Baseball Prospectus | | Eyewitness Scouting Report


	Bubba Starling Born: 08/03/1992 (Age: 21)
	Bats: Right	Throws: Right
	Height: 6' 4"	Weight: 220
	Primary Position: CF
	Secondary Position: RF

build is strong; big, broad shoulders and wide hips; can fill out a little more; another great body set-up; plus athlete.

Evaluator	CJ Wittmann
Report Date	05/04/2014
Dates Seen	4/8-14/14
Affiliate	Wilmington Blue Rocks (High A, Royals)

MLB ETA	Risk Factor	OFP	Video
2016	extreme	60	No

Tool	Future Grade	Report
Hit	30	wide base open stance setup to start; hands start quiet but has a bad wrist hitch in load; when starting to swing, back elbow pinches to his hip and back shoulder dips; swing path is on upward path through the hitting zone; has little barrel control and has trouble adjusting; has serious pitch recognition issues and little plate discipline; will expand the zone often; has plus bat speed; has trouble with anything down in the zone; big swing and miss; at times, will show good approach then look lost; will use the right side often; will get tied up with velo on the inner half; often makes weak contact in BP and in game.
Power	45	plus-plus raw; big lift and bat speed helps; can get good extension post contact on balls on outer half; BP pull-side power but yet to translate to game; hit tool will always limit power potential.
Baserunning/Speed	70	consistently in the 4.1 range; instinctive runner; smart on the base paths.
Glove	60	reads/routes were good off the bat; plus range due to plus run; very good athlete and has athleticism for bad reads; makes routine play.
Arm	70	gathers himself well before throwing; uses whole body to get maximum effort in throw; ball explodes out of hand with velocity; reaches all places on a line and accuracy.

He’ll play and reach the highest level based on the defensive profile but hit tool will limit the power and be sub par.
Starling made one in game adjustment I took note of. His 2nd at-bat he rolled over an outside FB for a 6-4 ground out. Next at-bat, was thrown the same pitch, let it travel and crushed it to RF for a HR. Bubba will flash stuff like this then punch out on pitches that were never near the zone. Frustrating. I just don’t think the kid ever puts it together at the plate enough to be a major league regular.