For any position player, scouts grade at least five tools. The standard tools are as follows: Hitting, Power, Fielding, Throwing, and Running.
These tools are all graded on a 20-80 scale. They can be directly compared to statistical benchmarks at the Major League level, but those benchmarks change from year to year, as league averages get better or worse. The underlying skills that produce the benchmarks are ultimately what scouts are evaluating.
For hitting, an 80 hitter hits north of .320, while a Major League average hitter hits between .260-.269. Scouts do not judge hitters simply by their averages, and instead attempt to roughly predict averages based on a hitter’s skill set. Some skills that go into hitting are: strike zone judgment, adjustability (the ability to adjust to different pitch types and pitches in different parts of the zone), pitch and spin recognition, bat-to-ball skills, and a bat path that consistently produces quality contact.
Power, often referred to as Game Power, estimates the frequency of home runs a player will hit at the big-league level. There’s a second component, Raw Power, that grades the distance a player can hit baseballs, often scouted during batting practice. Frequency of contact is something that can allow or limit a player from getting to their raw power in games. Power is more complicated than just HRs, as teams want extra-base hits in general as well.
Fielding estimates a player’s fielding ability. There’s a lot that goes into this grade, depending on the position, but some general areas are the smoothness and quickness of a player’s hands (especially if they are an infielder), lateral quickness and acceleration, route efficiency (important for outfielders), first-step instincts (is the player quickly and accurately going in the correct direction?).
Throwing is based on a player’s arm strength and accuracy. It’s a more important tool for third basemen, shortstops, catchers and right fielders, though a good arm will still make players at other positions more valuable. The throwing tool often represents a differentiator between shortstops and second basemen, as weak-armed infielders won’t be able to play significant time on the left side of the infield. Traditionally, scouts have used the scale for pop times for catchers, with 1.95 and below pop times representing above average or better arms.
Finally, running is a player’s usable speed in game. While this is likely the easiest of the five tools to grade, it’s important to separate straight-away speed, often calculated by scouts’ stopwatches down the first base-line, from variable speed and acceleration, which come into play in different aspects of baserunning and defense. Further, players’ speed can break down over time or as they put on muscle, so it has to be projected based on a player’s body type as well. Time down the line can be viewed as an anchor for this grade for hitters, but some hitters are better underway or accelerate quickly, allowing their speed to play up.
Although not mentioned in the five tools, athleticism is an important component of all five tools, and many teams apply their own grading system to players’ athleticism.
Comments