Griffin Burkholder

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Philadelphia Phillies #8 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 55/Extreme.
  
  Track Record: The Phillies’ first two 2024 picks had a couple of things in common: Both grade as double-plus runners and both earned identical signing bonuses of $2,497,500. Burkholder’s bonus was used to keep him from reaching campus at West Virginia. His senior season in high school earned him a spot on the BA All-America second team. A pulled hamstring limited Burkholder’s pro debut to a single game, plus action in the unofficial bridge league after the season concluded.
  
  Scouting Report: At his best, Burkholder has the skills to potentially provide a light version of the power-speed combination teams dream about. He’s a strong-bodied player who employs a deep crouch with a slight hand hitch that may need to be corrected as he moves through the minors. He makes sound swing decisions, has a solid approach in deep counts and hit enough as an amateur to make scouts believe he could be an average hitter in the big leagues. Future strength gains could get Burkholder to plus raw power and average thump in games. Burkholder’s loudest tool is his speed, which currently grades as a double-plus and aids both in the outfield and on the basepaths. The tool was muted somewhat in 2024 by a nagging hamstring injury affecting both his amateur and professional seasons. Even if he slows down with age, Burkholder should have plenty of speed to potentially hold down center field. If he does move, his above-average arm strength would fit in either outfield corner.
  
  The Future: After a single game at the level in 2024, Burkholder is likely to return to Low-A Clearwater for his first full season as a professional. If he reaches his ceiling, he could be an above-average big leaguer with the speed and power to make himself a threat in all facets of the game.
  
  Scouting Grades Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 70 | Fielding: 55 | Arm: 55

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #50 prospect in 2024 draft
  School: Freedom HS, South Riding, Va. Commit/Drafted: West Virginia
  Age At Draft: 18.9
  BA Grade: 55/Extreme
  Tools: Hit: 50. Power: 50. Run: 70. Field: 55. Arm: 55.
  
  Burkholder is a power-speed outfielder with solid physicality and a 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. His tools and athleticism make him one of the most intriguing prep outfielders in the class and a player to dream on. Burkholder sets up with a slightly wide and crouched stance at the plate and has a soft hand hitch in his load that can create some timing issues, but he also makes sound swing decisions and has a mechanically sound swing. He hits enough for scouts to think he has a chance for an average hit tool, and his two-strike adjustments and batting eye are also encouraging. Burkholder’s swing can get a bit long, though, and he misses just enough to wonder if he’ll ever be an above-average pure hitter. He’s got plenty of strength and should grow into plus raw power in the future, but his pure speed is likely his loudest tool at the moment. While Burkholder has been hampered by a hamstring injury this spring, he’s been a 70-grade runner when healthy with impressive acceleration out of the box and long, athletic strides. That should allow him to play all three outfield positions and play them well, with an above-average arm that could allow him to become a plus defender in right field. Burkholder is day one talent committed to West Virginia.
• Ranked #92 prospect in 2022 draft
  School: East Forsyth HS, Kernersville, N.C. Committed/Drafted: Florida
  Age At Draft: 18.6
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  Scouting Grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 65 | Run: 30 | Field: 40 | Arm: 50
  Isaac didn’t play on the showcase circuit during the 2021 summer after dealing with a foot injury. If he had, his prodigious raw power might have made him one of the more famous players in the class. Isaac is an extra-large, 6-foot-4, 240-pound first baseman who has monstrous raw power and bat speed. He hits towering home runs to all fields in batting practice—to the point where scouts don’t seem to hesitate when grading him out with 80 raw power. Because of his first base-only profile and lack of track record against top competition during the summer, Isaac is bound to be a polarizing prospect in the industry. More conservative teams reliant on that history to get more confidence in Isaac’s hit tool might be more willing to let him get to campus at Florida and prove his hitting ability. There are other teams that have seen him this spring that see a power hitter, yes, but one who has shown solid hitting traits as well. It might be hard to find a player who is more high-risk, high-reward than Isaac—that also makes him one of the most compelling prospects in the 2022 class.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #37 prospect in 2024

• 2024 High School Top 100 Draft Prospects
  School: Freedom HS, South Riding, Va. Committed: West Virginia
  Age At Draft: 18.9
  Burkholder is a 6-foot-2, 195-pound outfielder with impressive physicality who also pairs a solid hitting eye with double-plus speed out of the box. Burkholder sets up with a slightly wide and crouched stance at the plate, and employs a bit of a hitch in his load that can create timing issues. While he generally makes sound swing decisions, his bat path can get a bit long at times and he tends to be a pull-heavy hitter. His batting eye stands out as a strength and he does a nice job making adjustments within at-bats, and will spread out even further in a two-strike count. Burkholder gets out of the box quickly and has turned in regular 70-grade run times with solid acceleration and long, athletic strides out of the box. He should be able to play all three outfield positions and has solid arm strength that could become above-average in the future. Burkholder is committed to West Virginia.