Los Angeles Angels Preliminary Prospect List

OK, so we both know Bryce Harper gets an 80 score on power and arm, which is the highest score one can achieve on the scout scale. There are still some old-timers who use the 1-10 scale, but not many, for for giggles we’ll stick with the 20-80, or 2-8.

Those are definite tools. They are baseball related skills which a player possesses and in which there is little room, or in Harper’s case, no room for improvement.

When a scout grades a player, he gets two scores, his current rating and what he believes is his peak, or what he would be as a major league regular.

So, for example, Harper is an 80 now, in five years, he’s going to remain an 80, or possibly drop to a 70 or 75. (Half scores are possible, depending on the organization).

Harper’s other skills right now are in the four to five range, hitting, fielding, and running.

(Five is major league average).

In these categories, he’s considered “toolsy”

What this means is the skills are there, they’re just inconsistent. He flashes them sometimes, mostly not in game situations.

Harper’s learning the outfield, which is new to him, but as a good athlete the likelihood of him improving are pretty good, so a scout would write “toolsy defensive skills” on his report, which lets his team know the skill is there.

Another example is when teams sign sixteen or seventeen year old International free agents.

They are physically immature and don’t play against top competition, but they show the potential to develop their skills under the right supervision and program.

Sometimes tools develop and you have a solid major leaguer like Adrian Beltre, sometimes they don’t, and you end up with a stiff like Jesus Montero.