Atlanta Braves Mock Draft Review: ESPN’s Prediction

(OF) Corbin Carroll

5’10”, 160 lbs. — Lakeside H.S. (Washington)

Listed as the #8 player on the THE BOARD at Fangraphs, Carroll is one of four high school prospects on the site’s list of amateur talent.

“Wiry” and “athletic” are adjectives that you’ll see plenty of when reading various scouting reports on Carroll.

It’s a little intriguing how Carroll — listed generously at 5’10” — looks like Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger in the batter’s box, who’s 6’4″. Carroll has the same tall stance with his elbow up at an almost perfect 90-degree angle. He’s almost standing completely upright.

Once the delivery comes his way, he immediately collapses into his ‘hitting position’. Their styles are very similar.

Got Room to Grow

An even more positive description of Carroll’s body-build is that scouts project “plenty of room for strength”, and that’s certainly what teams want to hear when taking the risk of selecting an 18-year-old that’s a senior in high school.

Here’s a scouting report on Carrol from the folks at PerfectGame.org:

"Medium athletic build with some wiry strength, plenty of room to get stronger. Very quick twitch athlete, 6.33 in the sixty, shows his athleticism well in the outfield, solid arm strength with on line carry, serious range in centerfield. Left handed hitter, hits from a narrow base with a short and quick swing, base swing is inside and middle of the field but will flash the ability to turn on the ball and drive it, lots of projection as a hitter. Highest level athlete who has baseball skills and plays with energy. Very good student, verbal commitment to UCLA. Selected to play in the 2018 Perfect Game All-American Classic."

Last year Carroll played for the 18U National Team, belting 3 home runs in just eight games (tied for most on the team) and leading the tournament in stolen bases, with 9.

Finishing the tourney with a video game-like batting average of .500, Carroll wrapped things up with 4 RBI in the team’s gold medal game versus Panama in December.

Yes, that’s just an 8-game sample — not even remotely enough games to justify a first-round pick — but like any high school prospect, statistics aren’t always the best way to examine the skill of the player.

Defensively, Carroll is already drawing some exciting comps, regarded as an excellent defender who is extremely polished and has a high baseball IQ. Names like Jacoby Ellsbury and Andrew Benintendi have been tossed around when trying to pick comparable players.

The consensus is that he’ll be able to stay at centerfield as a pro, but is said to have plenty of arm for right field. Fangraphs suggests that Carroll is a “do-everything centerfielder without prototypical size”.

Size is the problem some teams are having with Carroll. Even though baseball has long been a sport that fits all shapes and sizes (hello Willians Astudillo!), there’s still a preference for the more standardized-built baseball player… particularly when using a premium pick.

Frankly, with the widespread reporting of him being plenty capable of growing into his frame, I don’t see his size as a major issue.

I’m sure there are a few teams that have wrote him off due to his height and light weight, but stuff like that happens all the time. You would think guys like Jose Altuve would force teams to be a little less worried about size.

Just to create a little perspective, the Braves Ender Inciarte stands at 5’11” and weighs 160 lbs., and he’s had a fine big league career thus far.

Overall, Corbin Carroll looks like a possible 5-tool player. He has the ability to hit for power, steal bases and play excellent defense, while also possessing the more specialized skills that separate the top-tier talent from the rest.

Seasonal stats and specific numbers are hard to come by for most high school players, as most of the time sites require subscriptions to follow; but I think it’s a rather unanimous understanding that Carroll is a big time player.