CIN
Aaron Sabato, IF
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Scouting report
As I've talked about ad nauseam on this site, the track record for righty-hitting first base-only college hitters is historically bad, and until some recent success stories the industry went a long time with Eric Karros as the only one of this sort who had any kind of big league success. That brings us to Sabato, who played shortstop in high school but is absolutely a first base-only player, if he can even play there at all. Despite this, as I shopped these rankings around baseball, folks thought my pre-draft 40+ FV grade was light due to their confidence in his ability to hit and hit with power. Sabato started mashing the second he arrived at Chapel Hill, clubbing 18 homers as a freshman. He was sophomore eligible draftee, and therefore only played 83 career games, and still teams were about as sure of Sabato's hitting ability as they were of any player's in the 2020 draft. He takes full-body rips but still has acute barrel control. Sabato's issues are mobility and defense. He was a hefty guy for a college sophomore and projects as a 1B/DH-only prospect as he continues to age into his 20s. It means Sabato needs to keep raking to clear that sky high offensive bar, but that's exactly what he's done against elite college pitching. He was in the mix for several teams picking in the middle of the first round before falling to Minnesota, which reads like Trevor Larnach's draft day journey. Sabato will be a 50 FV prospect if he produces on paper up through the upper-minors. (Fall Instructional League)