CLASS OF 2027

Jake Kim, Harvard-Westlake (CA), 2027 University of California-Los Angeles
Positional Profile: 1B/OF A physical, power-oriented hitter with exceptional barrel control and strong separation through his load.
Body: 5-10, 204-pounds. Firm, burly build with present strength in the upper and lower half.
Hit: LHH. Very narrow lower half with a slight knee bend. Upper half is loose with hands held just below shoulder level and the back elbow flared towards the catcher. Bat angled upwards towards the first base line. Medium leg lift stride, landing hard on the front foot to initiate the load into the rear leg. Separation is present to create bat lag. Power hitter with exceptional barrel control through the zone.
Power: 102 max exit velocity, averaged 94.9 mph. 372' max distance.
Arm: LH.
ATH: 6.99 runner in the 60. 1.66 and 3.88 in the 10 and 30 yard splits.

4/07/26

One of the more impressive offensive profiles that I’ve seen not just in the past 12 months, but in the entirety of my nearly 20 years now evaluating players across collegiate coaching and dedicated player evaluation roles. Kim shows a pure hit tool with natural power and, for good measure, the advanced type of approach/plate discipline to be not only the number three hitter at Harvard-Westlake, but for the long-term future of his baseball career. The third member of Team SoCal at the 2025 Prep Baseball Future Games to hail from Harvard-Westlake, Kim showed off his own personal development, like his two teammates on the mound. For me, the development came in the confidence he is showing playing 1B, where he has improved with better awareness of how his feet and hands work when fielding a groundball and impressive flexibility on his frame, doing the full splits on a stretch to help retire a potential INF single. The question with Kim will never come with what he does in the batter's box, and yet again, he put up a trio of impressive at-bats. Falling behind 1-2 in his first AB on a foul ball and taking a SLD for a strike, Kim proceeded to spit on several offerings outside the zone designed to induce chase from him and fouled off multiple borderline offerings before taking a 9-pitch BB, then in his second trip to the dish laid off all offerings across five pitches never looking out of rhythm on any pitch simply allowing the southpaw to walk him and take his base. In his final AB of the day, he jumped all over an elevated SLD on the inner portion of the plate to launch a deep drive to straightaway RF that came up just a few short of being another HR for the UCLA commit. Kim continues to trend up in his overall future profile, and with another year plus of development ahead of him in the Harvard-Westlake program, the future is extremely bright for him before he departs for the next level

7/24/25

Jake Kim, Harvard-Westlake (CA), 2027
Positional Profile: 1B/OF Middle of the order bat with a heavy barrel and feel for the strike zone. Projectable power hitting LHH.
Body: 5-10, 206-pounds. Strong frame with present strength in the lower half.
Hit: LHH. Hands held at shoulder level, close to the body, with back elbow up and barrel tilted for a strong launch. Sets up in a balanced stance with knees slightly bent and feet shoulder-width apart. Uses a high leg kick stride, generating power and maintaining balance. Drives the swing with coordinated hand and hip movement. Keeps the barrel level through the hitting zone for consistent contact and power.
Power: 99 max exit velocity, averaged 88.6 mph. 304' max distance.
Arm: LH. INF-73 mph. Low 3/4 arm slot with accelerated path, generating a controlled, compact throw.
Defense: Glove begins out front while moving with a slow, controlled gather step towards target.

5/31/25

Jake Kim, Harvard-Westlake (CA), 2027
Positional Profile: 1B/OF Compact, strength-driven corner profile with explosive bat speed and clean footwork.
Body: 5-11, 203-pounds. Compact, strong build with firm lower half.
Hit: LHH. Balanced stance with knees slightly bent and feetshoulder width. Hands set at shoulder height and tight to the shoulder. Back elbow elevated, barrel angled up in a strong launch position. High leg kick stride. Front foot lands outward. Launches with hands and hips in sync. Firm and solid upper and lower half during swing. Bat stays level through zone. 76.2 mph bat speed with 16 G's of rotational acceleration.
Power: 102 max exit velocity, averaged 96.7 mph. 398' max distance.
Arm: LH. OF-76 mph. High 3/4 arm slot from OF. Slow, rising arm path. Quick release. Lowers arm slot from INF. Quicker arm path.
Defense: Quick lower half, with postured upper half in OF. Short crow-hop strides. Glove stays low as ball approaches. Low posture with strong base in INF. Glove starts high. Slow shuffle steps. Quick transfer.
ATH: 7.28 runner in the 60. 1.78 and 4.07 in the 10 and 30 yard splits. 21.10 max vertical.
Vizual Edge: 78.41 Edge Score

5/31/25

We heard plenty about Jake Kim throughout the spring as he earned second-team all Mission League honors with a league-leading tally of seven home runs and plenty of extra base hit production. Standing at 5-foot-11 and 203 lbs, Kim has a strong and built frame, starting with his lower half. The bat is what draws the eye, Kim displayed arguably the best and most consistent BP of the day. He peppered the gaps and drove balls out to dead center and to the pull side. Kim registered a max EV of 101.6 mph while averaging 96.7 mph throughout his two rounds of swings. His max distance clocked in at 398 ft. The swing is explosive with strong and quick hands and an engaged lower half. In game, Kim posted multiple competitive at-bats, collecting a hard line drive single in his first at-bat of the game. The ability to generate consistent hard contact to all fields is equally impressive as the gap-to-gap power potential.

Draft Reports

Contact

Premium Content Area

To unlock contact information, you need to purchase a ScoutPLUS subscription.

Purchase Subscription

Twitter

Tweets by PrepBaseballCA