Ventura College: TJ Durfee Scouting Report, April 2017

Ventura, California —— At the top of this post, watch our scouting video of Ventura College sophomore outfielder TJ Durfee, taken from his at-bats in a recent Pirates’ home game against Western State Conference opponent Cuesta College, in addition to some of the pre-game BP videos we have below.

TJ Durfee scouting report notes

He may have started slowly, getting just seven at-bats in Ventura College‘s first 15 games, but outfielder TJ Durfee has come into his own of late and. Entering play on Thursday, Durfee is hitting .357/.438/.429 with three doubles, five RBI, and six walks in 23 games for the Pirates. He’s doing it with a very short, quick swing that’s built to hit line drives gap-to-gap. He shows consistent hand movement to his load position and a good, long plane through the ball that gives him a big window in which his bat head comes through the hitting zone. The lanky outfielder has good bat-to-ball skills, too, having struck out just eight times (against those six walks) in his nearly two-dozen games with Ventura this year.

He’s got a relatively quiet, conventional load at the plate, and he’s proven a patient hitter with an actual approach and an awareness of some situational hitting points, both of which are less surprising considering he’s a sophomore ready to move on for his final two years of college eligibility. Power will come next for him, as you’d love to see an outfielder have more of a doubles/homers impact at times, but Ventura does play in an extremely pitcher-friendly ballpark and very few guys will put up any home runs there. Context matters.

Durfee is a good athlete, with a decent arm and enough speed to satisfactorily patrol Ventura’s massive outfield. The sum total here has us on him as a proficient outfielder with the hand-eye coordination and an ability to barrel the ball. That ought to earn a look from a four-year school as he winds down his career in Ventura. We’ll see soon enough on that front.

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TJ Durfee scouting report: 140 characters or less

A promising outfielder with a quick swing and good contact skills, TJ Durfee is polished for the level and ready for four-year ball.

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TJ Durfee scouting report video

Below, here’s some TJ Durfee video taken from the last month of play at Ventura College. You’ll get a better sense of his swing from a few different angles here, as well as a look at one of his game at-bat matchups vs. Cuesta College from behind the plate: