Drafted in the 17th round (496th overall) by the Oakland Athletics in 2023 (signed for $125,000).
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School: Florida Source: 4YR
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted Age At Draft: 21.9 Halter was a prominent high school hitter who ranked as the No. 106 prospect in the 2020 class, but went unselected and made his way to campus at Florida. After a strong freshman season in 2021, Halter’s bat backed up during his draft-eligible 2022 season and he again went unselected, though he bounced back with Falmouth in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .307/.407/.507 with seven home runs in 39 games. Scouts were impressed with his performance on the Cape, but again in 2023 he struggled with the bat and hit just .247/.354/.397 with a 15.7% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. Halter has no real carrying tools other than his bat, so teams will need to buy into his freshman year performance and high school pedigree more than his sophomore and junior seasons to feel confident in his ability in pro ball. He’s played both second base and third base with Florida, but fits best at the keystone in pro ball.
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Draft Prospects
School: Florida Source: 4YR
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted Age At Draft: 21.9 Halter was a prominent high school hitter who ranked as the No. 106 prospect in the 2020 class, but went unselected and made his way to campus at Florida. After a strong freshman season in 2021, Halter’s bat backed up during his draft-eligible 2022 season and he again went unselected, though he bounced back with Falmouth in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .307/.407/.507 with seven home runs in 39 games. Scouts were impressed with his performance on the Cape, but again in 2023 he struggled with the bat and hit just .247/.354/.397 with a 15.7% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate. Halter has no real carrying tools other than his bat, so teams will need to buy into his freshman year performance and high school pedigree more than his sophomore and junior seasons to feel confident in his ability in pro ball. He’s played both second base and third base with Florida, but fits best at the keystone in pro ball.
School: Florida Committed/Drafted: Never Drafted Age At Draft: 20.9 Halter was a prominent high school player who ranked as the No. 106 prospect in the 2020 class thanks to a polished approach and consistent hit tool. He went undrafted in the shortened five-round draft out of high school and made his way to Florida. In his 2021 season he hit over .300 and continued to look the part of a polished pure hitter, but his performance backed up in 2022. Halter slashed .240/.338/.380 with eight home runs and a 22.5% strikeout rate this spring. Scouts thought he got a bit more rotational and pull-happy this year compared to his natural, all-fields approach in high school, and with no carrying tools and a second or third base profile, there’s plenty of pressure on him to perform as a hitter. Halter was off to a strong start in the Cape Cod League following his draft-eligible 2022 campaign with the Gators, hitting .333/.487/.467 through 11 games with Falmouth, which could go a long way to convincing teams that he is the advanced, pure hitter who drew raves as a prep.
A 6-foot-1, 195-pound Florida commit who performed with USA Baseball’s 18U National Team and generally does well with the bat wherever he’s playing, Halter doesn’t overflow with tools but impresses scouts with his hitting ability and versatility. A utility player with Team USA who can handle any infield position in a pinch, Halter is a shortstop for his high school team but scouts think he’ll have to move off the position at the next level. He has an above-average, accurate arm that could play anywhere on the infield, but doesn’t have the elite actions or footspeed teams like to see out of a shortstop. Additionally, Halter doesn’t currently have the power that makes him an obvious candidate to profile super well at third base or another corner position, but scouts keep coming back to his natural hitting ability. Halter hit .419/.486/.548 with Team USA, good for third on the team in hitting, and he got plenty of national heat early this spring before the 2020 season was shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Teams who believe in Halter’s lefty bat will draft him in the second or third round and figure out the position later—similar to Reds second baseman Tyler Callihan from the 2019 class—while others would be more inclined to let him reach campus at Florida and prove it.
Career Transactions
Lansing Lugnuts placed 2B Colby Halter on the 60-day injured list.
Lansing Lugnuts sent 2B Colby Halter on a rehab assignment to ACL Athletics.
Lansing Lugnuts placed 2B Colby Halter on the 7-day injured list.
ACL Athletics activated 2B Colby Halter.
2B Colby Halter assigned to ACL Athletics.
Oakland Athletics signed 2B Colby Halter.
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