Sunday, December 22, 2019

DrB's 2020 Giants Top 50 Prospects: #4 Hunter Bishop


Hunter Bishop OF.  DOB:  6/25/1998.  B-L, T-R.  6'5", 210 lbs.

2018(College):  .250/.352/.407, 5 2B, 3B, 5 HR, 4 SB, 10.91 BB%, 30.30 K%, 165 PA.
2018(Cape Cod League):  .233/.369/.350, 2 2B, 4 HR, 9 SB, 16.11 BB%, 30.20 K%, 149 PA.
2019(College):  .342/.479/.748, 16 2B, 4 3B, 22 HR, 12 SB, 17.86 BB%, 21.79 K%, 280 PA.
R(AZL):  .250/.483/.550, 3 2B, HR, 2 SB, 31.0 BB%, 37.9 K%, 29 PA.
Short Season:  .224/.427/.400, 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 6 SB, 24.8 BB%, 23.9 K%, 117 PA.

The first draft pick of the Farhan Zaidi era.  Wow! Where to start with Hunter Bishop?  I guess the tools:  60 speed and 65 raw power.  Probably the most likely of the Giants bevy of OF prospects to end up in CF.  Arm is average.  The big question is the hit tool.  The college stat line from his junior season looks gaudy, but he built up a lot of that in non-conference play.  He hit just .264 with 7 HR in 145 PA in Pac-12 conference play with a soaring K rate.  Fangraphs attributes this to swinging over the improved breaking balls he saw in the Pac-12.  Then there are the numbers from his pro debut which are the most extreme true outcomes I recall seeing or hearing of in a pro debut.  I mean, even with a sample size of over 100 PA's at Salem-Keizer, almost 50% of his PA's ended in either a BB or a K.

So, 2020 promises to be a most telling season for where his career is heading.  I would think we'll see him in San Jose to start the season.  The patience and the power are great, but he almost certainly has to cut down on the K's and learn to handle breaking balls if he's ever going to put those tools and skills to use at higher levels.

Like his older brother, Braden, Hunter Bishop's makeup is said to be off the charts.  The Bishop boys recently held a fundraiser for their charity, 4MOM, in honor of their mother who died from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.  New Giants manager, Gabe Kapler, attended the event.
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3 comments:

  1. Christian Dad at HomeDecember 22, 2019 at 2:53 PM

    Sad to say, but I see huge flameout potential for this guy. Atrocious numbers in short season, where hitting prospects are supposed to flourish. Just have a bad feeling about him. Hope I'm wrong. His status as Zaidi's first pick for the Giants probably means that he'll get more rope than he probably should. We shall see.

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    1. AnonymousDecember 22, 2019 at 4:49 PM

      I have to agree with this statement. I was reading that SD is trying hard to get rid of Myers contract and might be inclined to trade young pitching in order to do so. One deal that crossed my mind was to send Hunter Bishop to the Padres for Myers and Mackenzie Gore. Bishop may end up being the next Yelich or Bellinger but more likely he will never see the major leagues. Taking on Myers and getting a future ace in Gore would be a neat trick if FZ could pull it off.

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    2. baseballjunkieDecember 22, 2019 at 9:44 PM

      San Diego may be desperate to dump Myers but getting Gore, arguably the best pitching prospect in the game, would be more than a neat trick by FZ- it would be the heist of the century- there is zero chance of that happening. A more realistic target would be a mid-range arm in the loaded Pads system- someone like a Ryan Weathers, who could be had for a lesser prospect than Bishop. I would rather the Giants keep Bishop, who in the hands of effective player development might turn out to be a younger version of Myers anyway.

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