Rylan Bannon, 3B, Los Angeles Dodgers

Traditionally undersized for an everyday corner infield role, but to his credit, does look bulked up after adding some weight this winter relative to the Rylan Bannon I saw last summer in rookie ball. Weight maintenance will be an issue; says he already lost six pounds through spring training, and bears watching this year to see if he can maintain weight and strength to hit for pop across 140 … Pretty involved set up at the plate with a sizable leg kick; beyond the noise and push for leverage there, though, he’s got extremely quick hands and very good bat speed; decides late with ability to fire his hands late and still hit the ball with authority. Pull happy guy who really wants to hit the ball into his power alley, but he does show off encouraging plate coverage at times; one of his home runs in my look was a towering opposite field shot that required great bat speed and hand/wrist strength for manipulation without pulling off/rolling over … Aggressive hacker who really wants to do damage at the plate; really takes a hack; doesn’t get cheated when he’s swinging … Cold zones on inner half, but you better be sure you get in there; some susceptibility to getting busted hard up and in as he’ll dive out over the plate; classic hard-in/soft-away option here but must be executed; if it’s anywhere out over the plate at all, he’ll kill it … Decent overall athlete even if undersized; foot speed is just fine for infield role; timed him 4.27 and 4.30 up the line from the RHH box; 4.60 and 4.64 on the turn at first base; 8.37 from home to second and 12.00 from home to third (stand-up triple) … Defense is fine at third, but lacks real above-average arm strength for role and may not prove to be physically durable enough to stick everyday; already talk of moving him to second base and around the diamond in a bid for versatility … My hunch is that the Los Angeles Dodgers see Rylan Bannon as a utility man more than an everyday guy at one spot, but regardless, it’s his bat that should do the talking at higher levels. This kid wants to hit and it feels like he just might; will they find him the right role/position to let the bat flourish?

Below, game video to supplement our Los Angeles Dodgers 3B Rylan Bannon scouting report. For a few thousand more prospect videos, click here and subscribe to our YouTube channel.