Xavier Scruggs

Scouts and opposing coaches were impressed by Scruggs' improvement this season over last, reflected in his outstanding performance. Scruggs ranked among the national leaders in the triple-crown categories (.389-20-65) as well as slugging percentage (.778) and on-base percentage (.489), and he and was named the Mountain West Conference player of the year. He's strong and fairly short to the ball, and has greatly improved his plate discipline, allowing him to get into hitter's counts and sit on a particular pitch. He has good plate coverage and loft power and realizes he's strong enough that he doesn't have to pull everything to hit the ball hard. Scruggs didn't help his draft value by moving off third base and playing mostly first this season, though he's a better fit at first defensively. At 6-foot-1 he's a shade short for the position.