Rays draft power-hitting high school first baseman in Round 1
ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays took what some analysts considered a big gamble Sunday night in using the No. 29 pick on Xavier Isaac, a North Carolina high school first baseman with big power.
Isaac, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound lefty swinger, hit .578 as a senior at East Forsyth High with 12 home runs, six doubles, two triples and 26 RBIs. He is committed to the University of Florida and attended summer school there, and has high-powered agent Scott Boras as his advisor.
“Tremendous raw power, but I think we see a hitter with power,” said Rob Metzler, the Rays’ senior director, amateur scouting. “I would single out just his ability to use the whole field, to cover the whole plate, with tremendous strength.
“So he’s somebody we think has the bat speed to get to good fastballs and the balance and adjustability to compete against off speed. And that’s what we saw spending a bunch of time with him this spring, We really like the offensive potential.”
With their later picks on a busy opening night of the three-day, 20-round draft, the Rays took three college players: Stanford centerfielder Brock Jones, Georgia Tech shortstop Chandler Simpson and Illinois State outfielder Ryan Cermak.
“Very pleased with how the day went,” Metzler said.
Isaac’s power is what sets him apart and, from what East Forsyth High coach Drew Dull told the Winston-Salem Journal, is quite prodigious:
“He is the best power guy I’ve ever coached. It’s the easiest power I’ve ever seen. ... There’s very few guys where I get behind an L-screen and throw batting practice where I’m scared behind the L-screen.”
Metzler said area scout Landon Lassiter and crosschecker Brian Hickman identified Isaac early as being of potential interest, before he missed much of his junior season and the 2021 summer circuit with a stress fracture in his left leg, and that Isaac continued to impress them this year.
“His skill-set grew throughout the spring,” he said. “I thought it was a good process and getting to know Xavier was a pleasure. Really, really special kid.”
Metzler said that Isaac’s missed time was the reasons he was not touted by the industry media, which ranked him a third- or fourth-round pick by Baseball America (which had him at No. 92) and mlb.com (113).
MLB Network draft analyst Dan O’Dowd called it “an extremely high risk pick,” saying Isaac had “a huge ceiling here” and “I don’t know if there is a floor if he doesn’t hit.” He did rave about Isaac’s “great hand speed. ability to get the bat through the zone and his power to all fields.
The Athletic’s Keith Law wrote that Isaac would not have made his top 150 and criticized the selection: “He’s a first base-only guy with a bad body, but he does have a good swing and huge raw power. If a power-over-hit first baseman doesn’t hit enough to get to the power, you have nothing. I don’t get this in the first round.”
The pick has an assigned slot value of $2,547,600, and teams have until Aug. 1 to sign players; Metlzer said they are “optimistic” about doing so. The Rays have a total bonus pool of $7,795,100 for the first 10 rounds, which is 20th most of the 30 teams.
The Rays used their second-round pick, No. 65, on Jones, who played safety on Stanford’s football team as a freshman, then decided to concentrate full time on baseball, playing centerfield. His athleticism, and power-speed combo, are strengths; his arm not so much. He got off to a slow start this year but, hitting .324 with 21 homers and 59 RBIs in 65 games.
“Really excited about the opportunity to get him at that selection‚” Metzler said. “See him as a true centerfield prospect with power and speed and defensive ability so that was an awesome outcome for us.”
A few minutes later, they had back-to-back picks; No. 70 was their competitive balance Round B pick, No. 71 acquired from Detroit, with Isaac Paredes, in the late-spring trade of Austin Meadows. Special assistant Denard Span announced the picks at the draft in Los Angeles.
They first took Simpson, who is known for what Metzler called “top of the scale” speed, strong contact skills at the plate and little power who is likely headed to the outfield.
He led NCAA Division I in batting at .433 this past season (with one homer and 25 RBIs in 46 games) and stole 55 bases in 51 games last summer in the Northwoods League. He played previously at Alabama-Birmingham. “A little bit of a throwback profile, top of the order, contact/speed guy‚” Metzler said.
They then took Cermak, a well-rounded player who hit .340 with 19 homers and 43 RBIs while being named the Missouri Valley Conference’s top defensive player. He made headlines for homers in four consecutive plate appearances (including a reported 470-foot shot) and having a 10-RBI game in April. “An exciting strength and speed combination,” Metzler said.
The slot values for those picks are: No. 65, $1,077,100; No. 70, $952,800; No. 71, $929,100.
Rays picks
No. 29 Xavier Isaac
Position: First base
Ht: 6-4; Wt: 240; B-T: L-L
School: East Forsyth (N.C.) High School
College commitment: Florida
MLB.com ranking: 113
No. 65 Brock Jones
Position: Outfield
Ht: 6-0; Wt: 197; B-T: L-L
School: Stanford
MLB.com ranking: 33
No. 70 Chandler Simpson
Position: Shortstop
Ht: 6-2; Wt: 170; B-T: L-R
School: Georgia Tech
MLB.com ranking: 123
No. 71 Ryan Cermak
Position: Outfielder
Ht: 6-1; Wt: 205; B-T: R-R
School: Illinois State
MLB.com ranking: 85
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