Giants Covet Bryan Reynolds For Athleticism

After he hit 13 home runs as a Vanderbilt junior last year, Bryan Reynolds could have been perceived as a power-hitting outfielder.

That perception wasn’t why the Giants took the switch-hitter with their top pick (No. 59 overall in the second round) in 2016.

“His athleticism, first and foremost,” general manager Bobby Evans said, regarding what prompted San Francisco to select Reynolds.

“He’s an excellent athlete who should be able to develop the tools in every facet of the game—from arm strength to being a defender to his bat and potential for power, though that may or may not be his long-term game.”

He homered six times while hitting .313 in 56 games last year in his pro debut at short-season Salem-Keizer and low Class A Augusta.

The 22-year-old Reynolds went deep once through 33 games at high Class A San Jose this season and doesn’t consider himself a pure power hitter.

“I’m not going to hit an outrageous amount of homers,” he said, “but I’ll mess up every now and then, and hopefully get it up high enough so the wind will take it.”

If you believe a sense of humor is an asset for a player, Reynolds should be in good stead. Consider how often he boasts about Vanderbilt to his teammates.

“I bring it (up) every chance I can,” Reynolds said. “I’ll say something about Vandy, and they’ll tell me to close the yearbook. I’ll say I can’t because there’s a ring keeping the pages open.”

The Commodores won the College World Series in 2014, Reynolds’ freshman season.

If Reynolds indeed is going to be more of a high-average hitter than a power man as he progresses through the Giants system, he’ll probably need to reduce his strikeout rate, which was 22 percent this season.

“I could improve on . . . putting the ball in play more often and using my speed,” Reynolds said.

— Steve Kroner is a sportswriter for the San Francisco Chronicle