Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on C.J. Alexander
MLB Player Comp
Two players stick out quickly when you watch Alexander both in the field and at the plate. Guys who are as big as Alexander and play the hot corner are a rarity. Doing a search for players who have been over 6’4″ and played 60% of a 500-PA season at third brought up just three options. Incredibly, two were guys I was thinking of!
Travis Shaw might be the best all-around comparison to Alexander. He has similar defensive skills in that he’s not terribly rangy at third, but he has very good hands when something is hit within his range, and his arm is excellent. At the plate, Shaw is coming off back-to-back 30+ home run seasons for the Milwaukee Brewers, and having that kind of power in the lineup would certainly be welcome.
However, Shaw’s swing and approach at the plate are a bit violent for me compared to Alexander, so the guy who came to mind at the plate was former Silver Slugger winner Aubrey Huff. While his off-field stuff was an absolute mess at times, Huff had an incredibly simple swing that generated tremendous power upon contact, and his eye allowed him to keep his walk and strikeout rates modest.
Of course, Huff defensively was not Shaw, so there’s the comp…Aubrey Shaw – or Travis Huff.
(For those wondering, the third player to accumulate 500 PA as a 3B standing at least 6’4″ was Jim Thome.)
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Future Role
The Spring Training invite definitely caught a lot of people off guard, as Alexander’s performance was a pleasant surprise, but he was viewed even in his own draft class as potentially the 2nd or even 3rd best hitter in the Atlanta Braves 2018 draft class.
The other member that would likely be considered ahead of Alexander, Grayson Jenista, was also invited to spring, so there could be something the Braves are doing with their top college bats from the 2018 draft to attempt to accelerate their timeline.
Alexander’s size will leave many traditional scouts planning his future at first base, a corner outfield position, or even designated hitter, but he’s shown more than enough athleticism to handle the hot corner to this point, and with the relative lack of depth at the position, he could rocket quickly through the system in 2019. His left-handed power could end up being a very welcome complement to the right-handed power of the young players the Atlanta Braves have either in the majors already or on the cusp of it.
Next. Acuna is #1. dark
Whether he’s an outfielder or a third baseman or even Freddie Freeman‘s heir apparent (Freddie’s contract is up after 2021), Alexander has been significantly more than the Atlanta Braves could ever have hoped for when they chose him in the 20th round last June!