Spencer
Brickhouse

3/26/19: At 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Brickhouse is built like his name suggests. He is massively strong and relies on his upper body strength to hit. From a spread stance, he does not stride. He simply lifts his front heel, rocks back a bit, loads his hands and swings. This approach likely allows him to see the ball well and enhance his pitch recognition and plate discipline. For a slugger he has a remarkably low strikeout rate (12%) in each of the past two spring seasons. However, he doesn't use his hips. His shoulders lead his hips and his lower half just follows his shoulders with no drive from his hips at all. At the next level with higher velocities and wood bats, he will likely be attacked with fastballs on the inner part of the plate. On this look, he pulled off badly with his barrel in/out of the zone, striking out in two of his four plate appearances. Defensively, he is limited to first base and was replaced in the 7th inning with ECU leading 4-0. With well below average defense, run and throw tools, his profile is built largely upon power and on-base ability (18% walk rate this spring). His plus-plus raw pull side power does have draft value. In this regard it reminds me of the Rockies 2017 6th round pick, Chad Spanberger (Arkansas), with Brickhouse likely to be selected a couple rounds higher based on his much lower strikeout rates. (Seifert)

8/8/18: 6’4, 220 pounds. Widely built with a broad upper body. Brickhouse has an imposing, physically mature frame. Even with his present strength, there’s still room to add more mass to his build. Defensively shows all the actions and athleticism necessary to handle 1B. Light on his feet, moves well around the bag, quality defensive actions. Arm shows looseness with plenty of strength. Saw some time at 3B during pre-game infield and looked capable of filling in there if needed. Uses a level, compact swing at the plate with a ton of leverage. Power plays to all fields. Uses his backside gap exceptionally well. Keeps hands inside of the ball and consistently gets extension after contact. After two impressive seasons at ECU, Brickhouse had an inconsistent summer. I witnessed a four strikeout game against Chatham on July 12th and then 10 days later Aaron Fitt saw him take home All-Star Game MVP honors. Despite the up and down summer, with his physical tools and track record of hitting while at ECU, expect another strong season for Brickhouse in the spring. (D Jurik)