Scouting the 2017 Draft: Austin Beck

Austin Beck, OF, HS.  B-R, T-R.  6'1", 190 lbs.

Up to now, I've been grinding through MLB's top 50 Draft Prospect list.  In Austin Beck, we have our first "pop up" prospect.  He's a 5-tool HS OF prospect out of North Carolina who missed some time with a ACL tear of his knee but is now back on the field and wowing scouts.  First, let's go to the Perfect Game metrics:  6.52 60 yd dash.  92 MPH on OF throw.  97 MPH exit velocity.  1.20 Time to Impact.

Scouts think he is a true CF, but has the arm to play RF also.  The exit velocity indicates excellent power potential.  The Time to Impact is a bit slow.  If you look at his hitting videos, he draws the bat way back with the bat head almost pointing back at the pitcher at the top of his load creating a long swing path.  That is something that can limit a hitter's ability to handle higher velocity pitching, or if you compensate by starting your swing early to catch up to the heat, it's harder to adjust to the slower stuff.  The swing seems like it should be easy to fix, but in practice it doesn't always happen.

Beck is currently being added to a lot of top 10 draft prospects lists and in BA's just released top 10 mock draft, they have him going to the Braves at #5 overall.  I like his tools, but am skeptical of the bat so will put him a bit lower on my own board.

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Dr B's Updated 2017 Draft Board:

1.  Jordan Adell, OF, HS.
2.  Mark Vientos, SS, HS.
3.  Hunter Greene, RHP/SS, HS.
4.  JB Bakauskas, RHP, College(North Carolina).
5.  Brendan McKay, LHP, College(Louisville).
6.  Brady McConnell, SS, HS.
7.  Royce Lewis, SS/OF, HS.
8.  Trevor Rogers, LHP, HS.
9.  Brendon Little, LHP, JC(State College of Florida).
10.  Seth Romero, LHP, College(Houston).
11.  AUSTIN BECK, OF, HS.
12.  Wil Crowe, RHP, College(South Carolina).
13.  Jeren Kendall, OF, College(Vanderbilt).
14.  Alex Faedo, RHP, College(Florida).
15.  Tanner Houck, RHP, College(Missouri).
16.  Kyle Wright, RHP, College(Vanderbilt).
17.  Alex Lange, RHP, College(LSU).
18.  Alex Scherff, RHP, HS.
19.  Hans Crouse, RHP, HS.
20.  DL Hall, LHP, HS.
21.  Jacob Heatherly, LHP, HS.
22.  Calvin Mitchell, OF, HS.
23.  Conor Uselton, OF, HS.
24.  Garrett Mitchell, OF, HS.
25.  Clarke Schmidt, RHP, College(South Carolina).
26.  Michael Gigliotti, OF, College(Lipscomb).
27.  Pavin Smith, 1B, College(Virginia).
28.  Jake Burger, 3B, College(Missouri State).
29.  Cole Brannen, OF, HS.
30.  Evan Skoug, C, College(TCU).
31.  Colton Hock, RHP, College(Stanford).
32.  Mackenzie Gore, LHP, HS.
33.  Nick Allen, SS, HS.
34.  Blayne Enlow, RHP, HS.
35.  Hagen Danner, RHP, HS.
36.  Alejandro Toral, 1B, HS.
37.  Corbin Martin, RHP, College(Texas A&M).
38.  Tristan Beck, RHP, College(Stanford).
39.  JJ Schwarz, C, College(Florida).

Alex Faedo, Kyle Wright and Alex Lange all see their stock drop due to struggles in the early college season.