Arizona Diamondbacks scouting report on IF Andy Young
Scouting Report
Size/Build
Andy Young is listed at 6′ tall and 195 pounds. He could be even another 10-15 pounds heavier than that listed number, but it’s not in bad weight at all, as Young is quite chiseled, built with strong wrists and forearms and powerful thighs to boot.
Hitting
Contact (50) – Young’s raw strength in his body allows for a quick bat through the zone, though he sometimes suffers from an inconsistent bat path at times. He utilizes a big follow through that generates loft on his ball, and sometimes he can get under stuff if he opens up that swing too early and drops the bat head too low to begin the swing.
Young is aggressive in his contact-focused approach, which does generate power as well, but can sometimes lead to him swinging at “just a pitch in the zone” instead of the best pitch of the at bat.
Power (50) – It’s hard to put more than a 50 here, but certainly in BP, Young shows off plus raw power, and if he could smooth out the swing to a consistent bat path each time, he could really bump up to above-average or even plus game power as he matures further.
Eye (55) – Young utilizes a very contact-oriented swing, not likely to ever strike out 20% of the time or walk 10% of the time, but he has shown a good knowledge of the strike zone. He also seems to handle premium velocity and break very well, with his one major issue in video I reviewed being those pitchers who had a premium changeup.
Base Running/Fielding
Speed (50) – When underway, Young has above-average speed and shows off how well he takes care of his body, but he does take a few steps to get to that speed, which is why he’ll never likely be a 20-steal guy, but he does seem to have some instinct for when to steal, going 16/20 in his minor league and AFL time combined thus far when attempting a steal.
Defense (40) – To put it bluntly, Young is not going to be a second baseman long-term. His actions and range at the position simply aren’t going to allow him to be a long-term starter at the position. That said, he isn’t wielding a stone glove, so he could be useful still at the hot corner or perhaps make a move out to the corner outfield spots as well. Certainly his bat would work well enough at either outfield or infield corner.
Arm (55) – While he’s not got a cannon for an arm, Young would work as a third baseman or a corner outfielder due to an above-average arm in pure strength. He does have good accuracy in the infield, and if he could hold that in a move to the outfield, that would be a big thing that could allow his defense to be much more palatable for his club.