Chase Vallot

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Kansas City Royals #12 prospect in 2018
  Possessing as much raw power as anyone in the Royals system, Vallot is a bit of a polarizing prospect among observers. Some scouts don't believe the Louisiana native possesses the skills necessary to stay behind the plate nor the hit tool to go with his above-average power. Vallot has missed valuable development time due to injury in each of the last two years in full-season ball, with his 2017 season ending on July 27 due to a low-back muscle strain. But he just turned 21 in August and has been young for every level at which he's played. Vallot will always hit for a lower batting average, but he's gotten better at handling offspeed pitches, knows the strike zone and consistently draws a fair share of walks. Vallot has the best raw power in the system. There's still plenty of swing and miss in his game, and he fanned in 36 percent of his at-bats in 2017 compared to 33 percent the previous year. Vallot is still a work in progress behind the plate, but his receiving has gotten better and he works well with pitchers. He has above-average arm strength, but inconsistent footwork affects the accuracy of his throw and he threw out just under 18 percent of base tealers at Wilmington. Vallot won't turn 22 until August, so he may return to Wilmington to start the 2018 season before tackling Double-A.
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  Ranked Kansas City Royals #7 prospect in 2017
  Low Class A Lexington has an auxiliary video board in left center field that proved to be a useful target for Vallot. Many of his 13 home runs (in only 82 games) landed around the board and one actually destroyed part of it. It was a highlight of a season that had plenty of bumps and some broken bones. A 93-mph Gage Hinsz fastball to the face was the worst injury, as Vallot missed a month recovering. He also missed time with a back injury. In between his injuries, Vallot showed some of the best power in the South Atlantic League. He was repeating the league, but was still among its younger catchers. Vallot can square up velocity and has started to show signs of recognizing spin. He projects as a below-average hitter with above-average power. Vallot is a well-below-average defensive catcher at this point with inconsistent footwork. He has to continue to work to stay nimble enough to have a chance to stay behind the plate. He struggles with throwing accuracy----all 17 errors he committed behind the plate came on wild throws. In a perfect world, Vallot is a Mike Napoli-type slugging catcher whose ability to catch gives his bat time to adjust to the big leagues. High Class A Wilmington is not a friendly place for power hitters, but it is Vallot's next step.
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  Ranked Kansas City Royals #16 prospect in 2016
  There are a lot of reasons to worry about Vallot's chances of reaching his lofty ceiling. His body is already large for a catcher. He's struggled to hit for average and has plenty of work to do as a receiver because he struggles to catch balls cleanly. Vallot has big power potential and an excellent throwing arm. As an 18-year-old in full-season ball, Vallot averaged a home run every 25 at-bats. He should have hit even more but he was too often late on hittable fastballs. Vallot has plenty of bat speed but he too often seemed to be worried about hitting breaking balls and tried to adjust and catch up to fastballs with poor results. He needs to start his swing faster to rip fastballs and to cut his 31-percent strikeout rate. While Vallot will show an above-average 1.9-second pop time, his accuracy leaves much to be desired, which explains his 19-percent caught stealing rate. His size makes it hard for him to block balls nimbly. Vallot was younger than many 2015 draftees, and he'll return to low Class A Lexington where this time he'll be more age appropriate.
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  Ranked Kansas City Royals #12 prospect in 2015
  One of the better power bats on the 2013 summer showcase circuit, albeit with a big swing and lots of swing and miss, Vallot improved his stock with a strong senior season. He hit .545 with 13 home runs and led St. Thomas More High to its first Louisiana state title in more than 20 years. The Royals knew that Vallot's defense needed a lot of work, and it showed at Rookie-level Burlington. Early in the Appalachian League season, he could not cleanly catch pitchers with plus stuff--but by the time instructional league rolled around, he was able to catch Aaron Crow with no issues. Vallot needs to improve his hands and stop stabbing at pitches. His footwork and technique are also very raw, which keeps his plus arm from generating even average pop times consistently. At the plate, Vallot has the best raw power in the system with a chance to hit 25 or more home runs if he makes consistent contact. He has good bat speed, but his simple swing is geared for power with leverage, length and an uppercut finish that generates flyballs and strikeouts. How Vallot looks in the spring will determine whether he goes to low Class A Lexington or Rookie-level Idaho Falls.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #47 prospect in 2014 draft
  Vallot is from a small town of fewer than 10,000 people, but he has always performed on big stages. He has some of the better raw power in the high school class, above-average or better, and won the home run derby at Perfect Game National at the Metrodome last June before falling to Jacob Gatewood in the finals of the Under Armour home run derby in Wrigley Field in August. Vallot struggled against velocity on the showcase circuit, showing swing-and-miss tendencies and a proclivity for chasing out of the zone against secondary stuff. But he has a quick, easy swing with natural leverage that produces hard contact and has drawn rave reviews this spring. His righthanded bat is his carrying tool, despite playing a defensive-oriented position. He has plus arm strength, although the arm doesn't consistently play at that level in game action. Vallot struggled to receive on the showcase circuit, especially out of the strike zone and can have what one scout called an "ejecto mitt" . His footwork and blocking skills will also require improvement at the professional level. Although scouts are not confident he can stay behind the plate, they believe his bat has a chance to play wherever he lands on the defensive spectrum, including left field or first base, where he saw time on the showcase circuit. He is a below-average runner capable of posting well below-average times to first. His package as an offensive-minded backstop that could move to first base has drawn comparisons to Mike Napoli. Scouts say the Mississippi State commit is a baseball rat with a strong work ethic, which he demonstrated over the offseason by shedding 15-20 pounds from the summer. The thickly-built 5-foot-11 Vallot weighed 221 pounds at East Coast Pro but has played around 205 this spring. Monitoring his body composition will be key at the next level. Vallot is one of the youngest position players in the class and won't be 18 until nearly the end of the minor league season.

