Izaac Pacheco

Pacheco has long been on the radar as a lefty bat with big power, but he left the showcase season with plenty of questions about his tendency to swing and miss. Pacheco shows future plus productive power and present plus-plus raw power. He gets to that power by taking big hacks that sometimes will leave him finishing on one knee a la Adrian Beltre. Pacheco has a pretty advanced but somewhat limited approach. He looks for balls on the inner half that he can turn. He has the pitch recognition and awareness to make that work as he understands the strike zone, and that gives him a shot of posting solid on-base percentages despite a likely below-average hit tool. A pitcher with command to stay on the outer third of the strike zone can cause him issues, although he showed an improved ability to go the other way this spring. He has a fluid swing with some ability to use his hands to adjust to offspeed offerings. Pacheco alleviated some concerns by performing consistently throughout his senior season at Friendswood (Texas) High. He’s an average runner. Defensively, he’s likely to move immediately to third base as a pro—he has the hands for shortstop or third and a plus arm, but his filled-out frame (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) is seen as a better fit at third, and some scouts see an above-average defender there. Others see him needing to eventually move to a corner outfield spot or even first base. His plus power gives him a shot of fitting almost anywhere on the diamond if he can get to a fringe-average hit tool. Pacheco is committed to Texas A&M.