Phillies could make safe draft pick with Nick Senzel
Sixth in a series of profiles of potential Phillies draft picks. HOOVER, Ala. - Nick Senzel, all of 5-foot-5 and 150 pounds, was a ninth grader who had not played baseball for two years when Matt Buckner assumed coaching duties at Farragut High School. Senzel had tried out for the prep powerhouse in Knoxville, Tenn., the summer before his freshman year. Buckner's predecessor cut him.
Sixth in a series of profiles of potential Phillies draft picks.
But Senzel trained with the team before its season, and by December Buckner saw enough.
"The rest is history," Buckner said.
Senzel, a third baseman for the University of Tennessee, is a probable top-10 pick in next week's Major League Baseball draft. But even in a year when there is no clear standout player, Senzel's upside could be too low for the Phillies' No. 1 overall selection.
He is, if anything, viewed as one of the safer picks at the top of draft boards. Senzel shined last summer at the wood-bat Cape Cod League and captured MVP honors, which raised his stock as a pro prospect.
Now 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, he batted .352 with 25 doubles and 25 stolen bases in his junior season for a mediocre Tennessee team.
"He accomplished what I asked him to, and that was to put the distractions aside," Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano said. "Whenever you're put on such a pedestal for obvious reasons, for what he's done here and what he did at the Cape, I just ask to put the distractions aside. Play for this team and not for the people up in the stands that were evaluating him. And for the most part, he's done a wonderful job of that."
The school did not make Senzel available for an interview last week at the SEC tournament, and Senzel declined to comment following the conclusion of Tennessee's season. Senzel is represented by Scott Boras.
The consensus among scouts who watched Senzel this season is that he projects as an above-average hitter in the majors. The concerns center on Senzel's power potential. His value as a third baseman will be dependent on his power output. He could shift to second base and flash above-average power there.
Right now, Senzel's power translates to more doubles than homers. He blasted eight homers in 57 games for Tennessee this season. He had five homers in his freshman and sophomore seasons combined. His slugging percentage rose 100 points from sophomore to junior season, and his advocates point to that as a sign of a growing hitter.
"I think the power will come," Buckner said. "The more at-bats he gets, the more aggressive in counts he gets. I've always thought Nick is the guy who will always hit it where it fits. If it's outside, he'll hit it down the right-field line. I saw it this year, he was a lot more aggressive in counts. Toward the end of this year, he found his power stroke. It's there. There's no question."
"Nick, right now, is more concerned with being a good hitter," Serrano said. "He drives the ball to right-center well. He's got power to all fields. The power is there."
There is evidence to suggest Senzel is a late bloomer; he lost two years of development when his father's job forced the family to move to England. Senzel could not play baseball in the seventh or eighth grade.
His father is a hulking man, Buckner said, and Senzel wondered when his spurt would come. Within a year of not making his high school team, it did. He started at shortstop as a freshman for the junior varsity team and second base for varsity as a sophomore. That team won the state championship with Senzel atop the lineup.
This past season, when Tennessee needed a temporary solution at shortstop, Senzel slid over for a few weeks. "He can do some special things on the field," Serrano said. Shortstop is where he would put Senzel to start his minor-league career just to see the initial results.
"Senzel's complete. That's the one thing," former Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. "He's shown throughout the course of his time at Tennessee that the numbers are going to be there. He's a pure hitter. He uses the entire field. I think defensively, that's a place he's really grown as a player. Just a solid, complete player. Not to mention the guy runs, too."
It was in the weight room where Buckner noticed Senzel as a freshman, and that is where Senzel has pushed himself to become a potential top pick.
"I don't know if he'll get any bigger," Buckner said, "but he'll get stronger."
Previous Prospect Profiles
Blake Rutherford, Chaminade College Prep
Mickey Moniak, La Costa Canyon High
A.J. Puk, University of Florida
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