John
Rhodes

2021 MLB Draft: A 6-foot, 200-pounder, Rhodes has five-tool potential. He's athletic, an above-average runner underway and cat hit for power to go with an average arm in the outfield. Rhodes is a natural hitter with very good feel at the plate. His intent is to swing and drive the ball, preferably over the fence. And unlike others this approach, he does so with good balance and plate discipline. He knows his swing and shows pitch-to-pitch adjustments. His swing path does begin a little steep into the zone, but once in there, he does a good job of staying through the ball and using the whole field.

6’0” 200. Strong, solid athletic body. Tracks the ball well and takes good routes in the outfield. Avg ML throwing arm with good accuracy. Has plus raw power. Caught up with a mistake by Rocker. Not great at reading pitches right now and will chase pitches out of the zone. Can get off balance at times. If you leave the ball up over the plate he will hit it well. With Rhodes it depends how much contact you think he will make. Has juice, but will likely be a high strikeout guy and the next level. Scouts are probably all over the place on this guy. If he hits he can be an everyday guy or possibly a 4th outfielder at ML level. (Slowik)

A second year freshman who is draft eligible by age for 2021, Rhodes is one of the top college outfield bats in the country this spring. At 6-foot, 200 pounds he has five-tool potential. He’s athletic, an above average runner underway and can hit for power to go along with an average arm from the outfield. Despite a 3-for-15 with four strikeout performance this series and a .272/.412/.593 season slash so far, Rhodes is a natural hitter with very good feel at the plate. His intent is to swing hard and drive the ball, preferably over the fence. And unlike many others with this approach, he does this with good balance and plate discipline. He knows his swing and shows pitch to pitch adjustments. His swing path does begin a little steep into the hitting zone, but once in there he does a good job of staying through the baseball and using all fields. After his freshman season which saw him tear the cover off the ball with a .426 batting average and .672 SLG% for the Wildcats, Rhodes was rated the 17th best hitter by D1Baseball’s Analytics ranking of freshmen bats. High performance SEC bats don’t last long in the MLB draft, and with continued production, Rhodes will be no exception this July.

Currently putting together a huge summer at the plate with .373/.491/.494 slash, Rhodes is the top position prospect on the Dock Spiders. At 6-foot, 200 pounds he has five-tool potential. He’s athletic, a plus runner and can hit for power to go along with an average to better arm. He knows his swing and understands the game, not only from a hitter’s perspective, but he’s also able to view it from the pitcher’s standpoint. To top it off, he’s a hard worker and constantly looking to improve. After a freshman season which saw him tear the cover off the ball with a .426 batting average and .672 SLG% for the Wildcats, Rhodes was rated the 17th best hitter by D1Baseball’s Analytics ranking of freshmen bats for the 2020 season. High performance SEC bats don’t last long in the MLB draft, and with continued production, Rhodes will be no exception in 2022.

Kentucky commit continues to show off what may be the best hit tool in the state.  Simple, repeatable swing w/ premium bat speed through the zone.  All fields approach w/ ability to drive the baseball, take what he is given.  Power to all fields, both extra bases came on pitches on the outer third and he stayed through them and drove them into the gaps.  Played RF on this day, also pitched, recording the save w/ a FB up to 87.