San Bernardino, California —— At the top of this post, watch our video of Los Angeles Angels outfield prospect Zach Gibbons, taken from an April 2017 series with the Inland Empire 66ers at home against the Lake Elsinore Storm in the California League (High-A). To visit Zach Gibbons’ player page, please click here, and don’t forget to subscribe to the Baseball Census YouTube channel here for hundreds more videos like this one.
Zach Gibbons scouting report notes
A mature player from the day he was drafted out of the University of Arizona, Zach Gibbons predictably moved through the low minors very quickly—in about eleven months’ time after his MLB draft selection—as he was promoted to Double-A Mobile from High-A Inland Empire on Monday. That’s thanks to a .339/.398/.470/.868 slash line with 12 walks against just 15 strikeouts over his 27 games (115 at-bats) with the 66ers, a pretty clear numerical sign that he’s more advanced than High-A pitching right now.
At the plate, Gibbons has a compact stroke with good bat speed, and he does a good job keeping his bat in the zone quite a while. That helps him with above-average contact skills, and it’s also making him a gap-to-gap doubles threat as he continues to build strength and refine his approach offensively. He’s undersized (just 5’8″, 186 lbs.), but he has a thick build relative to his height, and that combined with his bat speed and wrist and hand strength will continue to make him a line drive hitter that sprays the ball to all fields with good situational awareness. Speaking of that awareness, his college pedigree (from the University of Arizona) is pretty apparent; patient and calm at the plate, he understood how he was being pitched in High-A, and should bring that same strong mental base with him to Double-A against better pitchers.
In the outfield, Gibbons’ good speed and above-average awareness allow him to play every position should he be called into a utility role, though his best fit as an everyday player is probably in left field. His arm strength is average right now and his size will probably be a concern at higher levels until he can prove he’s able to outplay it against better and better opponents, pushing him towards what should be a catch-all outfield bench role.
Long term, he’s probably going to get a long look at that fourth outfielder role with the Los Angeles Angels in another year or two. Michael Hermosillo, too, is angling for that fourth outfielder role and may have more tools across the board with which to work, but Zach Gibbons over-achieved through his college career and now through the first two years of pro ball, too. His intensity and advanced approach will help him considerably coming off the bench, and he’s got enough gap-to-gap power in his bat to be a decent offensive threat in the upper minors and beyond over the next few seasons.
To visit Zach Gibbons’ player page, please click here.
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Zach Gibbons scouting report: 140 characters or less
A punchy line-drive hitter who is already taking advanced at-bats, Zach Gibbons will one day fit best as a big league fourth outfielder.
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Zach Gibbons scouting report video
Here’s a look at our most recent Zach Gibbons baseball video, taken during a series against Lake Elsinore in mid-April before his call-up to Double-A:
For more Zach Gibbons baseball video, and video of hundreds more baseball prospects, subscribe to our YouTube channel here.
Zach Gibbons scouting report GIFs
In addition to our video clips, we broke out some Zach Gibbons baseball GIFs for a deeper look at his mechanics, etc.:
For more Zach Gibbons baseball GIFs, you can follow our GIPHY account here.
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In this Los Angeles Angels / Zach Gibbons baseball scouting report:
Los Angeles Angels | San Diego Padres | Inland Empire 66ers | Lake Elsinore Storm | Mobile BayBears | Zach Gibbons
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