Bryce Johnson Scouting Report & Game Video

Dates Observed: June 29 – July 3, 2018

Team/Organization: San Jose Giants (San Francisco Giants)
League/Level: California League (High-A)
Scouting Notes: Top-of-the-order switch hitter with real speed, very strong hand-eye coordination, good contact skills with feel to slap the ball as a lefty and bust it hard up the line. Hard-nosed player, Sam Houston State product who hustles all the time and plays the game very hard … 4.10 and 4.11 up the line from the LHH box in my look here; 4.45, 4.46, and 4.48 on the turn at first base; 8.01 to second base, and 11.79 to third base, all as LHH. Speed is great, uses it well out of the box with opposite field slap approach from the left side; hustles hard out of the box, great first step and consistently goes all-out running up the line no matter what. Sense of urgency; knows speed is his game; moves very well and puts pressure on infield defense. Glides in the outfield with it. too; long, lean athlete with good first step quickness, good reads off the bat, quick to top speed and will cover ground in center field there … Arm strength is OK; average at best, probably slightly below; Visalia ran on him a couple times in my look, both on mid-deep outfield fly balls, didn’t show much respect for his arm strength and he didn’t throw anybody out. Slower exchanges through to throw; long release at times. Carry OK, accuracy generally very good with ability to keep the ball on line to target without run/fade, but lacks big-time strength/velo through it. Likely enough there to play center field everyday considering speed, but could stand to improve arm strength some to stick … Interesting hit tool from the left side; lacks consistent ability to pull the ball/hit it up the middle with authority and turn on pitches on the inner half, but real hand-eye coordination and barrel control to slap the ball the other way (both on the ground and in the air) and run hard out of the box; almost like a permanent two-strike approach for contact the other way, but speed to back it up. As LHH, will beat out fair share of balls hit to left side thanks to plus speed; susceptible as LHH to getting busted hard inside early, though, and shows very little power as a lefty swinger. As RHH, significantly more of a power stroke with ability to turn on the ball with authority, but loses some of his natural out-of-the box speed with a more traditional approach and look in the box there. Contact skills decent from both sides; admittedly, need to see him more from RHH box, but it’s clear he’s got lead-off feel as LHH with real speed to put pressure on defenses … Overall, very little power, and hit tool across the board isn’t quite as advanced, but speed is legit carrying tool here and Bryce Johnson successfully uses it to exploit favorable matchups both offensively and in the outfield. Because of the switch-hitting matchup potential and advanced barrel control, in addition to Johnson’s speed/defense combo, for me there’s an outside shot he reaches a 50 FV ceiling as an everyday center fielder one day for the San Francisco Giants. His hit tool from both sides will need to advance consistently in the next two years for that to become a reality, though; to that end, it’s probably more likely Bryce Johnson falls back into a 45 FV platoon role, or a 40 FV bench role, ultimately leaning on his speed and defensive prowess to carve out a big league niche without everyday at-bats.

Game Video:

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