2019 Texas Rangers draft preview: Rece Hinds

2019 MLB Draft Preview: Rece Hinds scouting report

The 2019 MLB Draft is less than a week away — the first round kicks off on June 3, 2019 — so its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #8, their second round pick is at #50, and they have Milwaukee’s competitive balance pick, acquired in the Alex Claudio trade, which is #41.

Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today, we are looking at Florida high school third baseman Rece Hinds.

Rece Hinds is a 6’4”, 210 lb. righthanded hitting third baseman out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Hinds’ carrying tool is his raw power — he has 70 to 80 grade raw power, and some think he has the most power of any player in this draft class. His other high grade tool is his throwing arm, which is described as “plus-plus.” The knock on him is his hit tool, as he has a lot of swing-and-miss in his game, and there are concerns about his pitch recognition.

Baseball America is the high ranking service on Hinds, having him at #39 on their board, praising the power and arm but noting that he “regularly gets fooled on even average offspeed offerings.” Fangraphs has Hinds all the way down at #82 on their board, while Keith Law has him at #53, calling him a high-risk, high-reward guy. MLB Pipeline has Hinds at #42 on their board, and, as with the others, praises his power while expressing concern about his hit tool.

In Fangraphs’ most recent mock draft, they have Hinds going to the Yankees at #72. Keith Law also has Hinds going to the Yankees, but at #30. Baseball America, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo all have, in their most recent drafts, Hinds falling out of the first round.

When I read the reports on Hinds, what immediately comes to mind is “Joey Gallo” — third baseman with a big arm, light tower power and major questions about his hit tool. Gallo has been the best first round pick the Rangers have made under Jon Daniels, so there’s part of me that feels like taking Hinds is the way to go. That said, it sounds like the Rangers are making pitch recognition ability a bigger part of their analysis, and if there are major red flags on Hinds’ pitch recognition skills, it may have them steering clear of him. That said, if the Rangers want to go huge upside with huge bust potential again, Hinds at #41 or #50 would seem to be a good fit.

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