San Francisco Giants: Final 2019 Top 10 Prospects

9. 1B Logan Wyatt

Age: 21
Acquired: 2019 draft (2nd round)
Future Value: 45 (grade up)
Stock: +2

In the lead up to the 2019 MLB Draft, I was on the low side of Logan Wyatt as a prospect. However, once the San Francisco Giants selected the first baseman out of the University of Louisville, I began looking deeper at the track record of collegiate first baseman as prospects and I started to notice a trend. The best MLB first basemen selected out of college had profiles a lot more like Wyatt than you might expect.

Check out the college statistics of Max Muncy and Rhys Hoskins. While power is now their carrying tool, that wasn’t the case at all in college. Even Paul Goldschmidt showed good power, but nothing to make one think he would emerge as one of the best power hitters in the sport.

One trend connects all these players. While power output varied, everyone walked more than they struck out. It seems that the key was a foundation of a strong plate discipline. Almost all drafted players with first baseman profiles have powerful frames. Given the recent developments in swing science, players have been able to make adjustments to maximize their strength.

Wyatt had arguably the best plate discipline in college baseball. Over his sophomore and junior seasons, he walked 131 times in 608 plate appearances and struck out just 84 times. His hit tool remains ahead of his power tool, and that showed at Louisville, in the Cape Cod League, and in his pro debut.

At the Cape last summer, Wyatt led the league in walks (29) while still managing to avoid strikeouts (24) over 168 plate appearances, and he held a solid .305/.458/.438 line.

There’s potential for more, though. Even his manager at Louisville admitted he had asked Wyatt to be “greedier” at the plate. He has 50-55 grade raw power and if a swing adjustment could tap into more of that power while he maintains his plate discipline, it could make for an elite first baseman.

Giants scouting director Michael Holmes said the organization believes Wyatt has the necessary athleticism to be playable as a corner outfielder, but that remains an open question. While he’s a smooth athlete with soft hands and a solid arm that makes him an above-average first baseman, his 30-grade speed limits how much ground he can cover.

As is, Wyatt could probably reach the majors relatively quickly as an on-base machine with doubles power. More likely, they will want him to make adjustments to generate more power, and that will likely come with some growing pains.

Still, he already reached Single-A Augusta in his pro debut, and he will likely start 2020 at High-A San Jose alongside first-round selection Hunter Bishop.