Texas A&M outfielder Jace Laviolette entered the season with a giant probability of going primary total to the Washington Nationals. He was quantity 2 on MLB Pipeline’s rankings and no 1 on Baseball America. Nonetheless, a gradual begin to his draft season has given scouts some trigger for concern.
The most important flaw in Jace Laviolette’s sport has at all times been the hit software. MLB Pipeline gave it a beneath common 45 grade heading into the season. Nonetheless, he did so many different issues at a excessive degree. He has really elite energy and is an effective athlete for his hulking 6’6 230 pound body. The hope with Laviolette is that he can turn into a 40 dwelling run bat who walked so much to make up for his strikeout considerations.
As an alternative of bettering, it looks as if the outfielder has regressed in his junior 12 months. To this point, he’s hitting simply .243 with a close to 30% strikeout fee. Remember that that is in opposition to weaker non convention opposition, not the excessive finish SEC pitching he’ll face later within the season. There are additionally stories that Laviolette is trying much less athletic than he has in prior years.
For me, the chance is simply too excessive for the Nats to take Laviolette at no 1. As we now have seen with Elijah Inexperienced, hit software considerations can derail even the very best athletes. Whereas Laviolette has a greater hit software than Inexperienced, having produced in opposition to SEC pitching, it’s nonetheless a query mark.
There are guys with safer projections on this draft, who even have loads of upside. Guys like Jamie Arnold and Aiva Arquette are dominating the competitors this season. Whereas Laviolette has time to show it round, he’s not answering any of the questions he needed to reply. Actually, there are much more questions now than there have been heading into the season.
This isn’t to disparage the participant. He’ll nonetheless be a high 10, doubtless high 5 decide, however there may be an excessive amount of threat for no 1. There are literally a variety of similarities to James Wooden in his sport. Laviolette is a giant man with energy and endurance, but in addition shocking athleticism. Nonetheless, the Nationals can’t afford to draft a bust at this spot. Laviolette may need the very best ceiling within the draft, however the ground may be very low.
The race for the primary decide will likely be adopted very intently right here at Federal Baseball. As we get nearer to the draft, we can even have a look at second and third spherical targets. With an enormous bonus pool, the Nationals can have an opportunity to play the board and draft a franchise altering assortment of gamers.
Final 12 months was a take a look at run for the brand new draft room led by Brad Ciolek and Danny Haas. Nonetheless, that is the 12 months the place they’ll really put their imprint on the group. That is going to be one of the vital drafts in Nationals historical past. Hopefully that is the final time they decide within the high 5 for a very long time. With that in thoughts, they should nail the primary decide, and Jace Laviolette has too many questions for me.
