AB | 183 |
---|---|
AVG | .235 |
OBP | .286 |
SLG | .377 |
HR | 5 |
- Full name Rhylan Christopher Thomas
- Born 04/15/2000 in Ventura, CA
- Profile Ht.: 5'10" / Wt.: 170 / Bats: L / Throws: L
- School Southern California
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Drafted in the 11th round (329th overall) by the New York Mets in 2022 (signed for $180,000).
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Thomas is the son of former NFL wide receiver Chris Thomas, who won a Super Bowl with the Rams in 1999. He drew draft interest in high school, but his slight physical frame led him to reach campus at Southern California. He spent three seasons as the Trojans' starting center fielder and hit .335 with as many walks (36) as strikeouts in his career. Thomas is a lean, 6-foot, 170 pound center fielder with impressive contact skills and strike-zone discipline. He consistently puts the bat on the ball from the left side and is a basestealing threat with plus speed when he gets on. Thomas is mostly a singles hitter and has little power to speak of. He has some room to fill out and start driving the ball more for extra bases, but he's unlikely to ever be much of a home run threat. Thomas' ability to make contact, steal bases and play center field have him in late day two or early day three draft consideration. He'll need to add strength to have success swinging a wood bat.
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Draft Prospects
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School: Southern California Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 22.3
A lean and skinny, 6-foot, 170-pound center fielder, Thomas has shown impressive bat-to-ball skills and strike zone discipline throughout a three-year career with Southern California. He’s a career .335/.389/.423 hitter who has walked as many times (36) as he’s struck out while handling center field responsibilities for the Trojans. Thomas had a strong 12-game performance with Orleans in the Cape Cod League in 2021, slashing .408/.442/.469 and he had arguably his best offensive season in 2022 with USC when he hit .363/.422/.444 with more walks (19) than strikeouts (17). Thomas doesn’t have much power to speak of and is mostly a singles hitter with just four home runs to his name in college, but he has room to fill out and add strength for teams high on his foundational hitting abilities and up-the-middle profile.