Larson is one of prep bats in the Kansas City area that has gotten significant attention from scouts and he’s also committed to play at LSU following his senior year at St. Thomas Aquinas in Kansas. I’ve now had a couple of looks at him between the 2022 MWSA event up until yesterday (3/28/23) and below are my thoughts:
Frame: Medium, lean build. Room for added weight as he continues to get stronger and grows into his man-strength more.
Stance: LHH- Works out of square, crouch position. Hands start high, low back elbow, slight hand load, minimal leg lift trigger. High slot entry, slight loft in an adjustable bat path, fringe-average bat speed. Quiet head throughout, all-fields approach, minimal stiffness present in operation.
Hit: Uses all-fields in his approach and has some adjustability in his bat path which limits significant swing and miss. The operation at the plate is simple and repeatable but I don’t see the bat producing plus production and/or thump to profile as a corner OF only player in the professional ranks.
Field: In RF throughout pre-game in/out and is a player that will be limited to corner outfield only duties on the defensive side. Took efficient routes to balls in RCF gap, but limited quick-twitch and above-average reads off bat hinder overall range ability. More than sure-handed enough to handle routine plays.
Arm: Showed 40-grade arm strength during in/out and game action. Accuracy is there, consistently on target to bases and cut-off guy.
Summation: Larson undoubtedly has quality offensive chops and rightfully is considered one of the top prep bats in the region. As I touched upon in the ‘hit’ section though, I don’t foresee his bat profiling enough for a corner outfield only defensive skill set to warrant being selected in the 2023 MLB Draft. I look forward to tracking Larson as he likely heads to LSU next year and will have to prove it in the college ranks before I’d be comfortable calling his name in the draft, which I hope he does.