Willie Abreu, OF, Colorado Rockies

4.25 up the line to first from LHH box.

A lot leaner and more trimmed down than in years past; still powerful with muscular build, but noticeably leaner than the bulkier, thicker version I saw a couple seasons ago. Still plenty of power with trimmed look, but already a much better overall athlete. Runs pretty well; long strides … Sneaky quick runner without necessarily having objectively good foot speed; plays very hard and runs hard; intense competitor who will take an extra base, test an arm in the field, etc. on the base paths. Smart base runner; watched him take extra bases multiple times in my brief early April look already; good athlete with great situational awareness … Very intense competitor; quiet guy with a very quiet, private approach. Intensity simmers underneath; lead-by-example guy who really wants to win … The story here, of course, is his power bat. Truly prodigious power; showed it off with two long, towering home run balls in my look in Lancaster last week; both are captured on video (open-faced) below. Love the swing; good bat speed with barrel manipulation, real, consistent ability to lift the ball in the air and hit it with authority. Tons of natural leverage through his frame; finishes high. Going to hit for a ton of power in Lancaster this year; easy pick for a breakout candidate who may not last the full year here before a promotion … One potential early knock on hit tool comes with approach; got caught out front a few times in my look, may be a dead-red pull hitter who proves particularly susceptible to rolling over or swinging through off-speed/down and away. Need to see a few more at-bats to really get a book on him, but worth mentioning that now as a potential cold zone to watch as he moves forward against better pitchers.

Still very early in 2018; I’ll catch Willie Abreu a couple more times this summer to nail down a projection with some deeper thoughts, but he clearly jumps out as an everyday outfielder at ceiling. Power will play for a right field gig with the Colorado Rockies, and there’s enough athleticism here that’ll help him defensively to cover ground in Coors Field, too. Big-time prospect who, in part by virtue of his environment in Lancaster, could be ripe for a breakout year in 2018. More to come as I see him a few more times this summer…

Below, game video to supplement our Colorado Rockies OF Willie Abreu scouting report. For a few thousand more prospect videos, click here and subscribe to our YouTube channel.