Atlanta Braves Top 100 Prospect: #27 Luke Dykstra
Scouting Report
More from Tomahawk Take
- Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 1-5
- Braves News: Braves acquire Diaz, moves around the division, more
- Atlanta Braves 2012 Top Prospects Review: J.R. Graham
- Atlanta Braves Acquire Lewin Diaz from the Orioles
- Atlanta Braves 2023 Preseason Top 30 Prospects List: 6-10
Per Baseball Reference, Dykstra is 6’1 and 195 pounds. He is a right-handed thrower and hitter. From viewing, he almost looks a bit shorter than his listed height, but the proportions look correct for height/weight.
Hitting
Dykstra has a slight open stance and comes with a short, quick stride to the pitcher to square his front shoulder to the pitcher. From there, he has exceptional ability to keep the bat head in the zone. I have been impressed the more and more I see of Dykstra in the way he can seemingly handle anything and everything around the zone. I was impressed with Dykstra’s ability to handle velocity, hard break, soft break, and all sorts of location. He’s not going to be a guy to hit a ton of home runs most likely, but the guy whose swing he really reminds me of is Dustin Pedroia with his ability to put solid contact onto pitches all over the zone. That’s probably more likely to produce a 10-homer, 30-double sort of power than a true over-the-fence power, but it’s definitely valuable in the lineup. He’s not a guy who walks a lot, but he does work counts well, fouling off pitches until he gets one he can handle. His high contact ability allows him not to strike out very much either.
Base Running/Fielding
While Dykstra isn’t a burner by any means, he’s got good quickness, and he shows solid instincts on the base paths. This is especially true when in scoring position. I noted Dykstra really having solid instincts with fly balls as to when to tag and when not to without needing the coaching. Part of that could be baseball bloodlines, but whatever it is, it’s an asset going forward. I would be surprised if he stole 20 bases in a season, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he was a guy who consistently did have a very high stolen base percentage when he did run due to his ability to read pitchers.
Dykstra doesn’t flash incredible range or an arm that you’ll be comparing to former elites of the game or any sort of thing like that defensively. However, what you will notice is that he gets to all the stuff that he should get to, and he just seems to be technically very sound on his moves. His work around the base is solid, and he does well getting the ball away with accuracy. By no means is he perfect, but he’s definitely a guy who would be above average at the position just due to not missing any of the plays needed along the way, and that’s hugely valuable at an up-the-middle position.
Next: 2016 outlook
Video
2016 Outlook
Dykstra came to the Braves as his father was getting some rough headlines for poor reasons. He’s simply come to work with the Braves, and while he may not be a guy who’s catching the eyes of national top 100 lists, he’s definitely showing a lot as a player and really reminds me a ton of the “grinder” type of ball player that is frequently found at second base. Braves fans have fond memories of such players in guys like Mark Lemke, Marcus Giles, Mark DeRosa, Martin Prado, Omar Infante, and many more – guys who probably aren’t the superstar of your team, but without them, your team simply doesn’t function right.
Next: Braves Top 100 Prospects Updated
I would wager where Dykstra starts will depend on a few different variables. First, where the organization starts Dansby Swanson and Ozhaino Albies. That will shuffle guys who have been playing shortstop accordingly, and then start the next domino, which is where Omar Obregon is assigned. He’s the guy directly in front of Dykstra in progression, though he was Dykstra’s double play partner in Rome to close out the season as Obregon moved over to shortstop to replace Albies after the latter suffered an injury. Third would be simply how Dykstra performs this spring. If he can hit with some authority, showing that his 26-game stint in Rome was all the time he needed there, he could bump straight up to Carolina without any more time in Rome. My best bet is that he starts the season in Rome, but he also moves up quickly to Carolina based on his consistent, albeit not spectacular, production and begins to assert a position for himself in the Braves’ future plans.