2022 Prospect Previews: Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Let me just say I wasn't enamored with the pick when the Twins made it. Another potential positionless player with a high K rate but good hard hit rate. His numbers are a bit deceiving as his BABIP was .526 he is not going to keep up that pace so regression is in his future.  The K rate is still a concern at nearly 30% and he didn't walk much like at a 5% or 6% rate.  So he has things to work on as he moves up.

The thing I have to say I didn't see at the time of the draft is his good contact rate.  He is a bit Miranda like in his ability to get the bat to the ball.  His K rate is much higher than Miranda so he is not quite that level but anyone that can do what he did at that level where lot's of players struggled you have to dream on him a bit.  

I think Seth had him ranked pretty high and I too think he could end up a top 5 prospect in the Twins system before he heads to MLB.  I think that was a very solid pick for the 4th round.  Still has to work on that eye at the plate and make sure pitchers throw him good strikes to hit.  If he does that I think he will be OK.

Another good entry in the series.  I think he was a great prospect to take a chance on in the 4th round.  He obviously can mash the ball as his consistent performance at all levels demonstrate.  It appears that his ceiling will depend on 2 things.  First, is there too much swing and miss in his game to make it tougher for him as the quality of pitching he faces gets better and better as he climbs the ladder.  In that case he may be similar to Adam Brett Walker.  Second, can he find a defensive home that will allow him to be a position player.  If not, his bat will have to play well enough for him to DH.  Whatever happens, he is the type of player that it is fun to watch, and the Twins were right to give him a shot in my humble opinion. 

I saw him 3 times and I’m not concerned about E. S. as he showed adequate corner fielding skills. The strke outs will come down as he becomes more experience and he seemed like a quick learner.

I never like to compare prospects to proven players directly, but I've never been afraid to as a reference point or potential comp. And in this case, I'm going to stick within the Twins organization, even though it wouldn't be hard to look elsewhere as well. Gaettit was, IIRC, a SS when drafted but placed at 3B. He wasn't a bad athlete and had a strong arm, but hands of stone initially. Koskie was probably an even better athlete, but larger, and considered potentially too large and stiff to remain at 3B. Both turned out to be outstanding defensive 3B with time, work, and experience. I'm going to accept CES's arm ...and hands as legitimate 55 rankings. That tells me he sticks at 3B, and should be kept there as long as possible, to work on his defense. The most important thing he can do defensively...even if he has questionable range...is catch what he gets to and use that arm. Good positioning can help some, and a strong arm can help cover limited range to a degree as well.

Offensively he surprised me as a rookie in Ft Myers which can be a tough place to hit at times. (See Sabato, but he also pretty much had a year off). I almost wonder if he should have been pushed to Cedar Rapids, but hard to argue a rookie, even a college rookie, not getting half a season at A- to begin his career.

The power is real. He seems to have a solid hit tool and makes some decent contact despite the SO numbers. Right or wrong, my initial thought is a smaller and potentially better defensive version of Sano. I don't see how that would be a bad thing at all. Now, it's very possible Miranda could block him at 3B, but that's down the road and not a concern at this time. You need to draft bats as well as pitchers and SS. I think he's a potentially exciting 4th rounder with some defensive aptitude. I don't think he's JUST some 1B/DH bat.

I'm a little unsure about the 2020 draft right now, even though there's some interesting guys there who have been limited so far, but I'm pretty excited about 2019 and 2021.

The only thing I like better about Sabato is his age. Encarnacion-Strand made a huge impression, especially for a 4th round pick.

12 hours ago, DocBauer said:

That tells me he sticks at 3B, and should be kept there as long as possible, to work on his defense. The most important thing he can do defensively...even if he has questionable range...is catch what he gets to and use that arm. Good positioning can help some, and a strong arm can help cover limited range to a degree as well.

In this era of defensive shifting it is much harder to stick at 3B with poor range.

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

In this era of defensive shifting it is much harder to stick at 3B with poor range.

Maybe, maybe not.  I would counter with that he doesn't need to be Brooks Robinson and get to literally EVERYTHING within a mile of 3B (or wherever he's positioned), he just needs to get to the ones he can and make the plays (routine) that's he's supposed to.