4. Ryan O’Hearn, 1B
Birthdate: 7/26/93 (23 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: high A, AA
Stats in 2016: .275/.351/.478, 22 HR, 3 SB
The Royals selected O’Hearn out of Sam Houston State seeing his powerful swing and excellent power frame physically and figured that his 11 career collegiate home runs could be improved.
O’Hearn has seen a minor adjustment to his swing to allow him more loft in his swing, but the big change is in his approach, as he’s been aggressive early in the count on pitches that he can drive, and it’s translated to big power numbers, including 32 doubles and 2 triples with his 22 home runs this season.
O’Hearn has seen a minor adjustment to his swing to allow him more loft in his swing
O’Hearn has the arm and fringe athleticism to handle left field, but he’s most likely going to profile as a first baseman going forward due to a limited speed profile.
He did show some struggles this season when he hit the upper minors and got a bit pull-happy in his first exposure to a hitter’s league and his swing got long in the back end, which led to a significant strikeout rate.
O’Hearn made solid impressions in Arizona in the AFL this year as a guy who was able to square up any velocity and nearly any breaking pitch for solid power. If he can push that forward to AAA in 2017, he could establish himself as the next 1B if Eric Hosmer chooses to leave via free agency after 2017.
Next: #3
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