MLB Player Comp
The comparisons in size and skill set are obvious, but incredibly, Trammell could even be better, which makes it crazy to say that Carl Crawford might even be a light comparison for Trammell.
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Crawford was able to use his elite speed and above-average raw power to generate gap power and double-digit home runs such that he had a 7-year stretch from 2004-2010 where he averaged 27 doubles, 13 triples, 14 home runs, and 49 steals, while also slashing .301/.344/.461 during that time.
Incredibly, while the skillsets offensively are very similar for Crawford and Trammell, Crawford was never a great defender, just a hair above league average right away in his career and more league average to slightly below, in spite of his speed for the last decade of his career. Trammell should be able to be an elite defender upon arriving in the big leagues.
Trammell also has a very good eye at the plate. While Crawford never had a season of 100 games played where he struck out over 20%, he also peaked at a 7.6% walk rate in 2009, with a career 5.3% walk rate. Trammell has posted walk rates of 9.1%, 12.4%, and 12.6% as he’s climbed the Cincinnati Reds farm system.
Future Role
Trammell with no adjustment to his plate setup has the skills to be a very good hitter at the top of the order, providing elite defense in left field, elite speed on the bases, and enough power to the gaps (and some over-fence power as well) to set up the lineup at the beginning of the game and also to turn the lineup over when it got to his spot in the middle of the game.
If you consider that Crawford peaked at 7 bWAR in that 2004-2010 run and averaged 4.6 bWAR during that time without the defense or on-base skills that Trammell has, it is impressive to think of the type of impact that Trammell could have on the game overall. There’s a reason why he’s certainly among my top 25-30 prospects in the entire game.
Trammell’s extreme athleticism will allow him to get plenty of looks, even if he would stumble at some point along the way, but so far, he’s been climbing the Cincinnati Reds ladder at a very steady and impressive pace.