Minor League Top Prospects

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  Ranked American League #11 prospect in 2014
  Vallot, who draws plaudits for his work ethic and passion for the game, lost at least 15 pounds heading into the spring of his senior year to become the third prep catcher selected. One of the youngest players in the draft, Vallot was also one of the youngest players in the league and played all but the last week of the season at age 17. He has the skillset to be an offensive-minded catcher who can hit in the middle of the order, if he can remain behind the plate. Vallot has at least plus raw power with above-average bat speed, natural leverage and extension, which produced the third-highest isolated slugging in the league (.188). While scouts liked his batting coming out of the draft, Vallot's strikeout rate (36.5 percent) was the third-highest in the league. His swing has length to his uphill path, and Vallot struggled with secondary stuff. Vallot's arm strength, which is at least plus, gives him a chance to remain behind the plate, but evaluators said he really struggled to catch and that he will have to improve to remain at the position. The coaching staff worked with him on not stabbing as much and quieting his prepitch movement. He had the second-most passed balls in the league to go with the second-lowest caught stealing rate (20 percent) of any catcher with more than 200 innings caught. Scouts said his arm does not play as plus in games because of his transfer and effort to his release. He is a well below-average runner who could move to first, but his youth and power potential carry his prospect status.

• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: The Lexington Legends have an auxiliary video board in left center field that proved to be a useful target for Vallot. Many of his 13 home runs (in only 82 games) landed around the board and one actually destroyed part of it. It was a highlight of a season that had plenty of bumps and some broken bones. A 93-mph Gage Hinsz fastball to the face was the worst injury, as Vallot missed a month recovering. He also missed time with a back injury. Scouting Report: In between his injuries, Vallot showed some of the best power in the South Atlantic League. He was repeating the league, but was still among its younger catchers. Vallot can square up velocity and has started to show signs of recognizing spin. He projects as a below-average hitter with above-average power. Vallot is a well-below-average defensive catcher at this point with inconsistent footwork. He has to continue to work to stay nimble enough to have a chance to stay behind the plate. He struggles with throwing accuracy–all 17 errors he committed behind the plate came on wild throws.
  
  The Future: In a perfect world, Vallot is a Mike Napoli-type slugging catcher whose ability to catch gives his bat time to adjust to the big leagues. High Class A Wilmington is not a friendly place for power hitters, but it is Vallot's next step.