Aaron Zavala

Zavala made an impact the moment he stepped foot on Oregon’s campus, appearing in 43 games as a freshman before breaking through in the truncated 2020 season, with a .418/.493/.491 slash line. He’s kept up that performance this season, while showing more power, hitting .392/.525/.628 with 50 walks compared to just 31 strikeouts. Zavala’s excellent play has caught the attention of scouts, who showed up to the Eugene Regional to watch Zavala cap off his season with a 6-for-18 showing with two homers in four games. Not ranked in the BA 500 coming into the season, Zavala has shot up draft boards and become one of the most talked-about players in the Pacific Northwest, led by an above-average hit tool. Zavala has a short, quick bat with a flat path through the zone from the left side and consistently gets the barrel on the ball. Zavala’s low strikeout rates stood out to evaluators, and he works long at-bats. Zavala has strength in his 6-foot, 199-pound frame, with more line-drive power with a gap-to-gap approach. His power did tick up this year, but some evaluators feel he’ll need to make some swing adjustments to lead to more juice in the future. Zavala is a good athlete for his size, with solid-average speed and has been clocked at 4.18 seconds down the line. He’s played right field this year, but he’s shown the ability to play third base and second as well. Zavala’s arm is below-average, leading some evaluators to think he profiles better in left field, though he’ll likely need to show more power to stay there. Zavala’s hit tool and production this season could lead him to go off the board as early as the third round.