FanPost

Know A (Potential) Future Royal: DJ Peterson

Djpeterson_medium

The Info:

Position: 1B/3B
Height: 6-1
Weight: 190
Bats/Throws: R-R
Birthdate: December 31, 1991
College: New Mexico

The Tools:

Hit: 50-60

The best of his tools. Bat speed is superb. Fast hands with a very smooth swing. One of the best pure hitters out of college this year. Plate discipline is very good and pitch recognition skills are said to be already near the MLB level.

Power: 40-50

Not going to be his best asset in the majors, but enough pop to hit 15+ homeruns thanks to his swing and good bat speed. Doesn't have tremendous power, but will be able to turn hard hit line drives over the wall. Has good gap power as well. Will probably hit more doubles than home runs, especially at Kauffman, but that's not something to be ashamed of.

Speed: 40-40

He's pretty fully developed so probably won't gain any speed. He's not going to clog the bases, but I wouldn't expect him to score from first guaranteed on a double. Could probably go second to home on most singles, and will be able to tag up from third no problem. Could steal 10 or so bases.

Arm: 50-55

Arm is above average but nothing spectacular. Makes the throw to third will good force behind it.

Fielding: 40-50

I think the 50 grade might be generous, but teams will give him the chance to stick at 3B. Easily his worst tool, his footwork is subpar (I hate that expression by the way. It should be above par), and has poor lower half mobility. The arm strength helps his case for 3B, but most see a move to 1B or RF in the future.

The Ranking:

Overall: Would be a Top 5 prospect for the Royals.

Hitter: Would be the #1 hitting prospect for the Royals to me.

Position: 3rd base he'd be the #1 in front of Cuthbert as well as #1 at 1B. Depending on how you much you like Bubba (I say this every time I think) he's either #1 or #2. Personally I think Bubba is in front of him on tools, but as far as current skills/development, Peterson would outrank him.

The Comp:

I've seen a David Freese comp for him (much like Moran). I think he'll have more power than Freese/Moran but might not hit for the average like them.

Billy Butler has been thrown around as well.

I'd say the OBP skills of David Wright and the hitting of Placido Polanco with just a bit more power.

Probably a MLB triple slash of .290/.350/.450. 2003-2004 Placido Polanco looks like the best bet (.293/.348/.444 with 31 HR) Defense won't be as good though.

The Draft: After Bryant and Moran, Peterson is probably the best complete college hitter in the draft. Doesn't have the power of Renfroe or the hit tool of Moran, but a decent combination of both. If the defense improves then he'll be a very good player. He'll still be around for the Royals at #8, but I wouldn't expect him to fall further than Top 15.


This FanPost was written by a member of the Royals Review community. It does not necessarily reflect the views of the editors and writers of this site.