off bat; capable of keeping hands inside of the baseball; swing is on the long side, with too much pre-contact extension at times; drops back shoulder to cause loop in swing; a lot of leverage through hitting zone; high swing-and-miss; needs improvement keeping swing in strike zone longer to make consistent contact; does not presently adjust well to path of ball.
Power	60	Surprising raw power for current size and strength level; knows how to lift the ball; ability to grow into power to all fields; present game power is pull-side; drives ball with authority and back spin; power will play in any ballpark.
Baserunning/Speed	60	4.19-4.25 down the line; steals bases via speed, but needs work with reads; ability to steal 20-30 bases; accelerates on the turn at first; kicks it into another gear on the bases.
Glove	65	Instinctive with reads off the bat; sees ball at point of contact; can be indecisive with reads and routes; needs to learn to trust judgment and slow the game down defensively; displays closing speed into both gaps; can struggle going back on the ball, often drifting rather than tracking to a spot; shows flashes of what he can become defensively; skills to stick in center; can develop into a player who impacts the game in the field.
Arm	60	Fluid release; sets feet when throwing to get momentum behind the ball; throws on a line; right fielder’s arm.

Brinson is hard to miss on the field as his premium athleticism, tools, and highly projectable body jump out. This is the type of talent who can develop into an impact player and stick around the league for a while at a premium position. The present flaws are highly noticeable, however, and there is a big gap for him to cover to reach his ceiling. Brinson’s approach is extremely unrefined, leading to a lot of wild swings and a lack of coverage on the outer third of the plate. The 19-year-old’s body language and early weight transfer also indicate a big need for improvement with picking up the spin of breaking balls. While I see his strike zone judgment and pitch recognition as areas that have room for growth with experience, Brinson presently consistently repeats his mistakes and is often up at the plate looking to hit it as far as he can. Early clues that there are some engrained habits to break.
The outfielder’s batspeed and ability to barrel up the ball with authority are good signs that with growth in his secondary skills the bat can end up highly productive. With development, Brinson’s peak offensive output can approach .270s batting averages and 25 home runs annually. The power may crest even further as this is a hitter that can put a charge into a baseball at an early age and understands how to produce backspin, and lift. There is a lot of risk that the hit tool ends up falling short due to his propensity to swing-and-miss and averages are more in the .240s range, leading to him hitting in the bottom third of a first division lineup. The hole down and away, especially with breaking balls, and pull nature to his swing lead me to believe he’ll likely always be able be pitched to. The upside is that Brinson will make pitchers pay for poorly located fastballs or inconsistent execution. The key is how much he can improve with keeping his hands back over the next season or two.
I don’t see Brinson’s talent as a question and a future situation developing where it levels out against the competition or is exposed. It is going to come down to his ability to recognize the need to adjust and apply it into game action, while sustaining the repetition. As presently constructed, there’s considerable flameout potential and volatility, but the ceiling where if it clicks the final product can be huge.