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Adley Rutschman, C
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Scouting report
Rutschman is the total package, a physical monster who also has superlative baseball acumen and leadership qualities. From his sophomore season onward (and arguably starting in the Fall before that), he went wire-to-wire as the top prospect in his class, a complete player and the best draft prospect in half a decade. His entire profile is ideal. It's rare for ambidextrous swingers to have polished swings from both sides of the plate, and even more so to have two nearly identical, rhythmic swings that produce power. It's more atypical still for that type of hitter to be a great defender at a premium position. Rutschman has a pickpocket's sleight of hand and absolutely cons umpires into calling strikes on the edge of the zone, and resolute umpires end up hearing it from biased fans who are easier marks. Aside from two instances, all of my Rutschman pop times over three years of looks are between 1.86 and 1.95 seconds, comfortably plus times on throws often right on the bag. Rutschman has the physical tools to become the best catcher in baseball, provided he stays healthy (he had some shoulder/back stuff in college). He's also an ultra-competitive, attentive, and vocal team leader who shepherds pitchers with measured but intense encouragement. It fires up his teammates and feels like it comes from a real place, rather than something he's forcing. Aside from the questions that arose as teams scrutinized Rutschman's medicals with a magnifying glass before the draft (it was described to me as "stuff consistent with catching and playing football"), he's a perfect prospect subject only to the risk and attrition that all catchers face. Because the 2020 minor league season was cancelled, we have no full-season looks nor data to alter or buttress this foundation, and Adley looked the same as ever in the Fall. I realize readers will have Matt Wieters flashbacks because Rutchsman's frame and switch-hitting, upright stance are dead ringers for Wieters', but this guy's blood courses through his veins at a much different temperature. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)