Cael
Baker

2/16/15
6-foot, 245-pound thick, strong build. From a crouch he has a wide frame. Stands straight up on is exchange. From a short, high-¾ slot he showed 80 mph arm strength to second with pop times of 2.09-2.21. Right-handed hitter that start open and gets to even. Little stride with short compact swing and likes to pull the baseball and shows occasional power. Registered top exit velocity of 91 and ran a 7.5-60.

2/15/20: After seeing limited action as a freshman at Cincinnati, Baker put up mind-boggling numbers at Wabash Valley (Ill.) JC last spring, winning the juco triple crown by hitting .506 with 25 homers and 101 RBIs to earn the NJCAA player of the year award. A burly 6-foot, 260-pound righthanded hitter, Baker made a splash in his first weekend with the Rebels, highlighted by a four-hit, two-homer performance in Saturday’s win. He showed serious bat speed by hitting a laser solo homer to left-center off a 97 mph heater from Bobby Miller in his first at-bat. That ball screamed off his bat at 107 mph, and he singled through the left side in his next at-bat, pouncing on a 95 mph heater and hitting it 104.5 mph. In the fifth, Baker continued to hunt the fastball against lefthander Michael Prosecky, hitting a 90 mph heater down the left-field line for an RBI double. In his final at-bat, he pounced on a bad changeup from Jared Poland and hit it over the fence in left for a go-ahead two-run homer. Baker’s bat speed is obvious; he starts with a low hand setup and a simple load with no stride, and he whips his hands through the zone with a compact stroke. Word will get out quickly that this man can hit even premium velocity, so he figures to see plenty of breaking balls going forward. How he handles those will be critical, but he seems to have a natural aptitude for hitting and a good head for making adjustments. (Fitt)