With the second pick of the Paul Toboni era, the Nats took another college bat in Chase Brunson. The TCU star is another well rounded hitter who has a nice blend of hitting ability and power. It is not to the same level as Hacopian, but Brunson is a good athlete who could play a solid center field or a very good corner.
As we get deeper in this draft, we are learning more about this new regime’s draft philosophy. Clearly they value college bats who can make
contact while also having solid power. Both Hacopian and Brunson fit that profile. Last season, Brunson hit .304 with an OPS over 1.000 and 10 homers. Heading into the season, Sawyer Strosnider was the TCU outfielder most scouts were watching, but Brunson outproduced him and went ahead of him.
Despite Strosnider having higher end explosiveness, it was usually Brunson who was in center field for the Horned Frogs. That tells you a lot about his defensive ability and what the coaches thought of him. Brunson has average to slightly above average tools across the board. Nothing pops out, but the well roundedness makes everything come together.
Brunson’s contact rates and exit velocities are both well above average for the college level. His swing decisions could use some work, but the contact and power blend is clearly something this new regime loves.
Defensively, Brunson is one of those guys who can play center field at a nice level, but there is a decent chance you have someone who is better. If Brunson is in a corner, he could be a potential gold glover, but there would be more pressure on the bat if he is not in center field.
Brunson was ranked 50th on MLB Pipeline’s board and 47th on Baseball America’s. However, our guy Paul who follows the draft very closely is much higher on him than that. He actually has Brunson as the 17th ranked player on his personal board. Paul is not the only draft nerd to be high on Brunson as well.
Obviously, I would have been very happy if the Nats took a pitcher here, but Brunson is not a bad pick. Obviously, the Nats have outfielders in the big leagues, and plenty in AAA, but below that there is not a ton there. Brunson helps restock that outfield depth below Triple-A.
I hope the rest of this draft is fairly pitcher heavy though. Toboni did a nice job finding pitching value later in the draft with guys like Connelly Early. Hopefully he can bring us some interesting arms.
With Hacopian and Brunson both being college guys who won’t be overslot, the Nats still have a chance to do something big in the third or fourth round on the high school side. I am fascinated to see what is next in Paul Toboni’s first draft.
