Stuart Fairchild 2017 MLB Draft

(Photo courtesy Wake Forest athletics)

Stuart Fairchild | OF | 6’1 | 195 | R/R | Wake Forest | Nationals ’14 (38)

Rank: No. 41 in the Top 200 MLB Draft Prospects

Rank: No. 64 in the Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects

Scouting Report: Scouts have debated Fairchild and North Carolina’s Brian Miller all year as college center fielders in the same geographic area. They’re quite different players, starting with Fairchild batting righthanded and having more power than Miller, even accounting for the cozy confines of Wake’s Gene Hooks Field. Fairchild arrived from Seattle and was a freshman All-American in 2015, then ranked as the Cal Ripken League’s No. 1 prospect that summer. His power didn’t start playing consistently until his junior season, though, becoming a fifth average or better tool. He has solid pop but also has some swing-and-miss in his game, and he doesn’t control the strike zone on par with top-caliber college hitters. Fairchild’s best tools are not his hitting tools; it’s in the field, as he’s an above-average runner who earns plusses for his throwing arm and defense in center field. He has good instincts for the position and impressed scouts with several highlight catches in the 2016 ACC tournament. While the 6-foot, 200-pound Fairchild has shown more power than Miller, he had a middling summer in the Cape Cod League (.234) last year, which probably keeps him from ascending higher than the second round. His defensive ability gives him a high floor as a potential fourth outfielder.

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