Mesa, Arizona —— At the top of this post, watch our scouting video of Toronto Blue Jays outfield prospect Ryan McBroom, taken from his work at the 2016 Arizona Fall League as a member of the Mesa Solar Sox.

To read our feature on Toronto Blue Jays’ Ryan McBroom published today, please click here.

Ryan McBroom scouting report notes

Toronto Blue Jays DH/first base prospect Ryan McBroom has always been a power hitter, but he took it to a different level in 2016—and it all happened in the most pitcher-friendly league in all of professional baseball.

Playing for the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays in the Florida State League, McBroom—a product of the University of West Virginia—mashed 21 home runs and another 26 doubles, and then added a 22nd home run to his 2016 totals during a very brief promotion to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats. That all summed up for an interesting stat line: in 497 at-bats last season, McBroom slashed .266/.318/.455/.772, with 118 strikeouts and 37 walks in 128 games played. A few things jump out of that line, and it’s not just the power: McBroom is aggressive at the plate and must learn to take his walks and get on base more frequently. His strikeout totals in 2016 and across his career in and of themselves aren’t incredibly concerning for a corner infield power hitter, but that low walk rate is a sign of a hitter who might see massive strikeout totals coming in the high minors because of over-aggressiveness out of the zone.

McBroom spent some time in the Arizona Fall League in October of 2016, which is where Baseball Census first observed him and shot the full scouting videos and GIFs that you’ll find in this post, below. In the AFL, in only 28 at-bats, McBroom was .250/.276/.536 with two double, two home runs, and ten RBIs—against one walk and six strikeouts. Then, in this year’s big league spring training in just 13 at-bats, McBroom was 4-for-13 (.308) with three (!) home runs. And yet struck out five times with zero walks. It’s a very, very, VERY small sample size, but it’s intriguingly indicative of the player McBroom has become: he hits the ball extremely hard, sometimes he hits the ball extremely far, and yet more than anything he hits the ball, with little regard and patience towards drawing walks.

Long term, that must change. McBroom’s raw power is above-average, and it’s helped turn him into a fringe prospect for the Toronto Blue Jays. I like him defensively at first base, too; he’s smooth and underrated there, and he can certainly stick at the position long-term. If he moves elsewhere defensively, as the Blue Jays have been playing around with, he’ll likely end up in left field, which would be fine. But that over-aggressiveness at the plate must be dialed back just a bit so McBroom can get on base at the rate you’d expect from someone with above-average power who ought to have a shot to hit in the middle of a big league lineup.

He’ll start 2017 with Double-A New Hampshire, after just getting a nine-game taste there last year. He survived the pitcher’s haven that was the Florida State League, and he hit bombs doing it. That’s commendable, and noticeable, and it’s earned him a job in the Eastern League now. But can Ryan McBroom make the next inevitable adjustment at the plate to get on base more frequently in addition to his pop? Do it now, and he might just soon find himself playing for the Toronto Blue Jays.

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For our feature on Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Ryan McBroom, please click here.

To visit Ryan McBroom’s player page, please click here.

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Ryan McBroom scouting report: 140 characters or less

An encouraging power surge turned Ryan McBroom into a fringe prospect. He needs more power & more patience now to succeed in the high minors.

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Ryan McBroom video clips

Below are our two Ryan McBroom video clips from his Arizona Fall League time in 2016 with the Mesa Solar Sox, including slow motion swings from both sides of the field:



Ryan McBroom baseball GIFs

And related to the Ryan McBroom video clips, here are a handful of GIFs of the Toronto Blue Jays prospect, all taken from Arizona Fall League swings in October and November 2016, as well:

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In this Toronto Blue Jays / Ryan McBroom baseball scouting report:

Arizona Fall League | Toronto Blue Jays | New Hampshire Fisher Cats | Dunedin Blue Jays | Mesa Solar Sox | Ryan McBroom

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Bobby DeMuro

Bobby DeMuro is the founder of Baseball Census. A former college and independent league baseball player, he now watches more than 200 games a year working full time for the site. You can follow him on Twitter @BobbyDeMuro for more.

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