OF Zach DeLoach, Texas A&M
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DoB: 8/18/1998. B/T: L/R.
2020 Stats: 6 HR, .421/.547/.789, 6 SB, 3/14 K/BB in 18 games.
Over the past calendar year, very few prospects have improved their stock as much as Zach DeLoach. Over his first two seasons in College Station, he hit just .236/.338/.338 with five home runs over 117 games, showing very good plate discipline (62/58 K/BB) but not much else. He earned a trip to the elite Cape Cod League over the summer and looked like a completely different hitter; in 43 games, which is no small sample size, he slashed .368/.434/.529 with five home runs, ten stolen bases, and a 30/15 strikeout to walk ratio, putting himself very much on the scouting map for 2020. Under the newly-brightened spotlight, DeLoach continued to perform, demolishing Texas A&M's weaker non-conference schedule to the tune of a .421/.547/.789 line, six home runs, six stolen bases, and a ridiculous 3/14 strikeout to walk ratio across 18 games. He was at his best over his first six games, where he hit .706/.739/1.529 with four home runs.
DeLoach has always had good pitch selection, but his relatively long, deliberate swing made it difficult for him to make much of those pitches. Over the past year or so, he has tightened up his left handed swing and has been much, much, much better at doing damage on the pitches he very capably selects. Not only did he cut his strikeout rate to a minuscule 3.9% in 2020 (and a still-solid 17.1% on the Cape), but he hit for real impact while doing so, showing real, above average power with both metal and wood bats. Defensively, DeLoach is solid if unspectacular in the outfield, showing good speed that he may or may not be able to maintain and an overall corner outfield profile.
If DeLoach had continued over the rest of the season to hit anywhere close to how he hit over the first four weeks, we could be talking about his name as high as the first round. So unfortunately, with much less of a track record than other bat-first college outfielders like Heston Kjerstad and Daniel Cabrera, he won't get that high. The Cape performance is real – you can't hit .369 with power over 43 games by accident there. The 2020 performance looked real – hitting .421 with power while striking out just three times in 18 games is extremely impressive – but he was facing a weaker schedule full of weekend series against Miami of Ohio, Army, and New Mexico State. He got just seven at bats against power five teams (Illinois, UCLA, Okla. State) and went hitless. You can't blame him for that part, but he has long been described as a streaky hitter and that would have been put to the test against an SEC slate of pitching.
Because we didn't get to see him in the SEC, whether you think DeLoach is a legitimate impact bat or more of a role player depends on whether you buy into the mechanical adjustments he's made. There's no doubt that the swing is quicker and cleaner. If you think that will be enough to continue to hit at a high level in pro ball and up to the majors, you could see him hitting 20-30 home runs per season with solid on-base percentages and take a crack at him in the second round. If you remain worried about the streakiness or see other things, like average bat speed and a little bit of rigidness in the swing, you might see him more as a fourth outfielder or fringe-regular, feeling more comfortable in the third or fourth round. I think he'll continue to hit in pro ball and settle in as a productive regular, one who will pop for some very good years while looking more average in others.
2020 highlights
Compared to his 2018 swing
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