Henry Bolte

Bolte emerged from relative obscurity to become the breakout star of the Area Code Games last summer and continued to impress as one of the top pure athletes at the Future Stars Series at Citi Field in the fall. He continued his rise with a strong showing this spring for Palo Alto (Calif.) High, including a dominant performance at the Boras Classic. Bolte is an exceptional athlete with an appealing 6-foot-3, 198-pound frame and some of the best tools in the draft class. He is a plus runner and plus defender in center field, has plus arm strength and has plus raw power that could become plus-plus as he gets stronger. Bolte’s hitting ability is a major question, however. He has plenty of bat speed, but his swing gets long and he frequently swings and misses in the strike zone. He has improved his pitch recognition and strike-zone discipline to fix his previous issues chasing breaking balls, but his setup, timing and swing plane all need to be reworked for him to be even a below-average hitter. Bolte’s prodigious tools, athleticism and performance have a select few teams interested in the top two rounds despite questions about his bat. If he can make enough contact, he has the potential to be a 20-homer, 20-stolen base threat. He is committed to Texas.