Austin Byler
| AB | 993 |
|---|---|
| AVG | .259 |
| OBP | .343 |
| SLG | .454 |
| HR | 32 |
- Full name Austin Ryan Byler
- Born 10/15/1992 in Peoria, AZ
- Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 225 / Bats: L / Throws: R
- School Nevada - Reno
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Drafted in the 11th round (316th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2015.
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Byler was a ninth-round pick of the Nationals last season but didn't sign and returned for his senior season at Nevada, which had its season cut short when the team lost in the Mountain West Conference tournament and was snubbed for a regional berth. Byler, physical at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, played third base and left field earlier in his career, and he may still move well enough to shift to left field (he's a 7-seconds-flat runner over 60 yards). He's a below-average defender at first base. Teams would be buying a bat with Byler, who ranked second in the nation in walks, third in runs and fifth in OBP while hitting .328/.507/.652 with his second-straight 14-homer season. Byler is a three-true-outcomes player who whiffs a bunch (24 percent of his college at-bats) and has some holes in his swing. He's spread out in his stance and might cover the plate better with a more athletic setup.
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Draft Prospects
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Byler was a ninth-round pick of the Nationals last season but didn't sign and returned for his senior season at Nevada, which had its season cut short when the team lost in the Mountain West Conference tournament and was snubbed for a regional berth. Byler, physical at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, played third base and left field earlier in his career, and he may still move well enough to shift to left field (he's a 7-seconds-flat runner over 60 yards). He's a below-average defender at first base. Teams would be buying a bat with Byler, who ranked second in the nation in walks, third in runs and fifth in OBP while hitting .328/.507/.652 with his second-straight 14-homer season. Byler is a three-true-outcomes player who whiffs a bunch (24 percent of his college at-bats) and has some holes in his swing. He's spread out in his stance and might cover the plate better with a more athletic setup. -
Scouts aren't the only ones who overlooked Byler when he was the Arizona high school player of the year in 2011. No Pacific-12 Conference school offered him a scholarship, so he wound up at Nevada. Byler has hit his way into being noticed, starting for all three seasons and improving every year. He has honed his physical 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame and his approach at the plate, combining strength with a balanced swing that features just enough loft. He has hit for power with wood bats the previous two summers, both in the West Coast and Cape Cod leagues, where he starred in the playoffs for Cotuit. Byler employs a gap-to-gap approach with the strength to hit for power to all fields. He has produced more power this season as he improves his ability to turn on inside pitches, but he's more strength-oriented than a guy with blazing bat speed. A third baseman earlier in his career, he's not quite athletic enough to pull off the hot corner but fits fine at first base, where his arm can be an asset. He's a solid runner for his size.
