San Diego Padres: Scouting report on outfield prospect Taylor Trammell

The tools

At 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds he certainly has the size and speed to stick in center field at the next level.

But he’s actually spent most of his Minor League career in left field, and if he bulks up a little bit and adds some power I think that’s where he ultimately ends up.

Although, depending on what takes place over the next year or so, the Padres might have a bigger need in center.

They went pretty hard after a center fielder this offseason in Shogo Akiyama, so that may tell you where they think Trammell fits down the road.

His speed is the best tool that he possesses and I could see him being a 40 stolen base guy in the big leagues.

FanGraphs has his hit tool at about average and that’s kind of how I view it as well.

He’s great at getting on base with a walk percentage around 12 percent and OBP of .363. But he does strikeout a good bit with over 120 whiffs in two of his four Minor League seasons and his strikeout percentage in Double-A last year was around 25 percent.

Also, for someone who doesn’t have elite power, he pulls the ball far too often with a pull percentage of almost 50 percent in 2019.

His speed allows him to make up for his shortcomings on defense, and he doesn’t have a very strong arm, which is why most think he ends up in left.

What does the future hold

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I’ve never really been that high on Trammell, and looking at the numbers nothing really jumps off the page other than the stolen bases. He’s had one season with an OPS over .800 and that was in Single-A in 2017.

But after watching some video on him I can see why some would be excited about the potential.

He has a sweet lefty swing that I think could lead to him being a 20 home run hitter one day if he bulks up just a tad.

However, you don’t want to take away from that elite speed, which is by far his best tool. His ability to get on base and steal bases is what makes him so special.

While I don’t think he’s a center fielder, I think the Padres need for one is while he’ll ultimately end up there.

And I don’t see him being a middle of the order bat. He possibly has the chance to hit at the top of the lineup if he can maintain his speed and OBP as he moves up.

But I also think he could be a huge contributor at the bottom of the lineup getting on base and setting up the top of the lineup.

Some people may not like me saying this, but he’s basically a healthy version of Franchy Cordero.

And that’s no knock in my book as I love Franchy. But for those thinking Trammell is going to be a superstar one day, I just don’t see it happening.

I like Trammell and think he will be a very good every day outfielder one day, but if he is someone teams are targeting in trade talks, I wouldn’t hesitate moving him in a blockbuster type of deal.