Monday, January 16, 2017

DrB's 2017 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #44 Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard, SS.  DOB:  7/25/1994.  B-R, T-R.  6'1", 190 lbs.  Drafted in 2016 Round 5 out of Univ. of Missouri.

2016 College:  .295/.381/.433, 13 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 10 SB, 29 BB, 33 K, 254 PA.
2016 SS:  .272/.313/.371, 10 2B, 4 HR, 2 SB, 5.3 BB%, 9.8 K%, 246 PA.

The Giants drafted Ryan Howard twice.  The first time was 2015 when he was a draft eligible sophomore in Round 31.  He decided to play for the collegiate Team USA that summer and return to school in the fall.  Then the Giants took him in Round 5 in 2016.  As Giants Scouting Director John Barr put it, "I think we liked him better than any of the other teams."

Howard fits a mold of recent Giants draft picks.  College SS who might be able to stick at the position but could move to other positions with a quick bat that avoids strikeouts like the plague.  Like Joe Panik, Matt Duffy, Kelby Tomlinson, Christian Arroyo and others, Howard has multiple tools, but no single outstanding one.  His arm is considered better than his range at SS.  On video, he has a very short, quick swing on a level plane which looks like it produces more line drives and ground balls than flyballs.  The swing is tailored to a high BA and avoiding K's but probably won't produce a lot of dingers.

I'll guess that Howard gets assigned to San Jose to start 2017 with Brandon Van Horn, another SS prospect drafted later going to Augusta.

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