Saturday, January 2, 2016

DrB's 2016 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #10 Austin Slater

Austin Slater, 2B/OF.  B-R, T-R.  DOB:  12/13/1992.  6'1", 194 lbs.

A+:  .292/.321/.396, 15 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 4 SB, 3.8 BB%, 16.6 K%, 265 PA.
AA:  .296/.350/.362, 11 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 1 SB, 6.4 BB%, 22.0 K%, 218 PA.
AFL:  .250/.338/.338, 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 SB, 12.5 BB%, 23.8 K%, 80 PA.

This is an aggressive ranking for Slater which I am not at all sure is justified.  He doesn't walk a lot and he has shown no HR power to speak of.  What he does do is hit for average with doubles power.  A BA of about .300 in the Eastern League will get you noticed and the Giants have had a huge amount of success with hitters who have a similar profile.  On the other hand, how much more room do they have for that type of player on the MLB roster?  Slater could go back to AA for a half season or so or he could move up to AAA to start the 2016 season.  His ceiling is a .300 hitter with gap power.  ETA is midseason 2016 or 2017 depending on organizational needs.

4 comments:

  1. Slater has been my favorite for a position player who could quietly work his way into the lineup and put up nice offensive numbers. Lots of singles and doubles, decent baserunning and hopefully about 8-10 HR. He is still young so the power could come with time. His walk rate is pretty low but when you are hitting .300 in a pitcher friendly league maybe he was pushed to be more aggressive. So I am not too concerned as long as he is hitting. He was an OF at Stanford so I think a move to LF could be a possibility or he could take over for Panik in case of injury or trade. I am probably the biggest Slater fan here and I am hoping to see at least a September callup.

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  2. Doc's Top 50 on Slater:

    2015: 24th
    2016: 10th

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  3. Do you think Slater can have a bigger value overall than Hunter Cole DrB?

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    1. Very similar hitters. I gave the edge to Slater due to positional versatility.

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