Earlier this week Cincinnati Reds prospect Nick Senzel was ranked inside the Top 10 in both the Baseball America and ESPN Top 100 Prospect lists. On Tuesday the guys at MLB Pipeline named Senzel as the second best third base prospect in all of baseball behind Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who may be the top prospect in all of baseball.
Among the top tools section of the article, Nick Senzel comes in as the second best hitter, with Jim Callis saying this:
Senzel might be the second-best hitter in the Minors, but he takes a back seat to Guerrero.
High praise for Nick Senzel here. He’s hit .315 through two seasons in the Minor Leagues, so it’s not surprising that he’s rated highly as a hitter. Still, being ranked as possibly the second best hitter in all of Minor League Baseball is a heck of an accomplishment.
It wasn’t just the bat that got praise for Nick Senzel, though. He was also named as the fastest baserunner. He’s stolen 32 bases over his two seasons in the minors and been caught 13 times. His above-average to plus speed is probably the most underrated part of his game. Senzel also got the nod as the best defender at the position and as the player with the highest floor.
All five of his tools grade as solid or better, which is why Senzel ranks as one of the game’s elite prospects. He’s a safe bet to hit and get the job done defensively, and his ceiling ranks second only to Guerrero’s on this Top 10.
Where could Nick Senzel play?
Mark Sheldon of Reds.com has a little more information on Nick Senzel from his article on the rankings. Just a few weeks away from the start of spring training now, we’ve read about Senzel trying out new positions. Here’s what he told Sheldon back in December at Redsfest:
“When opportunities and challenges present themselves, especially on the baseball field, they’re exciting,” Senzel said in December. “It’s some different positions I’ve never played before, especially left and right field. It could create some opportunity for me. I’m just going to go out there and try to get some guidance from people who know what they’re talking about and play [the position] to the best of my ability.”
On the last Hot Stove League show it was noted that Nick Senzel probably wouldn’t be doing much at shortstop. But, it does seem that he’ll have a chance to at least show off his skills at multiple positions. He could see time at second, third, left and right fields. How he performs, defensively, will be one of the more interesting stories to follow in February and March.