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David Dahl

Born: 04/01/1994 (Age: 20)
Bats: Left Throws: Right
Height: 6' 2" Weight: 197
Primary Position: CF
Secondary Position: LF
Physical/Health
Highly athletic body. Grady Sizemore build. Frame could add some weight in future but nothing worrying. Some injury history but appears to be fully recovered.
Evaluator Ryan Parker
Report Date 07/02/2014
Dates Seen ST, 5/28-31, 6/27
Affiliate Asheville Tourists (Low A, Rockies)
MLB ETA Risk Factor OFP Video
2017 Moderate 70 Yes
Tool Future Grade Report
Hit 60 Still finding his swing and overall approach after a full season lost due to injury. Great batspeed and balance but still seeking a consistent trigger in his swing. Has no problem handling velocity or staying on good breaking balls. Loud contact both in games and BP. Can currently be exploited by expanding zone to chase fastballs late in at bats. Flat bat plane built for scorching line drives.
Power 55 Better than expected power. Doesn't sell out for homers in BP. Has ability to hit multiple types of home runs (line drives or high fly balls). Ball jumps off bat. Power is being hampered a bit this year due to a focus being put on making Dahl into a leadoff hitter. 20+ homer ceiling in the show. With full health and a consistent swing Dahl's power will really start to show. Most of Dahl's homers will be line drive doubles that just keep going and land on other side of the fence.
Baserunning/Speed 60 4 seconds and a tick below to first base. Avg baserunner in terms of reads and jumps. 6+ runner currently but due to injury history and running style I see the speed grading to a 6. Doesn't appear to to effortlessly glide on his feet. There is effort in creating the speed but he is far from being heavy footed. Speed plays better in the field than it does at the plate or on bases.
Glove 70 Incredible reactions in the the outfield. Seems to already be in his route to the ball before batter can even leave the box. Even if he slows down he will still be an asset in center field. Very still head in the field. When he goes after a ball he is not wasting time looking around trying to watch the ball in. Will be fun to watch patrol Coors Field.
Arm 55 Yet to see him let one fly in games but watching him in warmups and the throws he has made I know the arm is solid. Throws are accurate and straight from the outfield. Throws don't have the carry that plus arms like Hunter Renfroe usually feature. That being said arm is good enough to handle RF if need be.
Overall

It's going to take a bit longer than Rockies fans may like but the payoff should be worth it. At worst Dahl turns into Drew Stubbs. The defense alone will carry him to the big leagues. Dahl seems to be struggling with finding his identity as a player but that should come with time. Sometimes he's a leadoff hitter trying to work the count, other times he's the aggressive two hole hitter hunting fastballs, and in BP he can hang with just about any 3 or 4 hole hitter. Once he settles in things should start to take off.

This young man is an extremely hard worker blessed with elite physical tools. A rare combination who should one day be a mainstay in the Rockies lineup.

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