Unowned
Kristian Robinson, OF
Edit player ✎
Baseball Reference →
FanGraphs →
MLB →
Scouting report
The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into the cogs of the entire planet, let alone the developmental trajectory of baseball prospects. Kristian Robinson is among the most talented and prominent of those affected. After parts of three years in the warmth and security of the complex, it was time for Robinson to go to full-season ball and perform, and start to reinforce the tools- and frame-based excitement he had generated as a teenager. Instead Robinson spent another year sequestered in Scottsdale, too green to be part of the D-backs official alternate site group until he was added later in the summer. By the time Fall Instructional League rolled around and scouts were able to see him, Robinson looked rusty. He took poor at-bats and struck out a lot while missing hittable pitches in the zone. But if any player, at any level were to struggle for a couple weeks, it'd easily be dismissed as a brief slump or tough-luck dry spell rather than a true regression, and that's even before considering the individual player's context. Robinson's 2020 was supposed to be about making adjustments to full-season pitching and getting his swing to a place that would allow for more in-game power. Instead it meant an entire year away from competitive baseball, a whole year away from home, an unspoken indication from the org that he had been passed by Corbin Carroll (who was invited to the alt site group immediately), and more monotonous developmental ball during instructs. Let's not lose sight of the foundation here: Robinson is built like a young Larry Fitzgerald, and he entered pro ball without the same kind of performance track record as most of his Dominican peers but still received the fourth-largest bonus in his signing class because his tools are so huge. In 2019, he hit 50% of his balls in play with an exit velo of 95 mph or more, which is up in Joey Gallo/Nelson Cruz territory. It is not normal to see a person like this on a baseball field, and Robinson has uncommon potential because of it. The questions that need answering here are the same as last year: Can Kristian turn a suitable swing foundation into one with impact, and can he perform against more advanced pitching? He'll hit 35-plus bombs every year if he can. For now, he fits in the Top 100 continuum near the 55/50 FV line, along with several other prospects of extreme variance and ceiling. (Alternate site, Fall Instructional League)