Chad Tracy Stats & Scouting Report

Full name Chad Samuel Tracy
Born 07/04/1985 in Arlington Heights, IL
Profile Ht.: 6'3" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Pepperdine
Drafted in the 3rd round (88th overall) by the Texas Rangers in 2006 (signed for $427,500).

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The son of Pirates and former Dodgers manager Jim Tracy, Chad Tracy has forged his own identity as one of college baseball's better hitting prospects. He was having a streaky junior season, and recent elbow soreness was causing him to spend more time as a DH. Tracy interests scouts because of his advanced, if unorthodox, approach to hitting. His swing resembles that of Mike Piazza, with a high finish, and like Piazza he takes a full, aggressive swing and drives the ball to all fields. He does not have Piazza's tremendous power, however. Tracy has good plate discipline in that he swings at his pitches. Also like Piazza, his bat is ahead of his defense. He's worked to improve and has become an adequate receiver through sheer hard work. While his arm strength is slightly below-average, his baseball background works in his favor with the subtler aspects of catching, such as working with his pitching staff. His brother Brian is a redshirt junior at UC Santa Barbara who is not expected to be a significant draft pick.

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A year after smacking 12 home runs for Pepperdine and winning West Coast Conference player-of-the-year honors in 2005, Tracy slumped as a junior, finishing with just six homers in 254 at-bats. He nearly doubled that output in his pro debut after signing for $427,500 as a third-round pick. Tracy, whose father Jim manages the Pirates, has slightly above-average power and could get stronger if he can add about 15 pounds to his frame. Most of his home run pop comes to left field, but he can drive the ball to the right-center gap when pitchers work him away. It will take plenty of hard work to improve his catch-and-throw skills enough to make him passable defensively, but Tracy is receptive to instruction. When he arrived at short-season Spokane, Tracy was putting his body in bad position to catch the ball, struggling to block balls in the dirt and throwing across his body without putting any weight on his back foot. He made some progress correcting the flaws, but he threw out just 23 percent of basestealers and seemed to wear out by the end of the summer. Even if Tracy has to move, he could hit enough for first base. For now, he'll remain a full-time catcher as he heads to low Class A.

After winning West Coast Conference player-of-the-year honors in 2005, Tracy slumped as a junior this spring. He found his power stroke again in his pro debut before wearing down at the end of the season. The son of Pirates manager Jim Tracy, Chad has a solid baseball background and is receptive to instruction. It will take plenty of hard work for him to improve his catch-and-throw skills enough to make him a passable defender behind the plate. When he arrived in Spokane, he was putting his body in bad receiving position, struggling to block balls in the dirt and throwing across his body without putting any weight on his back foot. He made some progress correcting the flaws but still has a long way to go. Even if Tracy can't stay behind the plate, he should have enough bat for first base. He has slightly above-average power and could get stronger if he can add about 15 pounds to his frame. Most of his pop is to left field, though he can drive the ball to the right-center when pitchers work him away.