Unowned
Blake Rutherford, OF
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Scouting report
The White Sox limit who from their org is allowed to speak with the media about prospects, so you've likely read this elsewhere since it's the company line: Chicago is trying to get Rutherford to pull the ball more. Because he was only at the alt site all year, there's really no way of knowing how this has gone. I've been watching Rutherford since his junior year of high school and he has always had a gorgeous low-ball swing that at times is suited for him slicing pitches away from him to the opposite field. I was as enamored with Rutherford's swing and big frame during his prep days as anyone, but my thinking around swings like this has changed, even if Rutherford's report hasn't. I've never seen him really impact a ball that he hasn't gotten fully extended on, and I don't see a way of getting him to pull more without losing that that extension. Anecdotally, longer-swinged hitters seem to be better at hitting breaking balls and offspeed stuff than fastballs, and perhaps as baseball shifts toward a pitching approach that throws more breaking balls, hitters like Rutherford will actually be in a metagame position to succeed, but I'm skeptical. I still think the hopeful outcome here is for a lefty platoon bat. (Alternate site)