Trey Mancini

Organization Prospect Rankings

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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #5 prospect in 2017
  Signed for a slot bonus of $151,900 in 2013 out of Notre Dame, Mancini received his first big league callup in September and became the third player in major league history to homer his first three starts. Mancini hit .359 to win the Double-A Eastern League batting title in 2015 and produced a solid .282/.357/.458 minor league line in 2016, mostly at Triple-A Norfolk. Mancini's bat is solid and scouts believe he could hit at least 20 homers as a regular. He is a solid-average hitter if not a tick above with a swing and bat path that help him keep his hands inside the ball, providing him a chance to get to a good fastball but also stay on offspeed pitches. He uses his hands very well--they come into his body, down and then forward--providing good timing that keeps the bat in the hitting zone a long time. An aggressive hitter, Mancini saw his strikeout rate jump above 20 percent in 2016 for the first time. He is playable at first base, though his lack of athleticism means his defense is seldom smooth. With Chris Davis signed through 2022, the Orioles could try Mancini in the outfield next spring to increase his chances of earning a roster spot in 2017.
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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #8 prospect in 2016
  Signed for slot ($151,900) in 2013, Mancini took his game to a new level in 2015, when he spent the second half at Double-A Bowie. He led the minors with 182 hits and ranked third in the minor league batting race at .341. An easy choice for Baltimore's minor league player of the year in 2015, Mancini won the Eastern League batting title by hitting .359 and established career highs with 21 homers and 43 doubles. The gap-to-gap power Mancini showed his first two seasons increased, and now his power and hit tools both grade as at least solid-average, if not better. His slugging percentage jumped from .409 in 2014 to .563 in 2015. Mancini is a big believer in the mental aspects of the game and said his ability to grind every at-bat was a key to his success. He uses his hands well, hits to all fields and has solid strike-zone discipline. His defense at first base grades as solid-average or just below that, and his speed is below-average. His tireless work on defense has paid off, and he has solid hands and makes accurate throws. He isn't a graceful defender but makes routine plays. Mancini will advance to Triple-A Norfolk in 2016, and if he continues to produce power, he has a chance to claim a big league role.
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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #30 prospect in 2015
  A senior sign out of Notre Dame, Mancini made a strong first impression by setting a short-season Aberdeen record with 84 hits in 2013. The hit parade continued in 2014, when he hit .317 at low Class A Delmarva prior to a midseason promotion to high Class A Frederick. Mancini has a feel for hitting with an excellent approach. He is focused at the plate and shows raw power, but not consistently. For now, he is a righthanded gap-to-gap hitter who can drive the ball well to right-center field. His hit tool is above his power tool, but Mancini sometimes gets too aggressive at the plate. His defense grades as solid-average, with speed that is a step below-average. Mancini isn't the smoothest defender, committing nine errors in 2014, but Orioles officials say he picks the ball out of the dirt well, and he has a solid-average arm. Mancini probably will return to Frederick to begin the 2015 season.
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  Ranked Baltimore Orioles #25 prospect in 2014
  Mancini had a strong 2013, starting in the spring at Notre Dame. He led the Big East Conference in batting (.389) and total bases (138) while ranking second in slugging (.603) en route to being an eighth-round pick. After signing, he was short-season Aberdeen's best hitter, setting a franchise record for hits (84), ranking second in the New York-Penn League in batting (.328) and fourth in on-base percentage (.382). Mancini uses the whole field well with a righthanded, line-drive swing that produced gap-to-gap power. Sometimes he got too aggressive at the plate and got himself out. The Orioles asked him to stride into the pitch, something he had not been doing, and it created better balance and timing. He showed home run power in batting practice and now needs to carry that into the game more consistently. He was a clubhouse leader for an Aberdeen team that made the playoffs for the first time. He played average defense with good footwork and hands at first base. With below-average speed and a slightly-below-average arm, he is locked in at first. A first shot at full-season ball begins at low Class A Delmarva in 2014.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #230 prospect in 2013 draft
  Notre Dame third baseman Eric Jagielo's power will make him a first-round pick, and scouts say his teammate Mancini has even more raw juice. Jagielo is a better prospect because he bats lefthanded, has a better swing and offers more defensive value. Mancini hits from the right side and employs a big uppercut and an all-pull approach, which leads to questions about how much success he'll have against pro pitching. Yet he makes consistent hard contact and has improved his strike-zone discipline this spring, which contributed to a hot streak at the end of April during which he collected 18 hits in 22 at-bats. The team that drafts Mancini is going all-in on his bat. The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder is a marginal athlete with below-average speed, hands and range at first base.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Eastern League #18 prospect in 2015
  As is the case for every first base prospect, Mancini will go as far as hit bat takes him. And this season, his bat took him from high Class A Frederick in April to hitting in the middle of the order in the EL finals. Mancini is a powerful hitter whose contact skills have improved thanks to a more level bat path. He won the EL batting title at .359 and led all minor league batters with 182 hits. Mancini hasn't sacrificed power for contact, either. He's got pop to all fields, though his home runs do skew toward the pull side. He squares plenty of fastballs but also has discipline enough to sit back and wait on breaking pitches. Scouts did, however, notice a tendency for Mancini to chase pitches elevated in the zone. Mancini has improved defensively but still wouldn't rank as average, particularly when it comes to throwing the ball. He's clearly mastered the Double-A level, so his next test will come at Triple-A Norfolk in 2016 where, as ever, he'll be required to mash to punch his ticket to Baltimore.
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  Ranked Carolina League #16 prospect in 2015
  When you're a righthanded-hitting first base prospect, you need to mash your way to the major leagues. In two stops this year, Mancini took the first steps toward that goal, starting with a scorching spring stint at Frederick. Promoted to Double-A Bowie in June, he finished the year with a minor league-leading 182 hits and a .341 average than ranked third. Scouts and managers saw in Mancini a calm hitter who could mash the fastball but who also had enough discipline to wait for a breaking ball. He's got plenty of power to his pull side, and is strong enough to drive balls out to center and right field, too. He will swing through pitches up in the zone, however, a hole he'll need to work to close as he goes forth. He doesn't draw many walks, but balances it with a modest strikeout rate. Mancini is not a smooth defender around the bag. He has a stiff throwing motion, limited range and below-average hands, but he has worked hard to get closer to average defensively.

• December, 2016 Scouting Report
  Background: Signed for a slot bonus of $151,900 in 2013 out of Notre Dame, Mancini received his first big league callup in September and became the third player in major league history to homer in each of his first three starts. He went 4-for-10 with three homers off lefthanders and became an instant fan favorite at Camden Yards. Mancini hit .359 to win the Double-A Eastern League batting title in 2015. He produced a solid .282/.357/.458 minor league line in 2016, mostly at Triple-A Norfolk, a tough park for hitters. Scouting Report: Mancini's bat is solid and some scouts feel he would hit at least 20 homers as a regular. He's a solid-average hitter if not a tick above with a swing and bat path that help him keep his hands inside the ball, providing him a chance to get to a good fastball but also stay on offspeed pitches. He uses his hands very well--they come into his body, down and then forward, providing good timing that keeps the bat in the hitting zone a long time. An aggressive hitter, Mancini saw his strikeout rate jumped above 20 percent in 2016 for the first time. He's playable at first base, though his lack of athleticism means his defense is seldom smooth. The Future: With Chris Davis signed through 2022, the Orioles could try Mancini in the outfield next spring. That would increase his chances of earning a Baltimore roster spot in 2017.